Adlerschwinge (1954)

Adlerschwinge: Directed by Nathan Juran. With Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, Lisa Gaye. When whites hunger after the gold on Ute Indian land, a bigoted young man finds himself forced into a peacekeeping role.

“Crown City is a played-out mining town. Just a few hundred yards away across the river there are vast reserves of gold – but across the river isnIndian territory and it takes a brave man – or a stupid one – to risk incurring the wrath of Ouray, Chief of the Ute.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt the start of this fast-paced western, thereu0026#39;s a group of guys heading into Ute territory seeking gold, then thereu0026#39;s a shootout between the utes and the gold-seekers, a fist fight around the campfire, and a swap goes wrong and thereu0026#39;s another shootout – and this is all within around thirty minutes, and the rest of the film is the same, the plot is twisty and fully-charged like a sidewinder, the pace is frenetic, and the action is energetic( Audie gets to show off some Judo moves in some combat scenes), but most important the narrative flows freely.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAudie Murphy is gaining his confidence here, is really good as a guy transitioning from having bitter hate for utes to one who is on their side, Walter Brennan as his father is his usual excellent form, Hugh Ou0026#39;Brien makes an appearance as a gunslinger clad in black and a grin to shame a crocodileu0026#39;s grin, and Lyle Bettger does his usual turn as the slimy villain with a perpetual smirk. Mara Corday is a bad girl hottie and eye candy Lisa Gaye flutters her eyelashes and coos u0026quot;Gary, Garyu0026quot; repeatedly throughout the film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is one of my favourite Murphy westerns, itu0026#39;s energetic, action-packed, a busy plot and the story is just great. Saw this on BBC2 back in 1989, and I just have fond memories of watching it countless times afterwards.”