Brenda
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
weezeralfalfa
I don't believe this short western is officially regarded as a remake of the equally short 1939 "Frontier Marshal". But, after checking my notes on F.M., I found it amazing how many details they have in common, so many that I clearly would label it as a remake. Of course, there are plenty of differences, as well, one being that this was shot in color vs. the B&W of F.M.. Another is that the supposed location for F.M. is Tombstone A.Z., vs. Powder River, for the present film. Well, it turns out there are two famous Powder Rivers in the NW quadrant of the US. One is famous today as having the richest, cheapest, coal mines in the US, and is located in NE Wyoming and SE Montana. The other is located in the Blue Mountains of NE Oregon, and is well known since the Civil War for it's placer gold. In contrast, I'm not aware of any important gold deposits in the Wyoming Powder River area, although the Black Hills are not far to the east. Thus, I would favor Oregon, although it's mentioned that the Homestead Mine is nearby. Well, THE Homestead mine is located in the Black Hills. Typical Hollywood confusion of that era! At least parts of the action were filmed in Glacier National Park, in NW Montana. Instead of Wyatt Earp and Doc Halliday of F.M., we have facsimiles in Chino Bull(Wyatt-like)and Mitch(Doc Holliday-like). In this film, they have trouble deciding whether they want to be friends or enemies. We see some of each throughout the film, like reluctant buddies. Both films have the Doc-like character suffering from a chronic health problem: TB in F.M. and a brain tumor, causing periodic blackouts, in the present film. In both films, the Doc-like character is scripted as a gunslinger/medical doctor combo, whereas the real Doc was a doctor of dentistry. In both films, the Doc-like character uses his medical knowledge to save a life.Roy Calhoun plays Chino, while a flamboyant Cameron Mitchell plays Mitch. An equally flamboyant Corinne Calvet plays Frenchie: the sometimes owner of one of the saloons. Penny Edwards plays the prim blond "good" girl arriving from the East, come to take Mitch back East. However, she appears to end up with Chino. Gold is mostly what the fighting is all about: both Chino's stolen gleanings and a $300,000.gold shipment on the stage. Chino's mining buddy, Johnny, is killed(by whom?) and the gold stolen while Chino is away. This murder and robbery induced Chino to give up mining to become the new town marshal.One gripe I have is that the stage gold shipment segment is underplayed. When the stage is on a flatboat ferry, crossing a river, the bad guys cut the towline attached to a horse that pulls the boat across. They also shoot the horse driver. The stage then is swept downstream toward a rapids. Chino finds a spare rope and swims to shore attaching it to a flimsy-looking long dead small tree. Even supposing it held the raft against the current, it's unclear how they got it to shore, unless they found the horse and attached the rope to it. One horse hardly seemed enough. Also, why did the bad guys decide to abandon their very lucrative quest when the rope was attached to that tree??I regard this film as even more interesting than "Frontier Marshal" In fact, it's one of my favorite westerns, despite its clear B status. I won't give away the unusual climactic ending.Available at YouTube and an expensive DVD.
bkoganbing
If you're thinking that you might have seen Powder River before you would be right. If you saw Frontier Marshal or My Darling Clementine and noted in Powder River's credits that it's derived from a book by Stuart Lake than you'll know the source. Rory Calhoun plays a Wyatt Earp like marshal who has quit law enforcement for prospecting. But when his partner Frank Ferguson is bushwhacked and robbed of the gold they've panned, Calhoun takes on the marshal's job. He also makes the acquaintance of a pair of outlaw brothers Carl Betz and John Dehner. And a terminally ill and alcoholic doctor Cameron Mitchell who is lightning fast with a six gun.There's also a bit of Destry Rides Again added to the mix with French speaking saloon owner Corinne Calvet. The good girl from back east who wants to bring Mitchell home to save his life is former Roy Rogers leading lady Penny Edwards.The best part of Powder River is a nice action gunfight in a foiled stagecoach robbery with Calhoun and Mitchell joining forces. The guys and the stagecoach are on a river ferry with the outlaws firing on them from shore and the ferry cut loose is heading for the rapids. All nicely staged. If you've seen My Darling Clementine or Frontier Marshal you know how this one comes out. Calhoun made several good westerns in the Fifties and Sixties. But it's Mitchell who has the best role, the Doc Holiday part is always the best one every time this story is retold.
bsmith5552
"Powder River" is a Technicolor revenge western reminiscent of the Wyatt Earp/ Doc Holiday relationship depicted in the earlier "My Darling Clementine" (1946).Rory Calhoun plays ex-marshal Chino Bull(ock) who has hung up his guns to prospect for gold with his partner Johnny Slater (Frank Ferguson). Two saddle tramps Loney Hogan (Carl Betz) and his com padre (Bob Wilke) try to steal Chino and Johnny's horses but are driven off by Chino. Later after returning from town, Chino finds Johnny murdered and their gold stolen. Chino assumes that Hogan was to blame and takes on the town marshal's job in order to bring Logan to justice.In the local saloon Chino meets proprietor "Frenchie" Dumont (Corrine Calvet) and learns that she is "associated" with gunman Mitch Hardin (Cameron Mitchell). Chino and Hardin strike up a friendship. Debbie Allen (Penny Edwards) the girl Hardin left behind shows up to complicate matters. We learn along the way that Hardin is a doctor who is suffering from a brain tumor and that he has a death wish.Chino entices Loney and Harvey Logan (John Dehner) to try to rob a gold shipment in order to force a showdown until..............Calhoun was always a pleasant enough hero whose career in westerns extended well into the 60s. Calvet with her thick French accent makes a poor man's Marlene Deitrich. Mitchell never quite made it to the A list but was a dependable second lead during this period. Carl Betz is best remembered as the father in "The Donna Reed Show". Penny Edwards appeared in a number of Roy Rogers oaters while Dale Evans was having a baby in 1950.
grybar
I'm not really a fan of Rory Calhoun, but I enjoyed his character in this picture. It tells a story with a bit more depth and a few surprises, while still providing action, romance and some terrific western scenery. While Calhoun's character, Chino Bull, is still country-suave and in control, he doesn't convey the snide quality that was an undercurrent in his later television work. The story line carries some standard western baggage, but at the same time it veers away with unexpected plot developments that were a bit more sophisticated than the type of that era, presaging the so-called "adult westerns" that became the standard in the 1950s and '60s. The female characters, unfortunately, are given the usual supportive roles. Still, it's an interesting story against some beautiful backgrounds.
