Fri 20 Apr 2012
A Western Movie Review by Dan Stumpf: THE SILVER WHIP (1953).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[6] Comments
THE SILVER WHIP. 20th Century-Fox, 1953. Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun, Robert Wagner, Kathleen Crowley, James Millican, Lola Albright. Based on the novel First Blood (1953) by Jack Schaefer. Director: Harmon Jones.
Been a mess o’ Rory Calhoun movies on lately, some pretty good. Calhoun was always the City Slicker’s idea of a Cowboy: Cool, well-groomed, morally ambiguous, often even the Heavy of the Piece, as in The Spoilers or River of No Return, but always playing his cards close to his vest in any case, his calculating eyes clearly on the Main Chance. Not a Great Actor by any stretch, but within his range quite competent and even memorable on occasion.
Later on he began doing cameos in intriguing B-flicks like Angel, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Motel Hell, and Roller Blade Warriors, all of which are better than they sound, which is faint praise, I know, but well-intended. They’re worth a look, as is:
The Silver Whip, an occasionally interesting western with Calhoun as a rough but proper Sheriff, Dale Robertson — incredibly macho-looking — as his less legal-minded but heroic buddy, and Robert Wagner as the identity-seeking youth torn between the two role models.
There’s a fascinating bit of action where the three heroes are stalking the heavy across the badlands, a picturesque location all by itself, with boulders, crevices, arches and cave in a baroque panoply. You’ll see one of the characters move across this arresting background, dodging from cover to cover, moving from long-shot to close-up.
Then, as he takes off, the camera stays where it is, and in the background you see one of the other heroes, previously obscured by the character in foreground, still half-hidden among the rocks, and follow him as he moves across the terrain from cover to cover, the camera tracking along and closer to him until he ends up in close-up, takes off again, and the camera stays put and in the background we see another hero, previously obscured by the character in foreground, still half-hidden etc. etc.
This goes on long enough to get really entertaining.

Coming Soon to This Blog: Several more Rory Calhoun movie reviews by Dan, including (wait for it) Hell Comes to Frogtown.
April 21st, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Dan
The way you’ve described Rory Calhoun is pretty much the way I’ve always seen him as an actor. He seemed a little too “slick” to me. I can’t think of a better word right now.
Even as the hero of the piece, there seemed to be sometime about him that made me feel just a little uncomfortable, that I didn’t really know him underneath.
This hasn’t been expressed very well, I’m afraid. Doesn’t matter. You’ve said it a lot better already.
— Steve
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:50 am
I’m not partial to Rory Calhoun, but — In Dawn At Socorro he pulls off a sympathetic riff on a Doc Holliday prototype, and on the television series Climax he does a fascinating Midge Kelly in their truncated adaptation of Champion.
April 23rd, 2012 at 1:20 pm
As chance would have it, Dan’s review of DAWN AT SOCORRO is the one of his that’s coming up next. Look for here soon!
January 23rd, 2016 at 2:55 pm
I feel like you have described Rory Calhoun accurately. He was no Marlon Brando or Burt Lancaster, but he was a solid actor who knew his way around a camera and never seemed uncomfortable or out of sorts. Recently, I learned that he was a former juvenile delinquent who paid for his crimes as a car thief. I don’t think that he ever had a chance to prove his genuine acting skills after he was outed by a tabloid magazine to preserve Rock Hudson’s career. Primarily, he starred in westerns and I believe always gave a good account of himself without appearing to ‘act’ as Henry Fonda would have said. Dale Robertson was rather tough in this oater unlike he was in his usual horse operas. Of course, Robert Wagner was just up and coming. The thing that isn’t mentioned in your review is the source material for this western: First Blood, a novel written by the same man who penned Shane, Jack Schaefer.
January 23rd, 2016 at 3:47 pm
To clarify your statement regarding Rock Hudson, the “outing” was the revealing of Rory Calhoun’s criminal past, or at least that’s the way I understand it.
Also note that even though Dan didn’t refer to it in his review, the Schaefer book the movie is based on *is* mentioned in the opening credits.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:03 pm
Rory Calhoun may have been outed as Steve has written, but the Rock Hudson connection goes to George Nader, who was indeed outed in the traditional sense.