High Vermilion

Silver City is a slightly more complex tale of the west than is usual with the sins of greed and jealousy working overtime here.

Hard to believe but little elfin Barry Fitzgerald is one of the villains in this film. Barry plays a miserly silver mine owner who has leased one of his played out mines to Edgar Buchanan and his daughter Yvonne DeCarlo. That is Barry thought it was played out, but Edmond O'Brien has found a rich new vein and Fitzgerald is frozen out. Not if he can help it though.

Jealousy is what Kasey Rogers arouses in men. She's got her husband Richard Arlen who represents a big eastern mining concern all hot and bothered over here flirtations. One of those flirtations has been with O'Brien who used to work for Arlen. He's blackballed O'Brien from getting work with most outfits and O'Brien is picking up chump change from wherever he can.

Now how these two plot elements combine is for you to watch Silver City and learn. But I assure you the recipe delivers a good performance cake. I was most impressed with Fitzgerald in this one. The only other time I recall he essayed villainy on the screen was in And Then There Were None and we don't know he's the bad guy until the very very end. Also note Michael Moore in this cast, not the documentary maker, but an actor who sports a mean and sadistic disposition as another of Fitzgerald's cronies.

That most noted of color cinematographers Ray Rennahan does some nice work here, but Silver City could use a restoration. Check it out and see what I mean.