Although the first 10 minutes of "Silver River" seem like a typical Errol Flynn western, the story soon takes a turn into more tangled territory.
Mike McComb (Errol Flynn), has shades of darkness that are almost Shakespearean or more appropriately, biblical – part of the plot is based on the story of David and Bathsheba from the Book of Samuel.
Directed by Raoul Walsh, "Silver River" starts as Mike McComb is cashiered from the army during the Civil War. Embittered, he becomes a gambler bent on only looking out for himself. He heads west to Silver River in Nevada to open a saloon and gambling hall. Along the way he falls for Georgia Moore (Ann Sheridan) the wife of Stanley Moore (Bruce Bennett), a silver mine owner.
McComb becomes the wealthiest and most influential man in town. But things unravel when it seems he will stop at nothing to get Georgia Moore. Eventually he seeks redemption when the town turns against him.
Apparently Flynn didn't want to make another western although he appreciated that the script for this one had more depth than usual. In Marilyn Ann Moss' biography of Raoul Walsh, she quotes Flynn as saying, "As a Western I think it is damned good. I wish it would have been given me for one of the five other Westerns they had me do but I'm not going to be the Gene Autry of the future".
However his contract forced him to make it. The film looks lavish with a powerful score by Max Steiner who didn't believe in music you don't notice. It also had a great cast including Ann Sheridan and Thomas Mitchell.
Flynn and Sheridan were good together and she looks fabulous in the film. Apparently both liked a drink and managed to smuggle alcohol onto the set. The author of the original story and scriptwriter, Stephen Longstreet recalled, "It soon became clear that they were, even if we didn't see how. Later, I went over and tasted the ice water. It was pure 90-proof vodka." It doesn't really show except in a few of Flynn's early scenes where he appears particularly laid-back and mellow.
The stories that surround the stars and filmmakers are often more interesting than the films they made, but "Silver River has surprising layers. This was Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan's last film together; sad when you know they both died relatively young; he at 50, she at 51.
Mike McComb (Errol Flynn), has shades of darkness that are almost Shakespearean or more appropriately, biblical – part of the plot is based on the story of David and Bathsheba from the Book of Samuel.
Directed by Raoul Walsh, "Silver River" starts as Mike McComb is cashiered from the army during the Civil War. Embittered, he becomes a gambler bent on only looking out for himself. He heads west to Silver River in Nevada to open a saloon and gambling hall. Along the way he falls for Georgia Moore (Ann Sheridan) the wife of Stanley Moore (Bruce Bennett), a silver mine owner.
McComb becomes the wealthiest and most influential man in town. But things unravel when it seems he will stop at nothing to get Georgia Moore. Eventually he seeks redemption when the town turns against him.
Apparently Flynn didn't want to make another western although he appreciated that the script for this one had more depth than usual. In Marilyn Ann Moss' biography of Raoul Walsh, she quotes Flynn as saying, "As a Western I think it is damned good. I wish it would have been given me for one of the five other Westerns they had me do but I'm not going to be the Gene Autry of the future".
However his contract forced him to make it. The film looks lavish with a powerful score by Max Steiner who didn't believe in music you don't notice. It also had a great cast including Ann Sheridan and Thomas Mitchell.
Flynn and Sheridan were good together and she looks fabulous in the film. Apparently both liked a drink and managed to smuggle alcohol onto the set. The author of the original story and scriptwriter, Stephen Longstreet recalled, "It soon became clear that they were, even if we didn't see how. Later, I went over and tasted the ice water. It was pure 90-proof vodka." It doesn't really show except in a few of Flynn's early scenes where he appears particularly laid-back and mellow.
The stories that surround the stars and filmmakers are often more interesting than the films they made, but "Silver River has surprising layers. This was Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan's last film together; sad when you know they both died relatively young; he at 50, she at 51.