Coroner Creek (1948)

A man is bent on taking revenge on those he believes are responsible for his fiance's death.

Director:

Ray Enright

Writers:

Kenneth Gamet (screenplay), Luke Short (adapted from the novel by)

Stars:

Randolph Scott, Marguerite Chapman, George Macready

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Randolph Scott	...	Chris Danning
Marguerite Chapman	...	Kate Hardison
George Macready	...	Younger Miles
Sally Eilers	...	Della Harms
Edgar Buchanan	...	Sheriff O'Hea
Barbara Read	...	Abbie Miles (as Barbara Reed)
Wallace Ford	...	Andy West
Forrest Tucker	...	Ernie Combs
William Bishop	...	Leach Conover
Joe Sawyer	...	Frank Yordy
Russell Simpson	...	Walt Hardison
Douglas Fowley	...	Stew Shallis
Lee Bennett	...	Tip Henry
Forrest Taylor	...	McCune
Phil Schumacher	...	Bill Arnold

Storyline

With the help of Kate Hardison (Marguerite Chapman), the Coroner Creek hotel keeper, Chris Danning (Randolph Scott)learns that Younger Miles (George Macready)is the man who killed his fiancée. Chris is hired by rancher Della Harms (Sally Eilers)as her foreman, and plots his revenge against Miles. But one of the latter's henchmen cripples Chris' trigger-hand.

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Plot Keywords:

cow | revenge | ranch foreman | held at gunpoint | damsel in distress | 

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Taglines:

Brutal! Breathtaking Drama!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lawless

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Producers-Actors Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Cinecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Randolph Scott Trademark: Cinched up chin strap.

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Goofs

Randolph Scott's character is being shot at, making a bullet hole on a barrel above his head. The hole disappears in the next shot.

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Quotes

Chris Denning: [Voiceover of his thoughts as he sees Younger Miles for the first time] Big. Strong. Yellow hair. Blue eyes. And a scar on his right cheek.

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Connections

Referenced in Bye Bye Braverman (1968)

User Reviews

Grim, Realistic Revenge Western

"Coroner Creek" marked a departure for Randolph Scott in the character he plays. He usually played square-jawed righteous heros with a clear set of moral values. In this film he plays a character bent solely on revenge, even to the point of almost shooting the villain in the back as he tries to escape. He is driven by hate and has few if any redeeming qualities.

Scott is on the hunt for the person responsible for his fiance's death. He finally tracks him down in the town of Coroner Creek and sets out to force a final showdown. True to the Hollywood Production Code of the day, Scott's character sees the error of his ways at the end.

"Coroner Creek" boasts an excellent cast. George Macready plays the chief villain in a cold, cruel and calculating manner. Marquerite Chapman is the nominal heroine who tries to get Scott to change. Sally Eilers as a rancher and Barbara Read as Macready's alcoholic wife are the other female characters. Edgar Buchanan plays the spineless sheriff who eventually finds his courage and Wallace Ford plays Scott's only real friend and ally.

The rest of the cast is made up of many veterans of "dusters" both of the "A" and "B" variety. On the wrong side of the law are Forrest Tucker, Douglas Fowley and Joe Sawyer. On the right side of the law are Russell Simpson, William Bishop and Forrest Taylor. Charlie Stevens appears as (what else?) an Apache who provides Scott with information on the killer. And if you look close you'll see Joe DeRita (of the Three Stooges) and Dewey Robinson as bartenders.

"Coroner Creek" was a grim, realistic western for its time. Don't miss the brutal encounter between Scott and Tucker about half way through the film.