The Silver Whip (1953)

Frustrated with the lack of opportunities in his hometown, young Jess Harker plans to leave, but sympathetic stagecoach armed guard Race Crim persuades his boss to give Jess the stage driver job.

Director:

Harmon Jones

Writers:

Jesse Lasky Jr. (screenplay) (as Jesse L. Lasky Jr.), Jack Schaefer (from a novel by)

Stars:

Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun, Robert Wagner

Cast

Cast overview:
Dale Robertson	...	Race Crim
Rory Calhoun	...	Sheriff Tom Davisson
Robert Wagner	...	Jess Harker
Kathleen Crowley	...	Kathy Riley
James Millican	...	Luke Bowen
Lola Albright	...	Waco
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Riley
John Kellogg	...	Slater
Ian MacDonald	...	Hank

Storyline

Race Crim, a stagecoach guard, persuades the line's superintendent to allow young Jess Harker to drive the Silvr City stagecoach, which contains a gold shipment. Six outlaws attack the stage and Jess is wounded but Race kills three of the outlaws while the remaining three escape with several bags of gold. Race follows them while Jess takes the stage to Silver City. He joins the posse led by Sheriff Tom Davisson and they come upon the body of a fourth bandit killed by Race. A fifth is captured and the sheriff will not allow Race to hang the bandit. Refusing Jess's plea to accompany him, Race goes after the last bandit alone. Jess is fired from his stagecoach job but Davisson makes him a deputy and they too take the trail after the remaining outlaw, Slater. They meet Race and close in on the trapped bandit who Race shoots in the leg. The Sheriff keeps Race from finishing him off and takes him back to Silver City to stand trial. But the citizens, led by Race, demand a lynching. They ...

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male taking a bath | hairy chest male taking a bath | stagecoach driver in tight pants | henchman | gunfire | 

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Taglines:

LIKE THE CRACK OF A THOUSAND SIX-GUNS...it lashes across the face of the West!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Movie based on the novel "First Blood" by author Jack Schaefer. This was Schaefer's second western novel. His first was "Shane".

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Goofs

In one scene, the telegrapher was using his thumb on the Morse code key instead of the right index finger.

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Connections

Referenced in Graceland: Hair of the Dog (2013)

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Soundtracks

Little Brown Jug
(uncredited)
Written by Joseph Winner
Arranged by Urban Thielmann

User Reviews

Bad Western

The Silver Whip was Rory Calhoun's worst western ( and he was the best one in it). What made the movie fail was Robert Wagner. There are certain actors who do not belong in Westerns and Wagner is one of them. I know his character is a lightweight, but he is far too light for the role ( a stagecoach driver turned deputy). I did not hate the silver whip, but I certainly did not like it, so unless someone is a Wagner completist this is a movie to avoid.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1953 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Silver Whip

Filming Locations:

Sonora, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$560,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1