Audie Murphy's motion picture career peaked in the 1950s, when he was cast in a series of westerns at Universal. As a war hero whose military achievements were well-known to Americans, he was a natural choice for these types of movies. He was not a theatrically trained actor, but he seems to learn as he goes, giving stronger performances in each subsequent picture.
In DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER, he works nicely alongside Walter Brennan who plays his dad. Their performance styles are different, which adds to the dimension of their scenes together. In the movie, they are a father-son team that runs a freight business. While hauling cargo, they have to contend with others who stand in the way of their success. Some serious obstacles must be overcome.
One obstacle involves a slick operator (Lyle Bettger) who aims to stir up trouble with a nearby native tribe. Bettger's goal is to embroil the local settlers in a war with the natives, so that they will be too busy fighting...and this will make it easier for his men to steal gold and transport it out of the region.
Because Murphy's character has already forged a truce with the native leader (Jay Silverheels) and is keeping an eye on any potential trouble, this causes problems for Bettger. As a result, Bettger puts a new plan in motion. He brings an outlaw (Hugh O'Brian) to town who will force Murphy to cooperate with them.
It's interesting to see Mr. O'Brian play such a baddie, just a short time before playing heroic Wyatt Earp on television. O'Brian and the rest of the gang cause a lot of chaos. They kidnap Brennan, frame Murphy and kill innocent people. Despite the fact that his father is still in danger, Murphy realizes he has no choice but to strike back. The movie features many fist fights. There seems to be one every ten minutes!
While he has his hands full with O'Brian and Bettger, the Cavalry is dispatched to deal with the natives. It seems the tribe has grown restless because of skirmishes threatening the peace that had been brokered earlier with Murphy.
Related to this is a backstory which relates to the death of Brennan's late wife. We are told how a native warrior had killed the woman, and that the chief (Morris Ankrum) had the warrior dragged by horses to his death. This was done because the murder of a white woman had jeopardized peace which the natives were seeking with the settlers. The warrior that the chief had to kill, to set an example to the other tribesmen, was one of his own sons.
So we have more than just a standard tale of gold, greed, kidnapping and murder. We have groups of people trying to bring law and order to the west, to make the region habitable. At the same time they're involved in a series of disputes, (re)negotiations and military actions that require them all to get along.
At one point Murphy's character ends up in jail, when it looks like Bettger has succeeded in framing him. He is visited by a girl he's been dating (Lisa Gaye), and she knows that he won't rest until he is able to save his father and ensure there's no more warring. It is noteworthy that our star, who had killed so many in real-life battles just a decade earlier in Europe, is being used for opposite purposes in this western anti-war film.
In DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER, he works nicely alongside Walter Brennan who plays his dad. Their performance styles are different, which adds to the dimension of their scenes together. In the movie, they are a father-son team that runs a freight business. While hauling cargo, they have to contend with others who stand in the way of their success. Some serious obstacles must be overcome.
One obstacle involves a slick operator (Lyle Bettger) who aims to stir up trouble with a nearby native tribe. Bettger's goal is to embroil the local settlers in a war with the natives, so that they will be too busy fighting...and this will make it easier for his men to steal gold and transport it out of the region.
Because Murphy's character has already forged a truce with the native leader (Jay Silverheels) and is keeping an eye on any potential trouble, this causes problems for Bettger. As a result, Bettger puts a new plan in motion. He brings an outlaw (Hugh O'Brian) to town who will force Murphy to cooperate with them.
It's interesting to see Mr. O'Brian play such a baddie, just a short time before playing heroic Wyatt Earp on television. O'Brian and the rest of the gang cause a lot of chaos. They kidnap Brennan, frame Murphy and kill innocent people. Despite the fact that his father is still in danger, Murphy realizes he has no choice but to strike back. The movie features many fist fights. There seems to be one every ten minutes!
While he has his hands full with O'Brian and Bettger, the Cavalry is dispatched to deal with the natives. It seems the tribe has grown restless because of skirmishes threatening the peace that had been brokered earlier with Murphy.
Related to this is a backstory which relates to the death of Brennan's late wife. We are told how a native warrior had killed the woman, and that the chief (Morris Ankrum) had the warrior dragged by horses to his death. This was done because the murder of a white woman had jeopardized peace which the natives were seeking with the settlers. The warrior that the chief had to kill, to set an example to the other tribesmen, was one of his own sons.
So we have more than just a standard tale of gold, greed, kidnapping and murder. We have groups of people trying to bring law and order to the west, to make the region habitable. At the same time they're involved in a series of disputes, (re)negotiations and military actions that require them all to get along.
At one point Murphy's character ends up in jail, when it looks like Bettger has succeeded in framing him. He is visited by a girl he's been dating (Lisa Gaye), and she knows that he won't rest until he is able to save his father and ensure there's no more warring. It is noteworthy that our star, who had killed so many in real-life battles just a decade earlier in Europe, is being used for opposite purposes in this western anti-war film.