Review of Powder River

Rory Calhoun plays a seasoned lawman fed up with gunplay in "Green Grass of Wyoming" director Louis King's "Powder River," a sturdy but derivative little horse opera loosely based on Wyatt Earp biographer Stuart N. Lake's book. Cameron Mitchell co-stars as a swift-shooting hellion who wears his gun slung low on his right knee in this Technicolor oater from Twentieth Century Fox. Basically, Calhoun is cast as Chino Bullock, a Wyatt Earp type, while Mitchell plays a variation on Doc Holliday named Mitch Hardin. Instead of being ravaged by tuberculosis, Hardin suffers from a brain tumor. He has left the East to roam the West. Mitch has a suicidal streak running through his psyche as a result of his tragic affliction. He romances the hell cat saloon owner Frenchie Dumont (Corinne Calvet of "Apache Uprising")who smokes cigarettes in public while Mitch's good girl from back East, Debbie Allen (Penny Edwards of "Pony Soldier"), struggles without success to convince him to return home with her. The catch here is that Calhoun prefers to shun a six-gun while carrying out his duties as the marshal of Powder River. Except for the marred ending, western fans won't be disappointed with this shoot'em up horse opera. Six time Oscar winning lenser Edward Cronjager's full frame cinematography looks dazzling with vivid colors and scenic settings. The cast is solid, and the production design is terrific. There is a cool showdown between a hardcase who thrusts a six-shooter into Bullock's belly at one point in a saloon and is surprised to see the marshal clench the cylinder of his six-gun so that he cannot cock the gun. Calhoun and Cameron make a charismatic pair, but their relationship is a combustible one.