Stone of Silver Creek (1935)
Directed by Nick Grinde
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Synopsis by Hans J. Wollstein
In perhaps the most tranquil B-Western of the 1930s, Buck Jones, who also produced, plays the tough but goodhearted proprietor of the Bonanza, the only gambling establishment in otherwise God-fearing Silver Creek. Noel Francis, who used to play blonde schemers in Warner Bros. gangster films, earns second billing as the casino's equally goodhearted chanteuse. Surprisingly, the glamorous Miss Francis is not paired off with Jones, but has to settle for country pumpkin Grady Sutton, of all people. In fact, the hero must wait no less than 51 minutes before he is finally provided a few romantic moments with Peggy Campbell, who arrives just in time to warble "Tonight May Never Come Again" to an enraptured Jones. The latter does very little of anything in this film, except prevent a couple of gamblers (Rodney Hildebrand and Harry Semels) from robbing the casino's safe, proving himself worthy in the eyes of Pastor Timothy Tucker (Niles Welch) and his girlfriend Martha (Marion Shilling) along the way. Restored by Universal/MCA in 2000, Stone of Silver Creek has no action to speak of, but is saved from the doldrums by good performances from Jones, the unfairly forgotten Noel Francis, and the always watchable Grady Sutton, who gets the top-billed girl for the first and only time in his long career. Unlike most Westerns of the day, Stone of Silver Creek was produced entirely on the Universal back lot.
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Keywords
bad-guy, bar [pub], bishop, church, conflict, cowboy, gambling, good-guy, help, investigation, justice, owner