Dawn at Socorro

Moviecut—Dawn at Socorro

I am not a fan of westerns, but I liked this one. It is interesting to see how Calhoun escapes gunman Nicol after killing Andrews and his family in a gunfight. The only problem is that he escapes from him and becomes an enemy to saloon owner Brian. An unusually exciting western.

This is definitely one of Rory Calhoun's better efforts. The story is a ripoff of The O.K Coral but more focused on what happened after rather than before (all the characters names are different but you will see the cloning). There is really good character development as they muse the stories of their lives and the decisions they have made. This movie could also have been called Regrets at Socorro. Better than average for sure :)

Not bad little movie, shows up on TCM every so often. And darned if Rory Calhoun doesn't look exactly like GEORGE CLOONEY at times, or is it vice versa? Anyway, interesting turn on the gunfighter trying to go straight story with an appealing Piper Laurie and mean gambling hall owner David Brian. They play cards and throw dice for the girl, with fortunes going back and forth. Edgar Buchanan plays a nervous sheriff and not the usual dimwit he's known for and Alex Nicol chews the furniture as the edgy slinger waiting to gun down Calhoun. But then comes the typical Hollywood ending where none of the characters show even a lick of common sense. Sorry to see that ending, this isn't a half bad film until the last five minutes, and then it's Universal Studios back lot fireworks. Too bad.

Rory Calhoun gives a wounded performance in this film ( literally as well as metaphorically ) that shows inner pain and world weariness that I have never seen in any other performance of his. The bad boy image has gone, and he is just hunted and tired. As for Piper Laurie, one of the greatest actresses and rarely given the range she deserved is equal to his performance. Shot in colour this is as much Film Noir as Western, and superbly it shows how the two genres could join together. George Sherman directed this film with an originality that astonished me and the film score is a plus. The scenario has been seen many times before, but every story has been told before and this repeat excels. Alex Nicoll is well cast and as usual Universal Studios when they wanted to gave both entertainment and artistic merit. But for me Piper Laurie deserves the highest praise and every word, every glance rings true.

Over the years I missed seeing this Western Film of the 1950's. I have always followed the career of Rory Calhoun,(Brell Ruthledge Wade),"The Red House",'47, who rides into a Western town on a stagecoach and meets Piper Laurie,(Rannah Hayes),"The Grass Harp",'95, and becomes very attracted to her very innocent and loving appearance. Brell tells Rannah that he is going to Colorado Springs for health reasons and soon changes his mind after he follows her into a 'BIG CASINO' in town and finds out she has chosen a different profession than he figured she would have chosen. David Brian,(Dick Braden),"The Seven Minutes",'71, owns the 'BIG CASINO', and wants also to own Rannah Body & Soul so to speak. The Sheriff, Edgar Buchanan,(Cauthen),"Gunpoint",'66, keeps his eyes on Brell and wants him to get out of town on the next train as soon as possible to Colorado. This is a great film to view if you can catch it on TV!

Rory Calhoun is a world weary and consumptive gunfighter who just would like to hang up his six shooter, but a whole passel of enemies he's made over the years just won't let him quit. A little bit of Gunfight at the OK Corral and The Gunfighter tossed together. After a shootout in one town he arrives by stage to Socorro where Sheriff Edgar Buchanan wants to get him out of town before any more blood is spilled on his turf. But Calhoun lingers and lingers, impressed by the beauty of Piper Laurie who he's ridden to town with on the stage. It's a good B western, directed by a veteran of that genre, George Sherman. Sherman keeps the action going at a good clip and the cast knows their way around a western set. Dawn at Socorro was probably a B feature that didn't bore too many people who went to see the A picture from Universal it was playing with.