Silver River (1948)

One of Errol Flynn's grittier parts this one. He ("McComb") gets his chance to go from dishonourably discharged cavalry officer to unscrupulous millionaire taking on all comers as he seeks to make his fortune from silver, and to win his gal "Georgia" (Ann Sheridan). Gradually, though, the enmity he has attracted starts to cause others to challenge him, to gang up on him, and he must fight for his very survival - especially when "Georgia" begins to believe he may have had a hand in the demise of her original husband. There is a good pace to this, his rise is stellar and the relationship with best pal "Beck" (Thomas Mitchell) and rival Bruce Bennett allow both of these characters room to breathe too, building to quite an enjoyably tense last fifteen minutes. I liked Flynn's performance here - his steely stare, angry determination and sheer bloody-mindedness took this otherwise routine drama just that little bit higher up the scale, and with strong supporting efforts and some good photography, made this an enjoyable western to watch.