Dawn at Socorro (1954)

Let's be realistic.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Despite the director's odd decision to over-use close-ups (maybe he anticipated a quick sale to TV), Dawn at Socorro turns out to be one of the more interesting westerns of 1954. In the U.K., the movie was even released as an "A" feature. Perhaps Universal's exchanges in other countries thought that the cast offered no box office lure. While it's true that Kathleen Hughes is confined to a disappointingly small role, the equally lovely Mara Corday is given a decent innings for once; the Alex Nichol character is intriguingly conceived and played; and I loved David Brian's lecherous saloon proprietor, even if he does rather let hate go to his head. Lee Van Cleef is also on hand, plus Skip Homeier, James Millican and Edgar Buchanan. Perhaps even more importantly, the movie offers scads of action with splendid stuntwork. And it's not only expansively produced in attractive color with arresting real locations backgrounds, but it features dialogue that is much blunter than we expect from the censor-ridden mid-1950s. So, despite the Kathleen Hughes disappointment, Dawn at Socorro is most definitely a film to add to the must-see list!

Take a dash of "My Darling Clementine," a pinch of "Stagecoach" and a touch of "High Noon" and you get "Dawn at Socorro," a string of western clichés so predictable you may have trouble staying awake. Rory Calhoun, with fake temple gray so outlandish it looks as if he's wearing a bad hairpiece, plays the thinly disguised Doc Holliday character. Piper Laurie, surprisingly attractive and magnetic plays his love interest. The always smarmy David Brian plays the chief heavy. If this movie didn't have such gorgeous Technicolor, imaginative camera setups and crisp direction, it would be a big "nothingburger." As played, it's a reasonably passable western. I give "Dawn at Socorro" a "5."

A colorful western that is well-acted, unusually atmospheric and filled with intelligent dialogue and dramatic scenes is a rarity. The term "western" simply refers to a North American-based adventure or dramatic film wherein the central character acts in places where trains and modern technology are not the available norm. Those who would like to limit the term are obviously therefore wrong or worse. "Dawn at Socorro", with a literate script by George Zuckerman proves this point beautifully, I suggest. The stars of the film are attractive Rory Calhoun, lovely young Piper Laurie, powerful David Brian, charismatic tough guy Alex Nicol, graceful Lee Van Cleef, Edgar Buchanan as a harried sheriff and a raft of fine supporting actors including George Homeier, Ron Roberts, Paul Brinegar, Mara Corday and others. The unbilled star of the film is the state of New Mexico colors and the art director's, set designer's and costumer's achievements. This film feels like the real West where I have lived for many years, a countryside that is rough; it is being slowly civilized and lived in by men, but is still untamed as much as any zone in this country that I know. From the unforgettable opening narration in Lordsburg read by Roberts that sets up a fabled gunfight at the stockyards in Lordsburg through a memorable stagecoach ride, a long dramatic night at Brian's Bis Casino in Socorro to the climactic shootout and resolution, there is only only jarring element I suggest. This comes into the script because gambler Brett Wade, decently underplayed by Calhoun, probably the model for "Maverick", loved every minute of his notorious hell-raising past, yet now is forced to repudiate that vanishing time of which he says, "There'll never be another like it". When asked who is coming after him at the end, he says, "My past--every dark miserable day of it." But he triumphs in the end, as a cultured gentleman from South Carolina who plays classical piano ought to do; and despite his doubts and regrets for lost years, he manages to go on with hope. And what one remembers most of this terrific idea-level movie is the strongly-etched characters, the logic of their actions and motivations and the physical beauty of what is actually a "B" film production from Universal but looks more expensive at every moment. This is a movie that I claim is like a can't-put-it-down thriller, but with important ideas being expressed. Unusual, and powerful. George Sherman's fluid direction can be given much of the credit. This western is not to be missed.

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.