Alan Dwan's Silver Lode, from 1954, is a good B Western. The film, like that year's Johnny Guitar, is a cautionary allegory about McCarthyism. The villain is not too subtly monikered "McCarty". Four self-proclaimed lawmen ride into the town and accuse a solid citizen of perfidy. The town, done up in red, white, and blue bunting for a Fourth of July celebration, soon descends into paranoia, distrust, and violence. A host of familiar players are in the cast: John Payne, Lizabeth Scott, Dolores Moran, Emile Meyer, Alan Hale Jr., Harry Carey Jr. The acting laurels go to Dan Duryea for his usual masterful portrayal of anguine cunning. Dwan, at this stage of his long career, was an expert at cranking out taut B pictures. He groups his players (as above) most often in the efficient American shot. When appropriate, he was still capable of bravura effects: a long tracking through town capturing an extended gunfight brilliantly evokes a community's descent into madness.
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