Drums Along the River 1954 – Audie Murphy

This was a pretty good , very colourful Western from Universal with plenty of action.

Audie Murphy stars, looking very young – he would be around 28 when this was made – and he puts everything into this role as can be seen below in the final sequence

Something of a ‘spoiler’ here as we come to the final moments of the film when Audie Murphy meets the villain head-on. First hiding behind the large water trough and once the fight starts, inevitably the two finish up in the water. A furious and very well staged fight takes place

The film is in Glorious Technicolor – beautiful, and in my book a colour in film that has never been equaled – just so striking.

There is also some recognisable villains including Lyle Bettger, Bob Steele, and Hugh O’Brian as a Psycho Gunslinger but he gets what is coming

Overall, this Cowboys and Indians film is the Stuff that made Saturday Matinees the favourite place to be for kids of the fifties.

This is a Colourful Western with Audie Murphy and a strong cast along with him – including Walter Brennan ABOVE in a serious role as Audie Murphy’s Father

Jay Silverheels has a small but important role as an Indian Chief.

It is quite striking just how much action was in this 80 Minute Western – it’s great to see the story unfold at such a stirring pace.

The action just never lets up

Audie of course wins the love of his leading lady and it all works out well in the end.

Very enjoyable – and What a Cast !!

Quite few years after this Audie Murphy was killed in a light plane crash in 1971

May 31— Audie Murphy, the nation’s most‐decorated hero of World War II, and five other men were found dead today in the wreckage of their light plane near the summit of a craggy, heavily wooded mountain 12 miles northwest of here.

A search party guided by a hovering State Police helicopter struggled up the rugged north west slope of 3,065‐foot Brush Mountain and reached the partly burned twin‐engine Aero Commander at 4:40 P.M., three hours after a Civil Air Patrol search plane had located the wreckage.

The bodies of the victims— three found in the plane’s crumpled fuselage and three amid strewn wreckage—were carried down the mountain on stretchers and taken to the morgue at Roanoke Communi ty Hospital.

Dr. Walter Gable, deputy chief medical examiner for the state of Virginia, said tonight that there was no doubt about the identity of the victims. But he added that positive certifica tion of the identities would have to await detailed examina tions tomorrow.

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BELOW In happier times – Audie Murphy was very much a family man

Stars at Home in Hollywood 2

Much decorated War Hero Audie Murphy at home in the San Fernando Valley – with wife Pam and son Terry. He had been previously married to actress Wanda Hendrix although only briefly – then he married Airline Stewardess Pam in 1951 and they remained together until he died. They had two children.

Pamela Murphy, widow of WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, died peacefully at her home
on April 8, 2010 at age of 90.

Audie Murphy and Family

Audie Murphy with his Wife and Two Sons – Above

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