Ride Clear of Diablo - Starring Audie Murphy

Remembering The 1954 Universal International Western

Nov 8, 2009 Jeremy Roberts

The 13th film of his career, Ride Clear of Diablo, was released in 1954. Co-starring Dan Duryea, the well-paced western furthered cemented Audie's screen persona.

Released in March 1954 by Universal International, Ride Clear of Diablo was Audie Murphy’s 13th film and 11th starring role. Universal had quickly determined that Audie was best suited in westerns, and Ride Clear of Diablo, his 10th of 34 westerns, is a definitive Audie Murphy western.

Ride Clear of Diablo: The Plot

Ably directed by Jesse Hibbs, who also helmed Audie’s popular 1955 film To Hell And Back, (please click here to read a discussion of that film), Ride Clear of Diablo moves along at a fast clip in its tight 81 minute running time.

The movie opens with cattle rustlers murdering Audie’s father and younger brother. Portraying a railroad surveyor named Clay O’Mara, Audie is away at the time of the killing. He is called into town by the executor of his father’s estate, only to discover that the executor and town sheriff may have something to hide.

Audie Murphy: The Actor

Murphy does not reveal any great acting ability in the film, yet he brings a certain authenticity to his role. Rarely showing excitement, Audie portrayed the cool, calm, and reserved cowboy to the hilt. Most importantly, Audie realized his acting limitations, and the writer, George Zuckerman, created a screenplay that played to Audie’s strengths.

He always looked excellent whenever action scenes were required. In Ride Clear of Diablo, many are to be found, including the great chase sequence when Audie returns a stallion to his rightful owner, and Audie jumping on the executor’s horse, literally fighting in the saddle.

The scenes where Audie demonstrates his fast draw are also entertaining. In fact, it is documented that Audie had one of the fastest draws in Hollywood. Considering his military heroics, that is not surprising in the least.

The outfit that Audie wears, simple by early 1950’s leading man standards, consists of a white long-sleeved shirt with gray pants. Fans of his work will notice that he wore this outfit, or a similar one, in a number of his later 1960s westerns.

Co-Star Dan Duryea: A Memorable Villain

Dan Duryea co-stars as Whitey Kinkade, the villain, who’s not all bad. In his 27-year career, he appeared in approximately 110 movie and television roles. Though most often in secondary roles, he occasionally played the lead. Audiences today may recall Duryea’s many western roles, but he acted in virtually all film genres, including film noirs.

Some of Duryea’s best roles occurred in the James Stewart films Winchester ’73 (1950) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). Two television shows that are syndicated regularly each year are “Mr. Denton on Doomsday,” a 1959 Twilight Zone episode, and “Badge Without Honor” (1960) and “Logan’s Treasure” (1964), two Bonanza episodes he appeared in.

Duryea’s Whitey Kinkade is sadistic in nature, always provoking Audie and gleefully cackling whenever something amuses him, always at the other characters’ expense. Audie is initially sent to arrest him in the town of Diablo, yet Duryea eventually comes to respect Audie’s tenacity, going so far as to save his life on more than one occasion. Any scenes featuring Murphy and Duryea are not to be missed.

The Female Leads, Featuring Susan Cabot

The beautiful raven-haired Susan Cabot, in her last of three films with Audie, has several good scenes as Audie’s leading lady. Another one of Universal’s contract players, Susan eventually grew tired of the roles the studio sent her, eventually making several b-moves with the influential Roger Corman, including 1959’s “The Wasp Woman.”

Ms. Cabot’s scenes with Audie do not come across as stilted, and Audie goes so far as to crack a smile whenever he is in her company.

Abbe Lane is the second romantic lead in the film, and her scenes are strictly meant to be eye-candy, although she does sing an excellent, moody song at the very beginning of the film, before the cattle rustling occurs.

Character Actors Who Went On To Greater Things

Russell Johnson, who will forever be known as “The Professor” on the comedy series Gilligan’s Island, appeared in many westerns at the beginning of his career, mainly for Universal. Generally playing a heavy, he does the same here, not having much to do and acting rather stiff in his delivery.

Two other individuals who went on to achieve fame were character actors Jack Elam and Denver Pyle. Both appeared in hundreds of roles, especially westerns. Here, it is interesting to see both without the full beards they would eventually grow.

Elam, blind in his left eye, was born to play menacing and vicious killers to great effect. He finally had a comedic role in Support Your Local Sheriff starring James Garner. Denver Pyle eventually went on to portray “Briscoe Darling” on The Andy Griffith Show and “Uncle Jessie” on The Dukes of Hazzard.

Ride Clear of Diablo: Final Thoughts

This film was made at a time when there were good guys and bad guys, although Duryea’s character tends to blur that line. With non-stop action that is not gratuitous, no swearing, or sexual situations, Ride Clear of Diablo is recommended for Western fans, or anyone who wants to spend an entertaining hour and a half watching the silver screen.

Released on VHS in 2000, Ride Clear of Diablo is still not available on DVD in the United States as of 2009, although several international releases are floating around. The American Movie Classics (AMC) network occasionally shows this film, sampling a handful of Audie’s films each month.

A petition to get Audie a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom is currently available. Please click here if you would like to sign it.