Duel on the Mississippi (1955) User Reviews (10)

DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI (William Castle, 1955) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 27 April 2014]

Well, I have had to go back on my word one more time with respect to non-Horror films by the director incorporated both as part of my centenary tribute to him and my Epic Easter marathon; given its riverboat/gambling/Old South backdrop, I had mentally classified this as more of a Western but, looking at stills from it and checking out its plot line, the sight of swordfights and the mention of piracy sure changed my mind! Anyway, the addition of the film to my schedule had its downside as well, as the gorgeous-looking (albeit TV-sourced) print I watched proved problematic – with the image getting scrambled every once in a while!

The film, then, was a mere 68 minutes in length: indeed, I must say that, had Castle not subsequently embarked upon his Horror career, his reputation would probably never have been made – despite his prolific pre-1958 output; that is not to say that it is bad, but it certainly had routine, journeyman, even cheap (produced by Sam Katzman: enough said!) written all over it – with this in mind, this early phase of his work has not been pursued by avid fans of his Horror efforts nearly enough.

This, again, co-stars Patricia Medina who unsurprisingly begins as an antagonist to hero Lex Barker, only to eventually reform (she is the spirited daughter of the leader of a gang of raiders stealing the sugar from various plantations, one of which is owned by Barker's father John Dehner) and fall for him; interestingly, when the old man is threatened with bankruptcy and a spell in debtors' prison, Barker offers his services as a personal slave to Medina…but also contrives to challenge her hot-headed foreman Warren Stevens (who prides himself on his lethal abilities with a rapier) to a duel which, if killed in, would effectively discharge Dehner from all obligations to Medina! Obviously, he survives (even wounding Stevens himself) – but the two men ultimately settle their score via another face-off, albeit fought by way of a machete!

The film is colourful and enjoyable, but also ordinary and forgettable; the cast helps, with Ian Keith (as Medina's brandy-loving father) relishing his roguish part, as opposed to the humourless villains he was often relegated to playing, a role here filled – quite ably, I might add – by Stevens. As for leading man Barker (who numbered actresses Lana Turner and Arlene Dahl among his five spouses!), he had a pretty continental and varied filmography – which saw him going from Hollywood Tarzan to German Winnetou (aka Old Shatterhand) and various other adventures and thrillers along the way, before prematurely expiring from a heart attack in 1973. Incidentally, thanks to this viewing, I have just added a quintet of the star's vehicles (3 of them Italian costumers!) to my collection...

Pleasing Swashbuckling Riverboat Non-Western!

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 19 June 2018]

To start off with, there are not one but TWO Duels on the Mississippi between hero Lex Barker and villain Warren Stevens, one with rapiers and the other with machetes.

The story takes place around 1820 in Louisiana where they were still using flint lock single shot weapons and rapiers. The Tulane sugar plantation is deep in debt and a $30, 000 note is fast coming due. Their sugar crop is stolen by thieves led by Hugo Marat (Warren Stevens) who is league with ex Jean Lafiite pirate Jacques Scarlett (Ian Keith) and his scheming daughter Lili (Patricia Medina).

Andre Tulane (Lex Barker) catches Lili at the scene of the robbery and an immediate attraction ensues. Scarlett offers to buy the Tulane plantation but Jules Tulane (John Dehner) refuses. The scheming Lili has come into possession of the Tulane note. In order to prevent his ailing father from being sent to debtor's prison, Andre is forced to agree to three years of servitude to Lili. She takes full advantage of the situation riding him to the point of frustration. Following the court proceedings, Andre challenges Hugo, a master swordsman, to a duel. Lili referees the match and manages to save Andre from Hugo' blade.

Andre and his friend fellow plantation owner Rene Lafarge (Craig Stevens) plan a scheme to trap Marat and his bandits. But they are double crossed and Hugo and his gang makes off with Lafarge's sugar crop. Andre and Lafarge trail the bandits to Scarlett's riverboat where a second duel takes place and....................................................................................

Most of the supporting cast speak with thick French accents, the principals do not. Barker, a former Tarzan seems out of place here. Medina as always, is a charming little schemer. Warren Stevens is a formidable villain. Veteran performer Ian Keith almost steals the picture as the roguish ex-pirate.

Director William Castle keeps the story moving in this little 72 minute actioner. With its modest budget, the set pieces are surprisingly good. The plantation (with period costumes) and the riverboat sequences are well done. One of Castle's better efforts.

Better than expected

[Marlburian · 7/10 · 12 April 2022]

I've never been a great fan of Lex Barker Westerns, but DOTM pleasantly surprised me, though I overlook the curiosity of Patricia Medina leading a gang of robbers and the unlikelihood of her relationship with Barker; and there were no surprises about the ending.

But the cinematography was excellent and colourful, and there were a couple of good duels. Barker performed better than in those of his other Westerns that I've seen. It was good to see the dependable John Dehner, aged 40 at the time of the film's release, playing a much older patriarch.

Decent Castle Picture

[Michael_Elliott · 22 September 2018]

Duel on the Mississippi (1955)

** (out of 4)

Plantation owner Andre Tulane (Lex Barker) finds himself in debt to the gambler Lili Scarlet (Patricia Medina) and the two are at each other's throats until one day when Tulane comes to the rescue and soon they are teaming up against some pirates.

William Castle's DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI is another film from the cult director that is mildly entertaining but at the same time it's pretty mediocre as far as its technical qualities. I say that because watching the film you couldn't help but give Castle a little credit since the film was well-made for the most part but there just wasn't enough here to bring the film alive and a lot of blame can go towards the screenplay.

The biggest issue I had with the screenplay is that there was a lot of plot and subplot but very little brains. In fact, the film was so watered down with various characters being introduced that it was very easy to lose track of what was going on. I never really cared about the battle between the two leads and there really wasn't anything happening in the story that kept my attention.

The cast, for the most part is good and Barker gets to show what he could do outside of Tarzan and the jungle. I thought he was pretty good for what the role required. The supporting players were good and that includes Medina. When all is said and done, DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI will appeal to fans of Castle but there's not enough here for most people.

Duel on the Mississippi

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 14 November 2023]

It's Louisiana at the start of the 19th century and sugar is becoming an hugely valuable commodity. The traditional (largely French) plantation owners are trying to capitalise on this crop but so are the inventive pirates who wait til it's all harvested and bagged up, then they pinch it! The leader of these ruthless thieves is "Lili" (Patricia Medina) who, along with her dad "Jacques" (Ian Keith) and sidekick "Hugo" (Warren Stevens) has set her sights on the "Tulane" family. She owns the debt on their land and is determined to force them into ruin. Luckily, that family has an hunky son in "André" (Lex Barker) to whom she takes a shine. She agrees to swap the debt for his indentured servitude and so our adventure of crosses and double crosses begins in earnest. OK, so Barker is easy on the eye but not much of an actor and Medina spends much of the time here wishing she was Maureen O'Hara, but it's got a solid story of greed and revenge before the fairly obvious denouement delivers predictably. It's fairly swiftly paced, there's plenty of action - how often do you see a duel with machetes - and I actually quite enjoyed the hamminess of it all.

Duel on the Mississippi

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 18 January 2024]

In bustling era of 19th-century Louisiana, sugar is as valuable as gold, and pirates like Lili Scarlet (Patricia Medina) will do anything to get it. After robbing Jules Tulane's (John Dehner) estate of his crop, Scarlet takes over Tulane's land debt and forces him to pay or go to prison. In exchange for postponing his debt, Scarlet allows Tulane's son, André (Lex Barker), to work as her servant. When André and Scarlet fall in love, it leads to jealous rage from Scarlet's former paramour, expert swordsman Hugo (Warren Stevens) - and when Hugo looks to raid the Tulane estate again, it is up to André and Scarlet to take him down and save the estate.

River pirates, planters, saloon brawl featuring ladies fighting, gamblers and a sword duel - you get all this in this entertaining little film that is set in an era not normally covered. Lex Barker plays the stalwart hero who becomes Patricia Medina's slave - what a tough proposition- in exchange for suspension of his father's debt and Patricia Medina plays Lili Scarlet, and she's the best thing here- she totally leads in her role. It's a pleasing film with an interesting subject and a strong flavour. There's a vigorous machete fight at the finale.

Castle on old man river.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 1 June 2022]

A colorful bit of silliness takes the viewer to the 1820's old south as it most likely never existed, and dealing with piracy, gamblers, sword fights and little of what resembles history. Looking like a more masculine version of Rita Hayworth with a little bit of Maureen O'Hara thrown in, hot tempered gambling ship proprietor Patricia Medina accepts the services of handsome Lex Barker who wants to prevent his father, John Dehner, from going to debtor's prison.

As her servant, Barker puts up with all sorts of humiliations, mainly from her jealous foreman Warren Stevens, but it's obvious that the rugged Tarzan to be has won this part of the stubborn Medina. It's revealed that pirates are raiding plantation sugar crops, and Barker is determined to catch the culprit, at first suspecting Medina who has ties with Mississippi pirates.

Filled with hokum but enjoyable, this colorful Columbia B adventure was produced by legendary Sam Katzman who tossed out dozens of movies a year and was directed by William Castle several years before he became the master of macabre and the guider of the gimmick, hemming camp classics like "The Tingler" and "13 Ghosts". It's probably more relevant of a film because of that reason than anything that is seen on screen although the cast is handsome and the production striking. But there's hardly anything in the film to make it a classic, so I guess I'll just have to settle for fun but forgettable as my description of what it has to offer.

An Enjoyable Film About a Little Known Historical Period

[robbenn69 · 8/10 · 23 January 2023]

I do not know why so many of the reviews of this film are negative. It is a thoroughly enjoyable film with lots of action. There are so few films whose stories are set in the immediate post-Louisiana Purchase period. The real history behind the story is fairly accurate and, despite some movie-serial tropes, it is well written. I was pleasantly surprised to see the iconic John Dehner affect a Franco-American accent, which would have been the norm for a second generation, Louisiana plantation owner. It also fits that his son, ably played by the handsome and dashing Lex Barker, would have no trace of the same accent, because by that time, English was becoming the norm in New Orleans post Louisiana Purchase. The weapons are accurate to the period, as is the idea that sugar was a rising commodity that Cajun Bayou-Raiders would steal. As in most of the Antebellum South, only a small few wealthy plantation owners would own all the land and slaves, while the rest of the citizenry had to survive as best they could. Now, was the movie a bit unrealistic and trite? Yes, but it is not a documentary! It is a good escapist film that has conflict, swordfights, romance, and light comedy. All the actors were wonderful in their roles, particularly. Ian Keith, who chews up the scenery and steals every scene he is in. Then there is the beautiful, copper-haired Patricia Medina as the apropos named Lili Scarlet. She brings a modern-day, feminist ideal of a woman-in-charge, good at business as well as skilled in wily, feminine charm. I enjoyed this film very much and think you will too. Just do not watch it expecting a Western film or a Documentary, just watch it with popcorn and enjoy.

An usual Sam Katzman production

[searchanddestroy-1 · 11 March 2008]

No surprises from this movie. But a rare one. It Takes on the shores on the Mississippi, with gamblers, land owners, planters, pirates and pistol duels between Lex Barker and the bad guy - I don't remember his name. I have already seen that a thousand times.

Patricia Medina is also foreseeable in this second rate production.

But what could we wait from a Sam Katzman one, even directed by William Castle, no the Castle who will amaze us several years later with his chillers such as Macabre, Tingler, House on the Haunted Hill, Mr Sardonicus, etc...

We can however watch it without boredom.

So stereotyped of the early Hollywood movies

[MovieIQTest · 12 December 2020]

This old movie is so stereotyped predictable, and one scene in this movie is so inevitable to be seen:

She slapped his face angrily>then turned around>then the man she slapped suddenly grabbed her shoulder and turned her around>then forcefully kissed her>then she immediately gave in and kissed him back wholeheartedly.

>At the same time, the romantic music played on to synchronize the scene.

This format had been and has been used thousand times in almost every movies churned out from the Hollywood studios. And this film is no exception.

The other format used thousand times but not related to this particular movie is the scene when a man or a woman picked up the opposite gender and invited her or him to either one's home/apartment/room. They could hardly wait to close the door, and fiercely embraced each other, kissed, groped, or either the man or the woman wildly push the other one to the wall, did the same crazily wild hugging and kissing, the woman might jump onto the man, crossed her legs on the man's waist and kissed him blindly. The next format scene was they either took off their clothes or took off the other one's clothes, and meantime, still kissed non-stop. Then the man will hold the woman in his arms and awkwardly went toward the bedroom, or just pushed the woman onto the floor and started making love to her, while the agitated score played on.....

So what else is new?