Bitter Creek (1954)

Storyline

In a film incorrectly reported as Bill Elliott’s last starring western, “Bitter Creek” (released in March of 1954 carrying 16843 as the PCA number) falls a tab bit short of that as it was followed by “The Forty-Niners”, (released two months later on May 9, 1954 with 16874 as the PCA number), but the correctly-reported absence of production values is duly noted. As Clay Tindall (Bill Elliott as Wild Bill Elliott), comes to a town in a search for the killer of his brother and quickly becomes unpopular with the townspeople who are unwillingly but submissive subjects to the whims of local cattleman Quentin Allen (Carleton Young) and his motley gang of hired hands and henchies. At the end, Elliott is given a typical line from his Columbia and Republic days that indicates that killing for revenge isn’t admirable or the right thing to do, although he has just finished a rather thorough job of doing just that.