Night Passage (1957)

Undescribable Perfection

Pretty Good

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

While no classic, "Night Passage" is a solid Western that tells an entertaining story. Jimmy Stewart stars as Grant McLaine, a disgraced former employee of a rail line who is approached by them once again when they are plagued with a series of payroll robberies. They realize they need to do something different, so they take a chance on him. Grant must deal with a gang of outlaws including the cool and charismatic Utica Kid (played by Jimmy's fellow WWII hero Audie Murphy) and the lively, volatile Whitey Harbin (an amusing Dan Duryea). He also makes friends with a young boy named Joey Adams (Brandon De Wilde of "Shane" fame).Borden Chase wrote the often literate script, based on a story by Norman A. Fox. It's not really anything special, the story, but it's entertaining to follow, with doses of humor, a theme of "good and evil", and an exciting climactic shootout. James Neilson, who mostly worked in television, does a decent job with the direction. As is so often the case with Westerns, it's the widescreen photography of various rural locations that makes the movie really pleasing to look out. It also doesn't hurt to have some lovely ladies on hand: Dianne Foster as "Charlie", and Elaine Stewart as Verna. Jimmy himself wasn't particularly impressed with the script, but took the gig anyway because he was anxious to show off his skills on the accordion (McLaine is toiling away as a musician as the story opens); however, the music ended up being re- recorded by a professional anyway. The score by Dimitri Tiomkin is lovely.There are plenty of familiar, reliable actors present and accounted for: Jay C. Flippen, Herbert Anderson, Robert J. Wilke, Hugh Beaumont, Jack Elam, Paul Fix, Olive Carey (as a helpful old woman named 'Miss Vittles' (!)), James Flavin, Donald Curtis, and Ellen Corby, among others. Jimmy is good, and Audie is fun as the "funny" outlaw. De Wilde is extremely appealing as the kid.Sadly, Stewart and original planned director Anthony Mann had a falling out, with Mann walking off the picture and the actor & filmmaker never working together again; this is what led to Neilson being hired.Seven out of 10.

Ex-railroad man James Stewart agrees to take a railroad payroll, concealed on his person, to the end of the line and ends up tangling with a gang of train-robbers led by loopy Dan Duryea (who's excellent in this), along with the charismatic Audie Murphy and Jack Elam.Night Passage is a prime example of straight-foreword storytelling on a healthy budget. This is really one handsome production, with fantastic sets and locations. It takes a little time to get started but it's always solid and the exciting, action-packed final act is about as suspenseful as it gets.Jimmy Stewart, Audie Murphy, and especially Dan Duryea are all great. I don't know what the rub was about casting Murphy. He's alright in this. Also giving a good performance is young actor Brandon de Wilde, who's probably best known as the kid from Shane.

Somewhat obscure and unheralded,NIGHT PASSAGE is not one of James Stewart's better known westerns.It apparently was not a particularly pleasant production either,with Stewart's long time directorial collaborator Anthony Mann resigning his post early on after concerns over the script and main co-star (Audie Murphy).It is very sad and regrettable that relations between Mann and Stewart never recovered over the various disputes and rifts,and the two reportedly never spoke again.A shame as this cinematic partnership usually produced some very impressive results,especially in the western genre (WINCHESTER 73 and THE MAN FROM LARAMIE being the best of them).With such friction behind the scenes,how does replacement James Neilson manage? The answer is in fact not too badly,though Neilson clearly lacks Mann's cinematic style and depth,and directs in an efficient if straightforward manner.NIGHT PASSAGE's main asset is it's striking colour photography by William Daniels,with some Colorado locations shown to spectacular effect.Along with the ever-reliable Stewart,there are many familiar western character actors involved such as Paul Fix,Jay C.Flippen,Robert J.Wilke,Jack Elam and Chuck Roberson,though Mann's concerns over the script are justified in some aspects as the story (about a stolen payroll from a train) ,dialogue and characterisations are mostly mundane and unremarkable,though the above-mentioned cast and scenery at least manage to keep interest to a decent level.Juvenile Brandon De Wilde's role here is nowhere as notable as it was in the classic SHANE four years earlier,and Dan Duryea overplays his hand as the main villain involved.Audie Murphy appears as Stewart's younger brother and Duryea's partner in crime,and actually acquits himself rather well.An underrated actor (not least by absent director Mann himself),Murphy's underplaying carries far more menace than Duryea's amplified histrionics,though in the end he turns good again and works alongside his elder brother Stewart in a fairly well-staged gunfight finale. Jimmy Stewart also has an opportunity to show his real-life prowess on the accordion throughout the film (although it was allegedly dubbed over by someone else afterwards), and vocalise as well,which he does adequately if nothing else.The title itself seems rather ambivalent and unclear,and aspects of the plot pre-date a similar storyline (about sibling relations and inter-conflicts) in a western Stewart made 11 years later with Dean Martin (BANDOLERO!).NIGHT PASSAGE has certain points of merit,but is not as memorable or notable as you would usually expect from a James Stewart western.One can only speculate how more conspicuous the final result could have been had Anthony Mann ironed out his concerns and differences with the script,Murphy,and Stewart himself;the world of cinema was a poorer place after their parting of the waves.RATING:6 and a half out of 10.

With "Night Passage", you get Jimmy Stewart uncharacteristically playing an accordion and singing a few songs, and Audie Murphy in another one of his baby face villain roles. You also have Dan Duryea in a co-starring effort, but you have to wonder if he might have been hard of hearing during filming. He shouts every single one of his lines except one, as I was so curious about his over the top manner that I started to keep track. It actually distracted me at times because I kept wondering why he was yelling all the time.I also had to wonder why Jimmy Stewart appeared to be out of breath after his first encounter with villain Concho (Robert J. Wilke) while saving young Joey (Brandon De Wilde) from a thrashing. At fifty one, perhaps he wasn't in as good shape as he should have been to be riding horses and chasing down bad guys.As for the story, it's fairly formulaic with Stewart and Murphy as brothers on opposite sides of the law, a theme done countless times in Westerns. There's not much new to add here either, and as I've noted earlier, Murphy doesn't have the face to be taken seriously as a villain, the same being true for his portrayal as gunman Gant in the 1959 film "No Name On The Bullet". Try picturing Roy Rogers as a bad guy. See, it just doesn't work.It was cool to see veteran Jack Elam as part of the Whitey Harbin gang, and whenever I see Hugh Beaumont in a non-Ward Cleaver role I have to wonder what the 'Beav' is up to. Not a bad film, with some great Colorado scenery on display, but truthfully, the most emotion this got out of me was seeing Grant McLaine's (Stewart) accordion go up in flames. That was hard for this Polish boy.Say, here's something to wonder about. As Miss Charlotte (Dianne Foster) pines for The Utica Kid (Murphy) throughout the film, and she finally gets to hear that he wants to marry her, why isn't she all torn up with the way the gun battle plays out? And brother Grant just moves right in?Ready for another good brother/bad brother match up with a railroad theme? Try 1949's "The Last Bandit" with Wild Bill Elliott and Forrest Tucker. No accordions in that one though, you'll have to hum.