Canyon Passage (1946)

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This excellent , meaty Western contains interesting plot ,thrills , brawls , shoot'em up and is quite entertaining . A great Western with some impressive action and spectacular scenario .It deals with businessman Logan Stuart (Dana Andrews) who falls for Lucy who happens to be the fiancee of his friend , banker/gambler Camsrose (Brian Donlevy) . Then Logan is torn between his love of two very different women (Susan Hayward , Patricia Roc) in 1850's Oregon and his loyalty to his friend who gets into money troubles . There is also a nasty villain called Bragg (Ward Bond) who takes on Logan and a thrilling battle against Indians . Every Exciting Character ! Every dangerous moment ... Rip-roaring Western set in Oregon territory , Portland , 1856 . Moving Western including colorful exteriors , fist-fight between Dana Andrews and Ward Bond as well as a pulsating and violent Indian raid and tuneful melodies . Adding some unforgettable scenes as the building a house carried out the neighborhood similarly many years later in ¨Witness 1985 by Peter Weir . Dana Andrews delivers a sober acting as a former scout turned store owner . Brian Donlevy gives a fine interpretation as a compulsive gambler friend who goes over the line. Hoagy Carmichael that appears as a top-hatted role aptly named Linnet , chirping some songs that include the memorable Buttermilk sky . Carmichael serves as the wandering ministrel to the action . Support cast is frankly excellent , such as : Fay Holden , Andy Devine , Stanley Ridges ,Onslow Stevens , Rose Hobert , Chief Yowlachie , Ray Teal and Lloyd Bridges .Sensitive as well as catchy score by maestro Frank Skinner , including four songs sung by Carmichael . Strikingly filmed in color by Edward Cronjager . Being lavishly produced by Walter Wanger and associate producer : Alexander Golitzen , a prestigious production designer . Based on the homonymous novel by Ernest Haycox , the picture was well directed by Jacques Tourneur who was best known for his horror films .The underrated filmmaker Jacques Tourneur , though the present-day he is better considered , he was a prolific craftsman who directed some masterpieces . Jacques directed all kinds of genres , such as Terror : ¨Curse of demon¨, ¨I Walked with a Zombie¨, ¨Leopard man¨ , ¨Cat people¨, ¨Comedy of terrors¨ ; Film Noir :¨Out the past¨, ¨Berlin express¨, ¨Experiment perilous¨ , ¨Nightfall¨ and Adventure : ¨The giant of Marathon¨ , ¨Tombuctú¨, ¨Martin the gaucho¨ , ¨Anne of the Indians¨ and ¨The flame and the arrow¨.In Western genre he made 5 films : This masterpiece titled ¨Canyon passage¨(1946) , ¨Star in my Crown¨(1950) , ¨Stranger on horseback¨, also with Joel McCrea , ¨Wichita¨(1955) with Joel McCrea as Wyatt Earp formerly to OK Corral duel and ¨Great day in the morning¨ with Robert Stack dealing with facing Union and Confederation . He finally directed episodes of ¨Norhwest passage¨ (1958) titled Frontier Rangers , Fury River and Mission of danger . Rating : 7.5/10 , Well worth watching

While at RKO Pictures, French expatriate Jacques Tourneur directed three low budget horror films for producer Val Lewton: "Cat People" (1942), "I Walked With A Zombie" and "The Leopard Man." (1943). All three are still considered to be classics of their kind. In 1947, he directed "Out Of The Past" starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas. So by rights, "Canyon Passage" should have been a superior Western. It had everything in its favour, a very good director, a top-notch crew and a script based on a novel by Ernest Haycox which was adapted for the screen by Ernest Pascal. The photography was by veteran Hollywood cameraman Edward Cronjager. Frank Skinner wrote the music. Singer songwriter and sometime actor, Hoagy Carmichael performed "Ole Buttermilk Sky" in the film that he composed with Jack Brooks and was a big hit in its day. Sadly I found the film a distinct disappointment, let down in great part by the wooden performances of the two male leads: Dana Andrews as Logan Stuart, a merchant cum entrepreneur, and Brian Donlevy as George Camrose, his gambling addicted erstwhile business partner. It's a moot point whether this is the fault of a weak script, an inattentive director or bad acting,but the fact remains "Canyon Passage" is a lesser film because of it. Thankfully, the film manages to rise somewhat above your average 'horse opera' thanks, in no small part to Susan Hayward as Lucy Overmire, George Camrose's fiancee, British emigre, Patricia Roc as Logan's girlfriend, Caroline Marsh, and a strong performance by a stalwart of John Ford's films, Ward Bond. Such solid actors as Lloyd Bridges, Rose Hobart, Stanley Ridges and Halliwell Hobbes, in turn ably supported them. "Canyon Passage" is a modest attempt to portray what life was like on the Oregon Frontier, and is still worth watching.

No need to recap the 1850's Oregon plot since it's pretty complex, anyway.Excellent Western, though the subplots tend to crowd up. The Logan (Andrews), Camrose (Donlevy) friendship is an interesting and offbeat one, especially concerning the lovely Lucy (Hayward). In fact, that subplot is more like a romantic quadrangle once Caroline (Roc) is added to the mix. And what great background scenery with the rolling green hills and far-off snowy peak. Note too, how combat with the Indians is not on horseback, the custom in westerns. Instead, the opposing forces skulk through the forest, a neat kind of eerie effect. And I've seen a lot of Ward Bond movies, but none where his hulking menace is any scarier than here. When he spies the Indian maiden alone and swimming in the lake, my imagination shuddered and ran wild.Underrated Director Tourneur hit his stride about this time with (Out of the Past, {1947}), and (I Walked with a Zombie {1943}, for example. So it's not surprising he would add the brutal but realistic tomahawking of the helpless settlers' wives, a memorable if gruesome feature. Anyway Tourneur tries to keep up the pacing despite the passing romantic interludes, such that we hardly notice the many characters drifting in and out. Low-budget Universal really popped a load for this A-Western, including the cabin raising sequence that's both well- stocked and ironic in view of later events. All in all, I don't know where the canyon of the title was, but I didn't miss it a bit.

Alan Jay Lerner wrote several screenplays so may well have been a movie buff and if he saw this in 1947 he may well have retained subconsciously the title of one of the four Hoagy Carmichael songs that feature, namely I'm Getting Married In The Mornin', only for it to surface some nine years later as the first line of Get Me To The Church On Time from My Fair Lady. There is, in fact a fair lady on hand in the shape of Patricia Roc - provided with the bizarre credit 'introducing', not really apropos given that she'd made twenty something films in England since 1939. There's a second, even fairer lady in the shape of Susan Hayward, cast somewhat against type as a virtually demure bride- to-be (a role, let's face it, better suited to Roc) as opposed to her usually feisty virago. The cast is interesting to say the least with Dana Andrews, Andy Devine, Brian Donleavy, Carmichael, Ward Bond and Llyod Bridges among others. Although he's included most of the classic 'Western' ingredients Tourneur opts to let them simmer on a low light rather than throwing them into a saucepan and turning the heat up. I'm guessing it requires repeated viewings to really appreciate.