As good a Western as it is, "Night Passage" was filmed under quite unfortunate circumstances. The primary disaster involved the breakup of James Stewart (my favorite actor) and director Anthony Mann, who suddenly walked off the picture very early in production. Apparently the cast and crew knew about Stewart's and Mann's parting of ways and simply wished to get the picture over with. And according to Jack Elam, who played one of the bad guys named Shotgun, the miserable weather in Durango, Colorado caused delays in the filming and subsequently some pretty hot tempers.
Nevertheless, "Night Passage" is a good Western about an itinerant musician named Grant McLaine (Stewart), who is hired by railroad tycoon Ben Kimball (Jay C. Flippen) to defend the payroll train against Whitey Harbin (Dan Duryea) and his gang. It so happens that one of the outlaws is McLaine's brother, known as the Utica Kid (Audie Murphy). Stewart and Murphy do a very fine job together in this Western, and the casting of Duryea as the head villain is so great it is quite laughable. One particular author pointed out that Duryea gives one of his whiniest performances in "Night Passage," and he is correct.
The best thing about this film is that it offers Stewart the opportunity to play the accordion, which he did in real life, and sing. The three tunes that he performs in this movie are "Sweet Betsy from Pike," "Follow the River," and "You Can't Get Far Without a Railroad." His singing is fine, but his accordion playing is obviously faked, and for myself, this is a major disappointment. Watch how brilliantly Stewart handles a rifle in "Winchester '73" (1950) or how accurately he handles the slide positions on a trombone in "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954). These two examples reveal the authenticity of Stewart's handling of various objects on film, as if he had used them all his life. Hence I am at a complete loss to understand why Stewart could not be equally as authentic with the accordion, an instrument he had played since he was a boy. Fortunately, I do not allow this disappointment to prevent me from enjoying the three songs.
"Night Passage" did not receive the greatest reviews, and it is certainly not James Stewart's most popular Western. But it is still a good one, with beautiful scenery, shoot-'em-up action, a lively dance sequence, and pleasant music.
Nevertheless, "Night Passage" is a good Western about an itinerant musician named Grant McLaine (Stewart), who is hired by railroad tycoon Ben Kimball (Jay C. Flippen) to defend the payroll train against Whitey Harbin (Dan Duryea) and his gang. It so happens that one of the outlaws is McLaine's brother, known as the Utica Kid (Audie Murphy). Stewart and Murphy do a very fine job together in this Western, and the casting of Duryea as the head villain is so great it is quite laughable. One particular author pointed out that Duryea gives one of his whiniest performances in "Night Passage," and he is correct.
The best thing about this film is that it offers Stewart the opportunity to play the accordion, which he did in real life, and sing. The three tunes that he performs in this movie are "Sweet Betsy from Pike," "Follow the River," and "You Can't Get Far Without a Railroad." His singing is fine, but his accordion playing is obviously faked, and for myself, this is a major disappointment. Watch how brilliantly Stewart handles a rifle in "Winchester '73" (1950) or how accurately he handles the slide positions on a trombone in "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954). These two examples reveal the authenticity of Stewart's handling of various objects on film, as if he had used them all his life. Hence I am at a complete loss to understand why Stewart could not be equally as authentic with the accordion, an instrument he had played since he was a boy. Fortunately, I do not allow this disappointment to prevent me from enjoying the three songs.
"Night Passage" did not receive the greatest reviews, and it is certainly not James Stewart's most popular Western. But it is still a good one, with beautiful scenery, shoot-'em-up action, a lively dance sequence, and pleasant music.