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 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.