Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Kidskycom 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.

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

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

ma-cortes 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

LeonLouisRicci Decidedly Offbeat Western with an Innocuous Title but Otherwise a Winner in All Respects. The Stylist Director Tourneur Brings a European Sensibility to the Hollywood Pioneer Picture Mainstay and Makes It Something Special.The Gorgeous Technicolor is a Surprise for Fans Turning to This Genre Piece and There are More Surprises to Come. The Complex Plot with Subplots Galore, the Mixing of the Community with Many Mixed Up Citizens, the Brutal Saloon Fist Fight Complete with Dripping Skull Fractures, the Indian Raids that Show Some Savage Behavior (although in long shot), and There's More.The Score from Frank Skinner Works Quite Well and Hoagy Carmichael is Along for the Ride with His Own Brand of Warbling. Ward Bond Plays a Very Heavy Heavy in One of His Best Villain Roles. The Two Lead Men Dana Andrews and Brian Donlevy Do Nothing to Detract from the Overall Magnificence of the Movie, and Neither Does Susan Hayward Who Looks Beautiful.There are Supporting Players Moving In and Out Featuring Lloyd Bridges and Andy Devine. But it is the Way the Director Frames the Film with Evil Always Lurking on the Edges and His Genuine Auteur Credentials that Put This All Together to Make it Something Quite Special in a Genre that Includes More Mediocrity than Most.

BOUF I was lucky enough to buy a British DVD copy of this little gem - an excellent transfer. Mostly set in the gold-mining town of Jacksonville, Oregon, it's a Technicolor western with a great story, fascinating characters, excellent acting, lovely music, beautiful art direction, costumes and fabulous outdoor scenery. Right from the opening, you get a good feeling of what it was like in Oregon, how people lived and thought; and we're quickly plunged into their lives. Dana Andrews and Susan Hayward are at their best and most beautiful, photographed by Edward Cronjager. Andrews, a scout, turned trader, is not his usual taciturn hero. There's a lightness to him. Susan Hayward's cheeky independence is very appealing, and she looks particularly fresh and beautiful. Patricia Roc, makes her USA movie debut as Dana Andrew's maidenly sweetheart, and Ward Bond is a really scary villain. His menace from his first appearance is palpable I've never seen him photographed to such unnerving effect. Brian Donlevy plays a likable banker, who has a gambling problem, and is accused of murder. Andrews helps him escape a lynch mob, but I'll give no more away. There's even time for a few songs from local minstrel, Hoagy Carmichael. This is director Jacques Tourneur's first western and it seems to me that he brings a very European eye to the production - the overall colouring is ravishing.

Steffi_P The 1940s were a time of transition in the Hollywood movie. This was the age of the film noir, and often those darker, more pessimistic forces were starting to creep into the most unlikely of genre flicks. This being a relatively new phenomenon, often not everyone in the production was on the same wavelength and you could get some odd mismatches of tone. Canyon Passage opens with a town drenched in rain, a sorry-looking figure on horseback weaving his way amid the houses; very different to the usual triumphant ride in from the plains that would kick off your average Western. And yet, this opening is accompanied by very typical, upbeat Western music. Plot-wise, post-production-wise, this is a run-of-the-mill mid-budget horse opera. The only difference is the way it looks.A lot of this is probably down to director Jacques Tourneur. Canyon Passage was one his first features after leaving Val Lewton's horror-orientated B-unit at RKO, and the clinging darkness of the pictures he made there has stayed with him. Lots of directors have habitually used claustrophobic shot compositions, but the form of Tourneur's are eye-catchingly unique, often putting actors up against the edge of the frame or placing very large objects right before the camera. He often fills the foreground but rarely uses actual close-ups. This can have some unusual effects. When Dana Andrews introduces Susan Hayward and Patricia Roc to each other, Andrews is foreground, centre-screen, his back to the camera, with the two ladies framed either side of him. This very odd-looking set-up sticks out, immediately establishing in the mind of the viewer that there will be some kind of rivalry between the women, doing so with greater impact than a more typical shot would provide. This is perhaps Tourneur's greatest asset – being able to give a very stylised look to the whole picture but still making the key individual moments stand out. This is, I guess, very much a cornerstone of good horror direction as well.And despite the focus on cramped interiors and dismal towns, Canyon Passage does not neglect that outdoors that is quintessential to the Western genre. Whilst we don't see much of the open plains, this is in fact one of the most beautiful depictions of the mountains and pine forests of the West. Normally the baroque stylings of a director such as Tourneur don't really suit the Western, but the screenplay of Canyon Passage is so bland, its cast so unremarkable (the only standouts being the coolly dramatic Hayward, the loveably dismal Hoagy Carmichael and the sheer oddity of seeing Ward Bond play a villain) that this is one way of making it worth watching. This could never really have been a masterpiece, but its fresh and engaging appearance raises it above the average.