NIGHT PASSAGE: Blu-ray (Universal-International, 1957) Kino Lorber

When James Stewart and director, Anthony Mann parted company after a heated dispute, Universal Studios did not lose interest in Stewart keeping alive the western milieu that had, by 1957, become a main staple in the actor’s career. Stewart, the congenial ‘every man’, who had first come to Hollywood in the mid-1930’s as MGM’s latest male ingenue, usually to play second fiddle to their more studly stable of male stars, had, by the mid-fifties, evolved that limiting persona into a varied career; usually, playing complicated leading men with hidden ‘anger management’ issues. These were to be fully explored by Mann in their first western collaboration, Winchester ’73 (1950).  Indeed, by the end of the decade, Mann and Stewart had conspired on five of the greatest westerns ever made. Largely due to Mann’s tutelage, Stewart had reinvented himself as a complex actor’s actor. Initially, Mann was slated to direct Stewart in Night Passage (1957) when a creative rift between star and director put a distinct period to their fruitful alliance. In his wake, the studio extended ‘authorship’ on this latest project to James Neilson whose prolific work on the small screen (he directed episodes of TV shows, Adam-12, Ironside, Walt Disney's Wonderful World, Bonanza, Batman, Zorro, The Rifleman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents) did not translate altogether into a successful, if nevertheless ‘expansive’ western saga, shot in the then new-fangled widescreen process of Technirama. 
In the early 1950’s, Technicolor struggled to maintain its supremacy. No longer the only process by which color movies could be photographed, Technicolor’s cumbersome and costly 3-strip method fell out of favor in the cost-cutting post-war decade, buffeted by steep competition from the more cheaply conceived monopack dye-transfer systems developed by Eastman/Kodak and DeLuxe. To compete with these various widescreen processes already on the market – Cinemascope, VistaVision, Todd A-O, Superscope - but also to remain relevant during these changing times, Technicolor launched Technirama. Not unlike VistaVision, Technirama’s film negative ran horizontally rather than vertically through the camera, but with anamorphic lenses employed to further compress the image onto film, thus creating a much wider frame in projection, and, with considerably higher resolution than any of the other competing processes. Unlike VistaVision, Technirama’s aspect ratio of 2.35:1 employed a single-strip Eastmancolor negative, allowed for an optical soundtrack when printed directly onto 35mm 8-perf film. Technicolor also developed the bleach step for its camera negatives, yielding much sharper edge areas than standard Eastmancolor development, resulting in – by far – the most crisply turned out and refined clarity on 35mm anamorphic prints, and, with the added benefit of 4-discrete tracks of magoptical sound.
Night Passage was only the second movie to be photographed in Technirama, and an infinitely worthier subject to show off its width and clarity, capturing the spectacular natural beauty in William H. Daniels’ outdoor cinematography.  Superficially, Night Passage is reminiscent of the aforementioned Stewart/Mann movies. Yet Night Passage, while possessing the pedigree and mantle of quality associated with those previous efforts, is strangely lacking in both staying power and the emotional intensity Mann always infused in his movies. Mann is rumored to have strongly objected over the casting of Audie Murphy to play Stewart’s gun-slinging younger brother, and also, to have vetoed a scene where Stewart was called upon to play the accordion. In hindsight, the latter seems very much a petty squabble, put forth by studio PR ‘damage control’ to explain Mann’s departure from the project, but, in hindsight, not enough to disengage the director. Truer still, Mann and Stewart – although an exceptional alliance on the screen, behind the scenes, frequently bickered over creative license on the set of virtually all their previous efforts. Indeed, Mann did not want to direct Stewart in The Glenn Miller Story (1954) but did, begrudgingly so, as a favor to Stewart, who was passionate about the project. Whatever the reason, Mann bowed out on Night Passage, while Aaron Rosenberg, producer on all the Stewart/Mann collaborations, remained as producer.
Oscar-winning composer, Dimitri Tiomkin was hired to score Night Passage. The Ukrainian-born Tiomkin, of Jewish extraction, also co-wrote two songs with popular Tin Pan Alley songsmith, Ned Washington; ‘Follow the River’ – first heard as an all-encompassing choral under the main titles, and later sung by Stewart, and ‘You Can't Get Far Without a Railroad’ also performed by James Stewart with his ‘squeeze box’. Stewart, a proficient accordion player, having taken up the musical instrument as a child, had his accordion solos re-recorded by a professional – the tracks laid in during post production. Tiomkin, classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia, before moving, first to Berlin, then New York City, and finally, Hollywood, had cut his teeth on film score composition on such iconic westerns as Duel in the Sun (1946), Red River (1948), High Noon, The Big Sky (both in 1952), and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). So, he came to Night Passage well versed in the requirements of generating the necessary tension and excitement for these wide-open spaces, breathtakingly photographed by Daniels. Indeed, utilizing the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado, and Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad K-28 Class steam locomotive #476, Night Passage was as much a Michael Todd-inspired travelogue as a western adventure, set against stark wintery mountain-scapes and eye-popping fall foliage, ravishing turned out in Technicolor and Technirama.  
Night Passage remains something of an oddity in that it cast then legendary western star, Audie Murphy, ostensibly, as the villain; Lee – a.k.a. The Utica Kid. Murphy’s diversity in life extended well beyond the parts he played on celluloid. Actor, songwriter, sharecropper/rancher and, perhaps beyond everything else – soldier – Murphy was one of the most decorated American combatants during WWII, receiving honors not only from the U.S., but also France and Belgium for his heroism. His skill with a gun long ago honed in Hunt County, Texas, using his hunting rifle to help feed his family after the untimely death of his mother, was utilized fully during the war. His Congressional Medal of Honor, at age 19, was as well deserved, as he single-handedly delayed a company of German soldiers at the Colmar Pocket in France, while wounded and out of ammunition. To suggest Audie Murphy was one tough hombre is an understatement. On the set of Night Passage, co-star, Dianne Foster was privy to Murphy’s volatile temper during a scene in which the actor’s mount refused to cooperate. Becoming increasingly perturbed with his willful horse, after several takes had been ruined by the spirited animal’s noncompliance, Murphy dismounted and punched the horse in its snout.  By 1957, Murphy was well beloved by western fans, having embarked upon a lucrative career in the movies at war’s end, and, in his spare time breeding quarter horses as well as becoming a reoccurring participant in the horse-racing circuit. To many, the line between Audie Murphy’s stardom and the man was irreversibly blurred.  Alas, Murphy’s inner demons, inculcated during those terrible years of war, continued to plague him for the rest of his life. He slept with a loaded handgun under his pillow and became addicted to sleeping pills. A man of integrity, he refused offers to partake of commercial endorsements for alcohol and cigarettes, believing this would set a bad example for America’s youth. Tragically, Murphy was killed in a plane crash in 1971, just shy of his 46th birthday. Interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, his grave remains one of the most visited in the nation’s capital.
Night Passage is also noteworthy for its casting of child star extraordinaire, Brandon deWilde as Joey Adams. DeWilde, who made the almost successful transition into adult roles, began his acting career on Broadway at the tender age of 7, becoming the first child actor to win the prestigious Donaldson Award in the critically acclaimed stagecraft, The Member of the Wedding. Recognized and praised by no less an authority than John Gielgud, de Wilde would reprise this role for Fred Zinnemann’s 1952 film adaptation. But it was for Shane (1953) that deWilde will likely forever be etched into our collective consciousness, a performance that easily earned him an Oscar-nomination as Best Supporting Actor – the youngest nominee in Academy history then. Much sought after throughout the 1950’s, deWilde had his own short-lived TV serial, appeared as a guest star on other shows, and, at the age of 14, narrated Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten. He also recorded a recitation of Huckleberry Finn on the album, The Stories of Mark Twain. And it is saying a great deal of deWilde’s screen presence, that he could sincerely hold his own alongside Stewart and Murphy in Night Passage, in hindsight, a transitional piece to mark his foray into teenage roles, such as the adolescent father in Blue Denim (1959). DeWilde oft joked that his soft ‘pretty’ looks prevented his being taken seriously as a strapping young buck, destined for major roles, and even suggested he might retire from acting altogether until the age of 40, by which time he was certain age would have sufficiently weathered his visage to be considered for leading man parts. He also possessed aspirations to be a songwriter. Wed twice before the age of 28, deWilde continued to turn up in cameos on TV and supporting roles in the movies, his career and life tragically cut short in 1972 when he was killed in an auto accident in Denver, Colorado after his camper van careened off the highway, struck a guardrail and pinned him to the wreckage. He was only 30-years-old.
Night Passage opens with some truly spectacular vistas in Technirama, Stewart’s Grant McLaine, toting his horse back to a base camp where railroad construction is underway. Learning from his old pal, Clarence Feeney (Paul Fix) that his former boss, railroad tycoon, Ben Kimball (Jay C. Flippen) is eager to engage him for a perilous journey (previously, Grant was fired by Kimball for insubordination), Grant sets out across the open plains to discuss the matter with Kimball further. Along the way, he meets the flirtatious pioneer woman, Miss Vittles (Olive Carey) who offers him both coffee and comfort, and, directs him onto a little-known shortcut through the mountains to expedite his journey. Grant also rescues Joey Adams (Brandon deWilde) from the ruthless, Concho (Robert J. Wilke). Arriving at Kimball’s private railway car, Grant incurs the contempt of Kimball’s right-hand-man, Jeff Kurth (Hugh Beaumont) who suspects Grant harbors deep-seeded affections for the aged Kimball’s young wife, Verna (Elaine Stewart). Kurth also believes Grant deliberately abetted the Utica Kid to slip through their carefully laid trap.
The Kid is part of Whitey Harbin’s (Dan Duryea) gang, most recently responsible for robbing the railroad’s payroll three times. If Kimball’s workers do not receive their vouchers soon, they will mutiny and prevent the railroad construction from progressing.  Very reluctantly, Grant accepts Kimball’s undercover job, to carry the $10,000 payroll back to the work camp. Grant and Joey grow fond of one another on this return journey by train. Alas, Concho resurfaces, as menacing as ever. After the train is held up by Whitey’s men, Grant sneakily conceals the money inside Joey’s shoebox lunch, earlier prepared by Charlotte Drew, who is sweet on the Utica Kid. Knocked unconscious by Concho, Grant regains his composure and pursues Whitey’s gang to an abandoned mining outpost nestled in the mountains. Meanwhile, Joey and Verna have both been taken to Whitey’s lair, held ransom after Whitey’s men are unable to locate the payroll. Crashing Whitey’s party, Grant incurs Concho’s wrath. Nevertheless, Grant pummels Concho in Whitey’s presence and, after Concho attempts to murder him, he shoots Concho dead in an act of self-defense. Because Utica dislikes his more forthright brother, Whitey takes an immediate interest in Grant. Meanwhile, having slipped into the adjacent barn, Charlotte is desperate for Grant to save Utica from himself. Instead, the Kid merely offers to give Grant a ten-minute head start, before he informs on him.
In a gracious whim of fate, railroad employee, Will Renner (Herbert Anderson), Whitey’s ‘inside man’ all along, arrives to collect his share of the payroll heist money. Recognizing Grant, and realizing he cannot be allowed to escape, Renner informs Whitey of Grant’s true intentions. A gunfight ensues. A fire gets started inside the saloon. However, as the lights go out, Grant, Verna, Charlotte and Joey take refuge, prying off the plywood floor boards and slipping undetected from underneath the burning building. Riding to the nearby mining shack, and pursued all the way by Whitey and his posse, Grant sends Verna to safety down the mountain in an ore tram. But Charlie refuses to leave. Meanwhile, Utica is planning to quietly slip away with Joey and the money. Instead, Joey rushes to Grant's side, and Utica reluctantly is forced to protect his elder brother. In short order, Utica picks off Whitey’s gang, one at a time.  Alas, when Whitey manages to get too close to Grant, Utica lunges into the line of fire, fatally shot, but allowing for Grant’s split-second reflexes to gun down Whitey. Sometime later, Grant buries his brother before he and Joey ride back to the railroad’s base camp with the money. At Grant's urging, Joey is employed by Kimball to haul water for the railroad and Grant elects to return to his old job as the railroad’s troubleshooter.
Night Passage is a middling western, mostly to be revered for its gorgeous scenery and penultimate action set piece. James Stewart neither taxes the latitude of his awesome acting proficiency, nor does he expand upon his range of skills, to expose something new about his on-screen persona. The picture also squanders Brandon deWilde’s remarkable genii on a few token scenes of father/son amity that could have been filled by any child star of his vintage. Borden Chase’s screenplay, loosely based on a story by Norman A. Fox, appears to be contented for long stretches to merely rest on the laurels of William H. Daniel’s scenic cinematography: Technirama, the real star of this show.  Dan Duryea is, as always, a dreadful baddie. But even his performance in Night Passage seems like a series of snippets and outtakes from bits of business given their fullest girth in psychotic exploration elsewhere. The women in Night Passage are all token offerings at best; the stiff-as-petrified-wood, Elaine Sharpe, looking totally artificial in her dyed platinum stresses.  In the last analysis, Night Passage is an undeniably handsome production, prematurely felled by its pedestrian script and James Neilson’s enfeebling direction. While there is much of nature’s serene splendor on display here, enough to fill the eye with masterful compositions befitting a Cinerama travelogue, there is precious little drama or action to sustain renewed interest in the picture as anything better than a passable western.
Night Passage arrives on Blu-ray via Kino Lorber’s alliance with Universal Home Video. For the most part, the results herein are extremely impressive. Colors are fully-saturated and utterly beautiful, showing off William Daniel’s cinematography to its very best advantage. While several shots exhibit minor hints of color fading, overall, the steadfast color fidelity of the Technirama process is miraculously preserved. What I find unacceptable is the intermittent edge enhancement, not a part of the original production, but so obviously a scourge of Uni’s short-sighted hi-def mastering. Honestly, by now, such untoward tinkering on film-based materials ought to have become antique. Perhaps, Uni is cribbing from digital files derived earlier for the DVD release of Night Passage. But I doubt it. The master is clean and largely free of age-related artifacts. So, some clean-up has been performed. If only Uni could get their act together and realize half-ass mastering is not doing anyone any favors. On the whole, the aforementioned edge effects are not egregiously represented. But they are present, and obvious – shimmering of fine details, and a few long shots of the breathtaking mountain landscapes, engulfed in a blurry hazy. Badly done! The original Westrex mono audio has been well-preserved herein, and sounds, magnificent. Kino has shelled out for a new audio commentary by Toby Roan. Personally, I felt this one was extremely short on facts and very much an opinion-based puff piece with a few IMDB factoids thrown in. Basically, a waste of your time. Bottom line: Night Passage is a B-grade western, tricked out in A-list trappings that ranks about a B+ in terms of its video mastering. Judge and buy accordingly.
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
3
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS

1 

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