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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