Wo der Wind stirbt

Two Yvonnes (De Carlo) are better than one. Always. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. R.K.O. strikes gold in this dark western set somewhere in Northern California, sometime before the land was tamed by the U.S. government. The trio of Miss De Carlo (the fiery one), Cornel Wilde and Raymond Burr spend a good chunk of the running time of this movie chasing after the five desperadoes who have slaughtered one of the Yvonnes (the demure one) and her grandparents. Her son survives. Barely. In discovering the massacre at the farmhouse, Wilde's character catches a bad case of revenge and sets his sights on the perpetrators of those bad deeds. The police--Burr and Anthony Caruso--are ineffective. They always seem to show up a couple of heartbeats too late. The film does nothing to dissuade someone from uttering: "you can never find a cop when you need one." The scenery is fabulous. When Wilde marches off the lush greenery of the mountain's downslope and ascends the glacier in pursuit of the last bad guy, we know he has crossed the line into madness, He is out of control. Lawless. The ending is wrapped up in a satisfying manner. But the title (Passion) bothers me. I'm changing it to Obsession. And I'm sticking to it.

A Rare Technicolor Film from RKO and A-List Cinematographer John Alton.

Directed by Allan Dwan whose Filmography is said to be in the 4-Digits...Wow.

This is a Brisk Revenge Plot,

with Cornel Wilde Hunting for the Brutal Gang who Murdered His Family and Burned Down Their House.

It's a Greedy Range-War Thing, Taking Place in "Old-California" (Mexican Control)

Wilde is a Stiff Leading Actor who Requires an Acquired Taste. Yvonne De Carlo is Tasty Times Two.

Playing the Tomboyish Sister of Wilde's Wife and Wilde's Wife.

The Third-Act is on a Glacier with a Side Like the Great Pyramid that Alton Uses to Advantage as an Off-Beat "Western" Locale.

The Down-Ballot Cast is Deep with Lon Chaney Jr., and Raymond Burr along with some other Rugged Faces.

Wilde's "Death Wish" seems "Justified",

especially since the Local Law is Unable or Unwilling to do Diligence.

The Color, Cast, and the Look Deliver the Movie to Slightly Above Average,

in the Wagon-Load of 50's Westerns.

The Down-Side is the Typical Mid-Century Hollywood Struggles with Mexican Accents,

and the Culture South of the Border.

Worth a Watch.

In Hollywood, you had the collaboration - partnership - between Budd Boetticher and Harry Joe Brown for a western films series starring Randolph Scott, and besides you also had a partnership between Allan Dwann and producer Benedict Bogeaus for a series of adventures films, westerns and even science fiction, around ten. All good little effective features, fast paced, with plenty of suspense and professional directing and acting. This one is gritty, full of action, one of the best of the Dwann - Bogeaus material. A taut revenge scheme, with at long last a co starring between Yvonne De Carlo and Cornel Wilde. At long last. A perfect delicious combination.

1954's "Passion" was a Benedict Bogeaus Western shot under the more effective title "Where the Wind Dies," one of the later efforts for veteran director Allan Dwan. Yvonne De Carlo plays two sisters but the lead is Cornel Wilde as Juan Obreon, returning to the California ranch of Gaspar Melo (John Qualen) to find that his sweetheart Rosa has given birth to a son. Rosa is not the wildcat that sister Tonya is, but wedding plans go awry once greedy landowner Don Domingo (Richard Hale) decides to forego his ancestral promises and charge a hefty fee to all the nearby families. Gaspar refuses to give in and leave so four hired bandits shoot him down, along with his wife and daughter Rosa, but not before she successfully hides her baby in a safe spot. Juan returns to find the ranch destroyed by fire, going on the rampage against the quartet in the belief that his newborn son was among the victims, each one granted a man on man showdown with knives, while harried Captain Rodriguez (Raymond Burr) is forced by the governor to pursue his old friend Obreon for the sake of 'justice.' It's rather a shame that Lon Chaney's Castro is the first to go, killed once he rats out his cohorts in crime and produces a second knife that seals his doom. This was actually the last time that the 48 year old Chaney would face off against a younger foe, the film's highlight at the half hour mark, each man slashing at the other in a genuine tour de force that could have lasted even longer. It may have been intended as another typical henchman role but the bruising actor outshines the other villains with his most enduring screen battle since John Payne in 1949's "Captain China." The film loses momentum as it continues, none of Obreon's other targets developed to the same degree as Chaney, and the finale in the High Sierras is marred by obvious studio shots, particularly with Raymond Burr and Anthony Caruso. What could have been an exceptional Western simply winds down the vengeance trail in predictable fashion, the hero saved by a dying confession to start a new life with Tonya and his newborn son. A passable diversion but nothing more, best for fans of Lon Chaney and Yvonne De Carlo.

Cornel Wilde's role in Passion is something that Tyrone Power might have done or Cornel himself might have done at 20th Century Fox when they were both there. Of course had it been done at Fox, Darryl Zanuck would have had a better plotted story than RKO did.

Wilde is a vaquero who has impregnated Yvonne DeCarlo and she's got a surprise for him when he returns from a roundup. She's got a bundle of joy for him and they're not married. But Wilde is going to do right by her.

Sad to say though DeCarlo's family is involved in a range feud with a local Don who sends riders to burn out who he considers squatters. They kill DeCarlo and her grandfather John Qualen.

They don't get DeCarlo's twin sister, also played by DeCarlo. She rides for Wilde and he gets there too late. But like Gregory Peck in The Bravados and Steve McQueen in Nevada Smith, Wilde's a man with a mission.

For reasons I don't understand the local law who is played by Raymond Burr won't arrest Lon Chaney, Jr. after she identifies his voice as one of the riders. It's a pretty lame excuse for Burr not doing his duty. Of course Wilde's duty is clear.

Later on Burr does in fact catch up with Wilde, but allows him to escape and then he tracks Wilde as Wilde tracks the bad guys. Again his reasons are rather lame.

Wilde tracks the last of the bandits to the snow clad Sierra Mountains and the cinematography here is pretty good. RKO spent a bit more here than they normally do.

There's a lot of similarity to Wilde's dashing Californio to Tyrone Power's The Mark of Zorro. Wilde is good, but he should have had a better story.