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This is the Western that director Anthony Mann backed away from, claiming that the script was too weak. Was he justified in doing so? How does "Night Passage" measure up when compared with the Mann Westerns? Is it as good?

Let's look at the positives first. The scenery, filmed in the Colorado Rockies, is magnificent, on a par with the best of Mann's Westerns. As for action, there is plenty of it, climaxed with a great shootout. The cast is experienced, many of them veterans from previous Mann efforts. No big difference here.

Audie Murphy stands tall as the Utica Kid. He is introduced to the screen dramatically, framed against the sky dressed all in black as he pulls up his horse to look down upon the train that will soon be relieved of its precious cargo. Back at the outlaw hideaway, he sits back in quiet amusement as he goads mercurial boss Whitey Harbin (Dan Duryea), knowing how far he can push and when to back away. Definitely the most interesting character.

However, "Night Passage" falls down in two very important areas, the treatment of the leading man and the strength of the overall script.

Mann's heroes are emotionally scarred, bordering on hysteria and total breakdown before finally getting the upper hand. James Stewart's Grant McLaine never comes close to reaching that point, even though he has plenty of things to fret about; his brother is an outlaw, he lost his job with the railroad after helping his brother escape and he can't find another job. He contents himself playing the accordion and singing for small change and we can never really get the feel of his deep resentment.

Mann's Westerns are lean and taut, with no superfluous dialog and no wasted scenes. Director James Nielson, on the other hand, gets sidetracked, allowing himself to engage in the kind of tomfoolery that director John Ford was sometimes wont to do. At the railroad camp, workers, who we never see working, dance to McLaine's accordion playing until that degrades into a wild free-for-all. Ford could pull off this kind of thing; Nielson is less successful.

To sum up and answer the question, this Western doesn't quite measure up to those of Mann's, but it's not bad either. It can be enjoyed as entertainment as long as one doesn't look for great character depth. Whether Anthony Mann could have made it something more will forever be a matter of conjecture.

this is a terrific film with a terrific cast and an outstanding score by dmitri tiomkin who composed for many films, many of them western: high noon, the alamo.. the film tells of two brothers, one honest, one outlaw, who separate and cross paths later, on both sides of the law..one look at the cast and you know who's what..the plot is somewhat moralistic, as it includes a juvenile who is shown the right and wrong paths in life..today, it would be cliche: no gratuitous gore, sex, language, chases, crashes and few screams..i guess this is what would be known as an adult film, because only adults (who remember these actors) would appreciate how things were done in the '50s..and more's the pity; in those days, less was more..an audience could enjoy one gunshot, one smile, one look and not get as bored as audiences do today when they see schwarzenegger, stallone, seagal, norris, etc., then ask gee, i wonder what he'll do next time that's better? even in the '50s, many films had class, today, it's all kitsch and glitz..thank god films last forever..

"Night Passage" is one of a series of westerns made by the venerable James Stewart for Universal in the 50's and 60's. This one is directed by James Neilson rather than Anthony Mann but is nonetheless an above average western.

Grant McLaine (Stewart) has been wondering from place to place over the past five years earning his living by singing songs and playing the accordion. McLaine had been fired by the railroad for appearing to have helped his outlaw brother, The Utica Kid (Audie Murphy) escape justice five years earlier. The railroad is being robbed of their payrolls by Whitey Harbin (Dan Duryea) and his gang. Railroad boss Kimball (Jay C. Flippen) rehires McLaine to guard the next payroll. Along the way McLaine learns that the Utica Kid is a part of Whitey's gang.

McLaine befriends a boy, Joey (Brandon DeWilde) as he is being chased by surly villain Concho (Robert Wilke). Later, the train on which they are traveling is held up by the gang and Kimball's wife Verna (Elaine Stewart) is taken captive. After being pistol whipped by Concho, McLaine recovers and trails the gang to their hideout. There he poses as the person bringing the ransom money while meeting up with his brother. Will blood be thicker than water? You'll have to wait until the final showdown.

The film is beautifully photographed and the railroad setting provides for many scenic moments. The Stewart character doesn't quite have the edge that he would have had in a Mann film, however ANY film with James Stewart is worth your time. Murphy playing in an rare "A" level movie does okay as the all in black gunfighter. Duryea is at his usual sneering slightly mad best as the chief villain.

Of the supporting players, Olive Carey (widow of Harry Carey) has a delightful bit as a muleskinner named Miss Vittles. Dianne Foster appears as Murphy's girl, "Charlie" and Paul Fix and Ellen Corby are hilarious as the Feeneys. In addition to Wilke, Duryea's gang includes Jack Elam and Chuck Roberson. For nostalgic TV fans Herbert Anderson (Dennis the Menace) and Hugh Beaumont (Leave It To Beaver) have small roles as well.

Worth your while.

As many Western fans know, Night Passage was all set up to be the sixth genre collaboration between director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart. After a run of successful and genre defining "adult" Westerns, the prospect of another was mouth watering to the genre faithful. The promise of something good was further boosted by the names of others involved in the project. The screenplay is written by Borden Chase (Red River/Winchester '73), cinematographer was William H. Daniels (The Far Country), the score is from Dimitri Tiomkin (High Noon/Giant) and joining Stewart in the cast are Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Jay C. Flippen, Jack Elam & the wee lad from Shane, Brandon De Wilde. That's some serious Western credentials. But sadly Mann was to bail at the last minute, the reason(s) given vary depending on what source you believe.

It's thought that Mann was unimpressed with Chase's screenplay, feeling it lacked a cutting edge (as reportedly so did Stewart). The casting of Murphy was also said to be a bone of contention to the talented director, while it has simply been put down to him having other commitments (he had both The Tin Star & Men in War out in 1957). Either way, Mann was out and the film was never going to be better for that situation (sadly Mann & Stewart fell out over it and never worked together again). In came TV director James Neilson and the film was wrapped and released with mixed commercial results. Yet the film still remains today rather divisive amongst the Western faithful, due in the main one feels, to that Mann spectre of potentially a better film hanging over it.

Night Passage is a good enough genre offering, but the plot is slight and the story lacks the dark intensity that Mann, one thinks, would have given it. The story follows an overly familiar tale about two brothers (Stewart/Murphy), one bad, one good. A story from which Chase's screenplay holds no surprises, it is in truth pretty underwhelming writing. With the actual core relationship of the brothers lacking any emotional depth. However, there's more than enough visually here to offset the standard plotting and make this a very enjoyable experience. Shot in Technicolor's short-lived "Technirama" process, the widescreen palette pings once the cameras leave the back lot and goes off into the mountains of Colorado.

Trains are the order of the day here, as Chase adapts from a story by Norman A. Fox, it's the train that becomes the central character, deliberate or not. As the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway snakes its way thru the gorgeous terrain, it's that image one takes away, not anything that the thinly scripted characters have done. Still, in spite of its literary flaws, Neilson shows himself to be competent with the action set pieces, of which there are quite a few. While Stewart is as reliable as ever, even getting to play an accordion (a hobby of his since childhood) and sing a couple of chirpy tunes. Of the rest, Dianne Foster leaves a good impression as the Utica Kid's (Murphy) girlfriend and Murphy himself does solid work with his cheeky grin, slick hair and black jacketed attire that shows Utica to be something of a suspicious character.

Good but not great in writing and thematics, but essential for Western fans with big TV's. 6.5/10

Jimmy Stewart made some wonderful Westerns in the late 1940s and through the 50s. Compared the the average Western of the time, they had rather complex and featured non-traditional plots. As a rule, I actually hate the formulaic Western, as they have absolutely nothing new to offer and are just too derivative to be taken seriously. While this movie does have some new plot devices and the excellent acting of Stewart, this movie is the closest of these Westerns to approach the old formulaic themes. As a result, it is probably my least favorite of his films, but it is still pretty watchable.

Stewart, uncharacteristically, is a traveling accordion player (I am NOT kidding about this, really) and he has been doing this job for several years since being blamed for a train robbery (he was working for the railroad at the time). This film gives him a chance to prove himself and regain his old job with the railroad. But, along the way he encounters Brandon DeWilde (the cute kid from Shane who was killed at a very young age) and Audie Murphy (the war hero and actor who also died way too young). Aside from these two characters and Stewart, nothing about the plot is particularly outstanding. A decent and watchable film, but awfully predictable and forgettable.

By the way--a note to movie buffs--you DO get to hear Jimmy Stewart sing several songs in this film! While his singing was absolutely awful in BORN TO DANCE, in this film it isn't bad--the loud and cacophonous according did great things to hide his less than stellar voice! If only he'd used it in this previous musical!!