La caravane du désert

Good outdoor western with an unusual plot and a generally unpredictable storyline. Surveyor Beale (Cameron) is leading a mapping caravan through an Apache-ridden desert. Along the way he picks up two fugitive bank robbers (Ireland & Dru), one of whom poses as a doctor. Meanwhile finding water is a real problem, even for the camel pack-animals and their Arab drivers. So how will all this sort out, especially since both guys are stuck on the same girl.

I'm thirsty just looking at the barren Kanab, Utah locations. They sure look like a long way from nowhere. It's a good strong cast, particularly Ireland as a good-bad guy and Dru who really looks like she can ride and shoot. Okay, maybe budget-minded Edward Small Co. couldn't get the Duke for the big guy role, but Cameron still manages to persuade.

Some good touches add color. It's really strange seeing the Moslem Arabs doing their bowing to Mecca in the middle of a western. But there they are. The camels too, are a good imaginative addition. But note the brief scene with the wrecked wagon that Beale orders chopped up for firewood. I wouldn't be surprised it was wrecked during filming and was cleverly inserted into the narrative. Whatever, it adds a realistic touch.

My only complaint is an ending that appears pretty contrived, unlike what went before. Oh well, it's Hollywood, after all, a place where no one really dies. Still, it's a pretty darn good little western.

So-so Western displaying action , shootouts , Indian attacks , and though sometimes is slow-moving , isn't tiring neither dreary , sustaining the interest for quite a while . Resulting to be dramatically slack and some moments there's nothing left to maintain viewer involvement . Reportedly based on real events , in fact an actual test once conducted in the Big Bend area of Texas . Horses were having a tough time in the arid climate, and the "powers that be" thought that camels might just be a better option . As the U. S. Cavalry is experimenting the novel idea of using camels rather than horses as a means of transportation . As the General Headquater orders to test the feasability of camels in the deserts of the Southwest , receiving a shipment of fine Arabians , that's why Edward Beale (Rod Cameron) is in charge of finding a shorter trail across the American desert and to also test the practicality of using camels in the West . Along the way , Clint MacDonald (John Ireland) , an outlaw one jump ahead of a posse , then the astute bank robber unites the caravan by posing as a doctor when he's a simple veterinary . His girlfriend , Lilly (Joanne Dru, at the time married to Ireland) , also comes along joining the expedition . But it starts to move when cunning Matt Carroll (John Dehner) becomes aware of MacDonald's true profession as a crook and he wishes to take the gold from the bank robbery . At the beginning the Apaches afraid of the strange camels , but they eventually lose their fear and carry out a violent assault . Wagons West! - The Cry That Rocked the Desert Frontier! A Thousand Miles of Roaring Excitement! For every mile forward, a storm of Apache arrows pointed the road back! All the greatness the West could muster was thrown into the battle for the Great American Desert!

This one is a cheap and so-so Western , originally in 3-D , mostly shot in Kanab , Utah, where during the 50s and 60s were filmed several oaters . There is action enough and shootouts but no too much but the little action sequences are effective . Although in this B-movie there is a whole lot of footage of the other United Artists A-films regarding the grueling trek across the desert . Agreeable and passable though mediocre movie about a desert expedition passing illegally through Apache lands, triggering an Apache retaliation against the trespassing blue soldiers , while the cavalry tries keeping out . There's another film dealing with camels in the West : ¨Hawmps!¨ (1976) by Joe Camp with James Hampton , Christopher Connelly , Slim Pickens , Denver Pyle , but this one is more hilarious than ¨Southwest Passage¨(1954) that relies on action , shootous and drama . Set on spectacular landscapes and it attempts to fit briefly to historical facts , as the U. S. Cavalry tried camels out in the southwestern desert for a short, but memorable , period of time . The picture is regularly made , with plenty of action sequences , fights , crossfire , cavalry charges and anything else . In the film there are gorgeous outdoors shot on desert location well photographed by cameraman Sam Leavitt , though a perfect remastering being extremely necessary . The picture didn't obtain success and was a real flop in box office , in spite of the spectacular sets , colorful cinematography and atmospheric musical score from Arthur Lange and Emil Newman . The protagonist is a famous actor who starred B-series called Rod Cameron . Along with John Ireland , his wife Joanne Dru and John Denner . Furthermore , large plethora of notorious secondaries , such as : Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams , Darryl Hickman , Stuart Randall , Douglas Fowley , Kenneth MacDonald , Stanley Andrews and Morris Ankrum .

This Indian-on-the-warpath motion picture was regularly directed by Ray Nazzarro who made a lot of Westerns in low-budget . By 1945 he fell into directing westerns for that studio, a genre and a studio in which Nazarro would spent the vast majority of his career. He worked steadily for the next 20 years, churning out dozens and dozens of Columbia's westerns, including many in the "Durango Kid" series with Charles Starrett, and was at the helm of a slew of Columbia's musical westerns and low-budget hillbilly musicals, which featured such acts as The Hoosier Hotshots. As he made Westerns as The Range Rider , The Kid from Amarillo , Fort Savage Raiders , Al Jennings de Oklahoma , Frontier Outpost , Streets of Ghost Town, Texas Dynamo , The Tougher They Come , Outcast of Black Mesa, Trail of the Rustlers ,Renegades of the Sage , Bandits of El Dorado , South of Death Valley , Cyclone Fury , Laramie , The Blazing Trail and many others . As the era of the B western ended, Nazarro journeyed to Europe, where he turned out some "spaghetti westerns" and was one of several directors to work on a bizarre and trouble-plagued Jayne Mansfield film, Einer frisst den anderen (1964) . He also returned to directing television series , a medium in which he had occasionally worked since the early 1950s again, mostly in westerns. This Western could have been a lot worse but that's no reason to watch it . Rating : 5/10 , average but passable and acceptable . Only for hardcore Western fans.

As you watch "Southwest Passage", you can see that it was originally a 3D movie. All too often, folks strike at the camera with whips or pitchforks in a cheesy way to thrill the audience....a common cliche 3D filmmakers often put into their films.

When the story begins, three folks are running from the law. Soon one of them is shot and the remaining two (John Ireland and Joanne Dru) make their way to a caravan heading to California. The folks they meet up with turn out to be Cavalry folks escorting some Muslim men and their camels, as apparently the military is considering importing camels because of their ability to live in the desert. Unfortunately, while this seems like an interesting idea, the film seems to have forgotten this plot about midway through the film. The rest is mostly cliches...with the usual Indian attacks and and ending that really made little sense. It could have been worse...but should have been a lot better.

Southwest Passage (AKA: Camels West) is directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Harry Essex and Geoffrey Homes. It stars Rod Cameron, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Dehner and Guin Williams. Music is by Emil Newman and Arthur Lang and the Pathe Color photography is by Sam Leavitt.

A robber and hid girl join a Camel Caravan to escape their pursuers.

Originally filmed in 3-D, one might be surprised to find that as fanciful as the premise to this seems, it's very much grounded in facts. Edward Fitzgerald Beale (1822 - 1893) the character played by Cameron is a most fascinating person whose real life work is far more interesting than the film is! Further reading on the subject is recommended.

This is all very routine as a group of various ethnicities and walks of life trek across the desert with camels in tow to test their usage for the U.S. Cavalry. Ireland (posing as a doctor) and Dru (gorgeous but looking like she just wandered in off of a Estée Lauder advertisement) are hiding out. So they are on the bluff which keeps the "will they get caught" factor simmering away. Naturally a rapscallion fellow (Dehner) figures things out and wants a share of the couple's stolen goods.

To further complicate matters and up the peril quota, the water is running low. Add in the fact we are in Apache country and you get the drift of where the picture is heading. Cast make things watchable at least, while the location scenery out of Kanab, Utah, is a treat for the eyes. It all builds to a frantic finale, which is well staged and high on rapid gun fire, but once the "too tidy" resolution is reached it's a Western that quickly fades from memory. 5/10

Making the film must have taken great effort with location shooting in Utah. I would like seeing it in 3-D; the colour is vivid, well saturated. Director Ray Nazzaro knew his business; writer Harry Essex was not as skillful. The plot works but the dialogue often sounds silly.

The cast with beautiful Joanne Dru, her husband John Ireland, and Ron Cameron, along with excellent stock actors make watching this movie fun. You realise that actors like John Dehner, Darryl Hickman, and Stuart Randall enriched many films and television programs we enjoy.

I almost forgot about the camels while watching the movie. The hook works, I suppose, but that is not what makes it work. The fine cast, good direction, interesting photography, crisp editing, and great location do.

I enjoyed watching this movie.