Il passo dell'avvoltoio

Raton Pass is directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Thomas W. Blackburn and James R. Webb. It stars Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal, Steve Cochran, Scott Forbes and Dorothy Hart. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Wilfred M. Cline.

Two families feuding over land either side of Raton Pass, New Mexico. Into their lives comes a beautiful seductress with manipulation and land dominance on her agenda...

Well well, what a treat. Something of a rare, little known or seen Oater, Raton Pass (AKA: Canyon Pass) really takes you by surprise. From the off we can see and hear this is a very nice production, with the twin greats of Steiner and Cline working their magic. Steiner's title music is Latino flavoured and then he introduces deft character motifs for the protagonists, while Cline's crisp black and white photography holds the eyes considerably.

For thirty minutes the picture simmers away like a standard "B" Western threatening to dull the senses with formulaic tedium, this is another reason why Steiner and Cline should be lauded as their work keeps you interested. But then the film completely turns, you notice that Cline's photography has suddenly shifted into film noir territory, and Neal has skillfully shifted from being the new loving wife on the block, to a complete femme fatale bitch! The plot dynamics now have a real edge, and as the smouldering Neal works her feminine whiles, this part of New Mexico territory boils away furiously until it inevitably explodes and spells doom and disappointment for some...

There's some crappy back projection work that undermines the quality elsewhere and the odd character is stereotypical of some Westerns of the period, but this has much to recommend. Marin (Johnny Angel/Nocturne/Colt.45/Sugarfoot) is fluid in his direction, while Neal and noir icon Cochran hold the screen as Max and Wilfred do their stuff. Currently licensed to TCM UK and available in HD format, I would urge any noir and Western fan in the UK to take the chance to see this rare picture the next time it shows. It doesn't deserve to stay rare. 7.5/10

I confess I was somewhat shocked at the role Patricia Neal played in this movie. She was the dastardly darling all the way through right up to the end. And to someone who has been a "loving" fan of hers since he was 13 and saw her in The Day the Earth Stood Still--that was a shock.

The plot is very good. She arrives in town to find herself in the midst of a feud between two families. She immediately seeks out a young man from the richest family and seductively (which she is excellent at) works her way into his heart. He marries her and she is given deed to half the ranch. When her husband brings home an even richer man who owns a railroad in hopes of getting him to financially back the ranch, she convinces her husband to leave the job to her. Instead, she seduces him into falling in love with her also and talks him into buying out her husband. He agrees.

Suddenly, they find themselves totally alone as all the hands have quit the ranch. So she sends for a gunman she met by chance at the very beginning of the Western. He brings in his "boys" and they begin to take over the ranch. Finally there is the ultimate showdown between Neal, Morgan (her husband) and the gunman (Cochran).

And as I said: Patricia Neal is the dastardly darling right up to the very last breath. The role would have better suited Barbara Stanwyck or Betty Davis. But Patricia Neal it did not suit even though she did a fine job (as always). While I have seen her in many movies I shall never be able to accept her in any villain role. The Western is very good and well worth any amount of money paid to obtain it but it is just not the kind, sweet, adorable feminine Neal I am used to in movies.

When the story begins, Ann (Patricia Neal) arrives in town. The son of one of the two local land barons, Marc Challon (Dennis Morgan), falls for her and they are soon married. To celebrate the nuptials, Marc's father gives him and Ann the entire ranch. This sounds like a great idea...but it isn't. Soon Ann shows that she's got a heart of stone and she insists on taking her half! This will soon create all sorts of problems...and some unanticipated, as Ann's new foreman (Steve Cochran) is a complete sociopath and he's at least as awful as she is!

The biggest plus about this film is that is original. Sure, evil boss westerns where someone is trying to take over the range are a dime a dozen...but one with such a cut-throat woman is very unusual. Worth seeing.

This western is for me a pure Warner Studios movie, recognizable from the very start - no matter of course the logo WB - because of the cast, technical crew, music score, and then the pace, very very fast, tense, and the overall plot and directing. It was not a Paramount nor a Metro Goldwyn Mayer...Impossible to get wrong. Dennis Morgan was a second rate lead role for Warner movies, and I have never liked it that much. He was so bland, unlike of course the terrific Steve Cochran who literally steals the show here, with also Patricia Neal, whom I would have never guessed to find in this kind of film.

Patricia Neal plays a chilling and evil vixen who uses and disposes men like Kleenex trying to get to the top. Among those she charms and disposes of or tries to in Raton Pass are Dennis Morgan, Basil Ruysdael, Steve Cochran, and Scott Forbes. This has fatal consequences for some of them.

Father and son Basil Ruysdael and Dennis Morgan own the biggest spread around and Ruysdael is one proud and ruthless character who's not too squeamish about what he does to maintain supremacy. He's feuding with neighbor Louis Jean Heydt, but Morgan is courting daughter Dorothy Hart and the marriage may make it a happy merger of interest.

That is until Neal arrives in town and she seduces Morgan away from Hart and they marry. So happy and charmed by his daughter-in-law that as a wedding present Ruysdael turns over title to the ranch to Morgan and Neal. That's when Neal really goes to work.

Part of her scheme includes banker Scott Forbes and outlaw Steve Cochran. In Cochran she finally meets a man more evil than her. But she thinks she's up to him.

A little more plot than usual characterizes this western and Raton Pass is definitely not for the Saturday matinée kid's trade. We do get to hear Dennis Morgan sing a song at his wedding which is always nice.

But Neal is truly a malevolent creature and Cochran isn't too far behind her. They make Raton Pass some interesting viewing.