Canyon Passage (1946)

Canyon Passage (1946), directed by Jacques Tourneur.

A traditional western in an unconventional setting. Starting with convincing river-of-mud streets in Portland Oregon, we move to a new town among the trees on a mountain side. They have just about everything except a sheriff.

Some gorgeous landscapes and the soundstage sets are particularly lush this time. Rich Technicolor.

The plot is a jumble. Dana Andrews is torn between Susan Hayward and Patricia Roc. His best pal Brian Donlevy is no good. Hoagy Carmichael sings a bit. Andy Devine (using his own kids) is a homesteader and we have a nice cabin raising and wedding. Indians are on the warpath but they have their reasons and we are pleased when they catch Ward Bond and scalp him. Horses are shot, cabins and town burned, women and children massacred. But our leads are together at the end.

Did you know: in his books, Ian Fleming wrote that James Bond looked like a more homely Hoagy Carmichael.

The Texas Rangers (1936) is on the same DVD.