Canyon Passage

[ChiO]

CANYON PASSAGE (1946), directed by Jacques Tourneur, is on TCM tonight (Tuesday) at 8:00 EST.

If one thinks of Tourneur only in terms of his Val Lewton movies and film noir, this is a chance to discover that he was one of the finest directors of Westerns. This was his first and an excellent one.

As if his direction isn't enough, the cast includes: Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, Brian Donlevy, Ward Bond, Andy Devine, Lloyd Bridges and -- in the role of Greek Chorus -- Hoagy Carmichael introducing one of his best, Ole Buttermilk Sky.

A Must-See.

[movieman1957]

It's a western. I'll at minimum record it. Tourneur also did "Stars In My Crown," another fave, so it will be worth watching.

[mrsl]

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I fail to see what RO and others find so remarkable about this movie. Learning that JT directed Stars in my Crown is hard for me to believe, he must have had a great editor, and assistant director. His Cat People is unfinished and so shadowy its hard to know what is going on. But I digress. Canyon Passage is no better and far worse than many westerns I've seen. It has no similarity to any of the great John Ford westerns, but it is close to the talents of such as Edward Killy, and a couple of Delmer Daves, until he caught on to what he was doing. Any one of the Budd Boettiger/James Stewart offerings stands heads over Canyon Passage. Dana Andrews is his normal stiff self trying to get through each scene as quickly as possible.

All I can assume is that people were so hungry for western fare, they glombed onto this thing which is no better than a (b-) movie. Of course it was the end of the war and the big guns were just arriving home so that could be a reason for the interest in this movie.

I'm sorry guys, as many westerns as I've seen, I can't get any modicum of excitement aroused for this movie.
.

[jdb1]

I watched a very brief section of this and really, I couldn't bear it. There were some very prettily set up shots, but all that evil redskin twaddle, and the overly madeup women standing around helplessly shrieking -- phooey. The whole helpless female thing is one of the reasons I can't look at the majority of Hollywood Westerns any more. If our pioneer women were really that helpless, there wouldn't be much in the way of population west of Pittsburgh. As I said, phooey.

[klondike]

Not that the resemblence lasted very long {'cause sufferin' murgatroyd, it sure didn't} . . but did anybody else notice the framing device similarities between the first dozen scenes or so of Canyon Passage, and the very beginning of North To Alaska?
Granted, Canyon swiftly evolved into a much grimmer, more heavy-hearted story, but like NTA, it did start with the far-ranging protagonist bringing the lovely bethrothed home from the big town to a frontier mining community for the benefit of a business partner named George . .

[Mr. Arkadin]

I was finally able to watch this one over a lengthy period and loved it. Tourneur's film is not one of bombast and instant gratification, but thoughtful layers which slowly reveal themselves over time. There's a lot of depth here from characterization and camerawork, to set design, and a richness and complexity I find lacking in many pre-1950 westerns.

Perhaps one of the most interesting concepts was Tourneur's approach to violence, which, with the exception of the graphic fight in the bar (distinctly tied to the townspeople's thirst for blood, much like Wellman's Oxbow Incident [1943]), was off-screen or shown mostly in long shot. Tourneur's outlook of community would resurface in later westerns, but its origins begin here.

[ChiO]

Thanks for the lifeline, Ark.

Tourneur's film is not one of bombast and instant gratification, but thoughtful layers which slowly reveal themselves over time.

That is one of the beauties not only of this film, but of Tourneur's films generally, at least through NIGHTFALL (1957) (okay -- maybe THE FLAME AND THE ARROW is a exception). I see a direct line from CANYON PASSAGE (1946) to OUT OF THE PAST (1947) to STARS IN MY CROWN (1950). Each slowly unfolds and, while at first it can almost seem haphazard, every episode ties together because everyone in the movie's community is connected, whether they like it or not. But Tourneur also leaves something behind for the viewer to ponder, not simplistically resolving the narrative's or characters' conflicts for them.

Tourneur's outlook of community would resurface in later westerns, but its origins begin here.

For me, "Community" is the key to many of Tourneur's movies, especially his Westerns, STARS IN MY CROWN being the gold standard for all movies dealing with Community. Anthony Mann usually receives the credit for (and far be it for me to ever denigrate that giant) the so-called "Adult" or "Psychological" or "Modern" Western, but CANYON PASSAGE hit the screens about four years ahead of Mann's breakout in Westerns in 1950.

With CANYON PASSAGE (1946), STARS IN MY CROWN (1950), WAY OF A GAUCHO (1952), STRANGER ON HORSEBACK (1955), WICHITA (1955), and GREAT DAY IN THE MORNING (1956), Tourneur may be the director of Westerns most in need of greater viewing, re-evaluation and appreciation.