At the time this film was made, Alexander Golitzen was Universal's supervising art director. He had worked closely with Walter Wanger on Arabian Nights. Here we find him billed as associate producer and although he is not credited for art direction, it is obvious that this sphere was closely supervised by him. The sets are not only lavish, they also contrive to look frontier realistic, yet are artistic and dazzle the eye at the same time. Outdoors Oregon is beautifully captured in the Technicolor photography of Eddie Cronjager.The story is a little weak and is predictably conventional, but it incorporates enough action to satisfy the fans and it is earnestly enough acted. Ward Bond is particularly good as the villain of the piece, while Hoagy Carmichael gets to sing snatches of three or four songs including "Ole Buttermilk Sky" which was nominated for an Academy Award (unaccountably - it's a catchy song but we only get to hear four bars of it - and those right at the conclusion while people are stampeding towards the popcorn concession).The credit titles read "Introducing Patricia Roc", although surely she needed no introduction at this stage of her career with starring roles in maybe a dozen or more British films behind her. However, this turned out to be her only Hollywood film, which is not surprising - she doesn't really fit in here and it is hard to credit such an obvious glamor-puss as a frontier woman - Susan Hayward maybe, but Patricia Roc definitely no. Miss Hayward is effective and makes the most of her role, even though her fans will be upset that she is often not very flatteringly photographed. Tourneur's direction has style and pace.OTHER VIEWS: RKO, with whom I had a contract, lent me to Universal for Canyon Passage, which had the biggest budget I had worked with to that date. The music and songs by Hoagy Carmichael were especially remarkable. One of them, "Ole Buttermilk Sky", was nominated for Best Song, but lost out to Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer's "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe". - Jacques Tourneur.

Decidedly Offbeat Western with an Innocuous Title but Otherwise a Winner in All Respects. The Stylist Director Tourneur Brings a European Sensibility to the Hollywood Pioneer Picture Mainstay and Makes It Something Special.The Gorgeous Technicolor is a Surprise for Fans Turning to This Genre Piece and There are More Surprises to Come. The Complex Plot with Subplots Galore, the Mixing of the Community with Many Mixed Up Citizens, the Brutal Saloon Fist Fight Complete with Dripping Skull Fractures, the Indian Raids that Show Some Savage Behavior (although in long shot), and There's More.The Score from Frank Skinner Works Quite Well and Hoagy Carmichael is Along for the Ride with His Own Brand of Warbling. Ward Bond Plays a Very Heavy Heavy in One of His Best Villain Roles. The Two Lead Men Dana Andrews and Brian Donlevy Do Nothing to Detract from the Overall Magnificence of the Movie, and Neither Does Susan Hayward Who Looks Beautiful.There are Supporting Players Moving In and Out Featuring Lloyd Bridges and Andy Devine. But it is the Way the Director Frames the Film with Evil Always Lurking on the Edges and His Genuine Auteur Credentials that Put This All Together to Make it Something Quite Special in a Genre that Includes More Mediocrity than Most.

From the first scenes of this movie, you get the idea that you are into something a lil' bit special. The colors are like viewing a classically beautiful painting and the production values are superb. Jack Cardiff could have been the cinematographer. Some want to get into all of the psychological aspects of the movie but this is a movie to be enjoyed for what it looks like and is. Logan Stuart as everyman of American West maybe, but other'n that, good ole "B" western entertainment with a lot'a class. Enjoy the beauty of Susan Hayward and Patricia Roc, and maybe figger out what Stogey Charmical's imitation of Mary Worth is doing in this flick, but this is a movie that just seems to wrap itself around you and take you on an interesting journey. Some have noted that the movie might have been better received had John Ford been the director but thankfully, he wasn't. I appreciated Dana Andrews ability even more after watching this movie and recommend it to you for a few viewings because I think with each, you'll find even greater enjoyment of it. You may even come to like "Ole Buttermilk Sky". Oh, and Stogey decides not to follow 'em in the end so pay attention as he waves good-bye to 'em as they ride off into the sunset! You're in for a treat!!

The 1940s were a time of transition in the Hollywood movie. This was the age of the film noir, and often those darker, more pessimistic forces were starting to creep into the most unlikely of genre flicks. This being a relatively new phenomenon, often not everyone in the production was on the same wavelength and you could get some odd mismatches of tone. Canyon Passage opens with a town drenched in rain, a sorry-looking figure on horseback weaving his way amid the houses; very different to the usual triumphant ride in from the plains that would kick off your average Western. And yet, this opening is accompanied by very typical, upbeat Western music. Plot-wise, post-production-wise, this is a run-of-the-mill mid-budget horse opera. The only difference is the way it looks.A lot of this is probably down to director Jacques Tourneur. Canyon Passage was one his first features after leaving Val Lewton's horror-orientated B-unit at RKO, and the clinging darkness of the pictures he made there has stayed with him. Lots of directors have habitually used claustrophobic shot compositions, but the form of Tourneur's are eye-catchingly unique, often putting actors up against the edge of the frame or placing very large objects right before the camera. He often fills the foreground but rarely uses actual close-ups. This can have some unusual effects. When Dana Andrews introduces Susan Hayward and Patricia Roc to each other, Andrews is foreground, centre-screen, his back to the camera, with the two ladies framed either side of him. This very odd-looking set-up sticks out, immediately establishing in the mind of the viewer that there will be some kind of rivalry between the women, doing so with greater impact than a more typical shot would provide. This is perhaps Tourneur's greatest asset – being able to give a very stylised look to the whole picture but still making the key individual moments stand out. This is, I guess, very much a cornerstone of good horror direction as well.And despite the focus on cramped interiors and dismal towns, Canyon Passage does not neglect that outdoors that is quintessential to the Western genre. Whilst we don't see much of the open plains, this is in fact one of the most beautiful depictions of the mountains and pine forests of the West. Normally the baroque stylings of a director such as Tourneur don't really suit the Western, but the screenplay of Canyon Passage is so bland, its cast so unremarkable (the only standouts being the coolly dramatic Hayward, the loveably dismal Hoagy Carmichael and the sheer oddity of seeing Ward Bond play a villain) that this is one way of making it worth watching. This could never really have been a masterpiece, but its fresh and engaging appearance raises it above the average.