Night Passage (ViaVision) (1957) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Western	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1957
Running Time	90:04
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	James Neilson
Studio Distributor	ViaVision	Starring	James Stewart Audie Murphy Dan Duryea Dianne Foster Elaine Stewart Brandon de Wilde
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	Dimitri Tiomkin

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired French Spanish	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Grant McLaine (James Stewart) is a disgraced former railway trouble shooter who now earns a meagre living playing his accordion. When the gang led by Whitey Harbin (Dan Duryea) and The Utica Kid (Audie Murphy), who is Grant’s younger brother, rob trains carrying payrolls to the rail head three times in a row, leading to unrest at the railhead, railway boss Ben Kimball (Jay C Flippen) is persuaded by his wife Verna (Elaine Stewart), who is an old flame of Grant’s, to rehire Grant to secretly carry the payroll on the next run. On his way to meet Kimball, Grant saves a young boy, Joey (Brandon deWilde), who has run away from Whitey’s gang and also meets Charlie (Dianne Foster), a waitress and girlfriend of The Utica Kid. Grant and Joey are on the train when Whitey and the gang hold it up. When they don’t find the payroll, Whitey abducts Verna to hold for ransom. As Grant tracks the gang to get Verna back and to deliver the payroll, The Utica Kid must decide for himself just whose side he is on.

     Although included in the Audie Murphy Ultimate Western Collection Night Passage is a James Stewart vehicle, Murphy (as well as Dan Duryea) only making an appearance around the 35 minute mark of the film. Indeed Night Passage was intended to be the sixth collaboration of Stewart and director Anthony Mann, working from a script by Borden Chase (who had scripted some of their earlier collaborations including Winchester ‘73 (1950) and Bend of the River (1952)) but Mann objected to both the script and the casting of Audie Murphy and refused to do the picture. Stewart, apparently, was keen on the role because he got to sing and play the accordion and he was disappointed by Mann’s refusal and Mann and Stewart never worked together again.

     Night Passage ended up being directed by James Neilson and certainly Universal made it a high profile release. It was filmed in Technicolor and in widescreen Technirama by cinematographer William Daniels, Oscar winner for The Naked City (1948), and the scenes of steam engines puffing along the tracks amid Colorado mountains, forests and streams are spectacular. The studio also commissioned a score by Dimitri Tiomkin, who had received numerous Oscar nominations in his time including for High Noon (1952) although not for Night Passage.

     Night Passage is not an action packed western. There are a couple of good set pieces, including the train robbery (the engine bursting through the water tower is a highlight) and the climax in an abandoned mine workings, but much of the film is quite dialogue heavy and when Stewart gets to play his accordion and sing the story grinds to a halt. However, Murphy is actually quite good and Stewart dependable as always although Dan Duryea, who was so good as another maniacal, but funny, character called Whitey in Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) with Murphy, is in Night Passage only one note maniacal and rather a disappointment. Such is the closeness of Hollywood, Duryea had also appeared with Stewart before, in Winchester ‘73. Another point of interest is young Brandon deWilde a few years after his Oscar nominated performance in Shane (1953).

     Despite the good cast and stunning scenery Night Passage is not a particularly good western as it is too slow moving, rather corny and moralising while the ending is all too predictable. Still, with the scenery plus Stewart and Murphy it is worth a look.

Video

     Night Passage is presented in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, in NTSC and is 16x9 enhanced.

     Shot in Technicolor Night Passage has a rich colour palate with beautifully vivid blues, browns and greens. Wide shots of the steam engine in the mountains and forests are stunning and have strong detail, as do close-ups of Stewart’s face. Blacks are solid and shadow detail very good. There are only a few minor speckles although there is some colour variation, occasional blurred focus and some motion blur against mottled surfaces, such as tree leaves. Otherwise brightness and contrast was consistent, skin tones natural.

     English for the hearing impaired plus Spanish and French subtitles are provided.

     The layer change at 42:42 resulted in a noticeable jump.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
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Audio

     The audio is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono at 192 Kbps.

     There is a fair amount of dialogue and it is thankfully clear and easy to understand. The effects, such as the steam engine when it hits the water tower or the gunshots, have a nice depth. The score by Dimitri Tiomkin was lively.

     There was no hiss or crackle.

    Lip synchronisation is fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
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Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Theatrical Trailer (2:32)

     Night Passage has been released in the US as part of James Stewart collections. A previous PAL DVD release in Australia almost a couple of decades ago was reviewed on this site, the reviewer labelling the transfer a “lamentable mastering job”. More recently in Australia it was part of the Audie Murphy: Man of the West Collection II, which is part of this Audie Murphy Ultimate Western Collection. See the summary section below.

     Night Passage has its moments but it is slow moving and it is interesting to think what Anthony Mann might have done with it if he had stayed on board as director. A rather minor James Stewart western, here part of an Audie Murphy collection.

     The video and audio are fine. A trailer is the only extra.

     Night Passage is included in the 14 disc / 14 film set Audie Murphy Ultimate Western Collection. The 14 movies, made by Murphy between 1950 and 1966, are all westerns except for the army comedy Joe Butterfly. The Audie Murphy Ultimate Western Collection is made up from the Audie Murphy: Man of the West Collection and the Audie Murphy: Man of the West Collection II. Both of these individual Man of the West Collection packs have been released previously. But if you are a fan of westerns or a fan of Audie Murphy and don’t have those two earlier collections, this Audie Murphy Ultimate Western Collection is a good buy.

     The Audie Murphy Ultimate Western Collection was supplied for review by Via Vision Entertainment. Check out their Facebook page for the latest releases, giveaways, deals and more.

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