Night Passage (1957) is a Western starring
James Stewart and Audie Murphy
This film is reminiscent of the popular western collaborations between Stewart
and director Anthony Mann.
This is largely because the project was slated to be their
sixth collaboration. Mann backed out of the project before production due to other obligations
and a disagreement over the casting of Audie Murphy.
Aaron Rosenberg, who produced many of the Stewart-Mann collaborations,
stayed on as producer with new director James Neilson.
Dimitri Tiomkin scored the film, and co-wrote the songs "Follow the River"
and "You Can't Get Far Without a Railroad" with Ned Washington,
which were performed by James Stewart himself.
The film also offered Stewart the rare opportunity to play the accordion,
an instrument he had played since childhood.
The film was the first to utilize the Technirama process by Technicolor.
This process helped make the blue skies crisper and brighten the autumn
footage photographed by cinematographer William H. Daniels.
The railroad scenes were filmed at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge
Railroad in Durango, Colorado, using Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad
K-28 Class steam locomotive #476 which still operates in excursion service
today.
Though not as memorable as other Stewart-Mann films,
Night Passage was a commercial success upon its release
and has become a staple of cable television.
Many of Duke's 'Pals' to look out for namely
Dan Duryea ,Brandon De Wilde, Jay C. Flippen
Jack Elam, Paul Fix, Olive Carey, Chuck Roberson.
User Review
QuoteOne of my favorites
6 January 2007 | by kannahspapa (United States) – See all my reviews
I have watched this movie many, many times and I find it enjoyable every time. I have found this to be one of my favorite Audie Murphy vehicles. The role Audie played as the Utica Kid is quite refreshing, I'm sure that not all the badmen were void of personalities. The witty and sarcastic dialogue between Utica and Whitey shows how the leadership of the gang was always open ended. Throughout the movie the end is always assured in that good will prevail, you still have the hope that Grant will convince Lee to return to his father teachings. I believe that anyone watching this movie will find it to be very enjoyable and entertaining.