Raton Pass (1951)

★ 4.6 1h 24m IMDb

Western

Raton Pass is a curious western based on the rules of Community Property. Dennis Morgan and Patricia Neal portray a recently married husband and wife, each of whom owns half of a huge cattle ranch. Neal is a tad more ambitious than her husband, and with the help of a little legal chicanery she tries to obtain Morgan's half of the spread. He balks, so she hires a few gunslingers to press the issue. In a 1951 western, the greedy party usually came to a sorry end; Raton Pass adheres strictly to tradition.

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Cast

Dennis Morgan as Marc Challon Died 1994 · Prentice, Wisconsin, USA Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner, December 20, 1908 – September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. He used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name under which he gaine...

Patricia Neal as Ann Challon Died 2010 · Packard, Kentucky, USA Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal; January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day th...

Steve Cochran as Cy Van Cleave Died 1965 · Eureka, California He is perhaps best remembered for his role of Big Ed Somers, the power hungry gangster pal of James Cagney in "White Heat" (1949). Born Robert Alexander Cochran in Eureka, California, he was the son o...

Scott Forbes as Prentice Died 1997 · High Wycombe, England, UK

Dorothy Hart as Lena Casamajor Died 2004 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Dorothy Hart (April 4, 1922 - July 11, 2004) was an American screen actress, known mostly for her supporting roles. Description above from the Wikipedia articl...

Basil Ruysdael as Pierre Challon Died 1960 · Jersey City, New Jersey, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Basil Ruysdael (July 24, 1888 - October 10, 1960) was an American film actor and opera singer. Description above from the Wikipedia article Basil Ruysdael, lic...

Director Edwin L. Marin

Cast Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal, Steve Cochran, Scott Forbes, Dorothy Hart, Basil Ruysdael, Louis Jean Heydt, Roland Winters, James Burke, Elvira Curci

John Chard 8.5/10 Nov 08, 2013

Thou shall not pass this pass!

Raton Pass is directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Thomas W. Blackburn and James R. Webb. It stars Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal, Steve Cochran, Scott Forbes and Dorothy Hart. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Wilfred M. Cline.

Two families feuding over land either side of Raton Pass, New Mexico. Into their lives comes a beautiful seductress with manipulation and land dominance on her agenda...

Well well, what a treat. Something of a rare, little known or seen Oater, Raton Pass (AKA: Canyon Pass) really takes you by surprise. From the off we can see and hear this is a very nice production, with the twin greats of Steiner and Cline working their magic. Steiner's title music is Latino flavoured and then he introduces deft character motifs for the protagonists, while Cline's crisp black and white photography holds the eyes considerably.

For thirty minutes the picture simmers away like a standard "B" Western threatening to dull the senses with formulaic tedium, this is another reason why Steiner and Cline should be lauded as their work keeps you interested. But then the film completely turns, you notice that Cline's photography has suddenly shifted into film noir territory, and Neal has skillfully shifted from being the new loving wife on the block, to a complete femme fatale bitch! The plot dynamics now have a real edge, and as the smouldering Neal works her feminine whiles, this part of New Mexico territory boils away furiously until it inevitably explodes and spells doom and disappointment for some...

There's some crappy back projection work that undermines the quality elsewhere and the odd character is stereotypical of some Westerns of the period, but this has much to recommend. Marin (Johnny Angel/Nocturne/Colt.45/Sugarfoot) is fluid in his direction, while Neal and noir icon Cochran hold the screen as Max and Wilfred do their stuff. Currently licensed to TCM UK and available in HD format, I would urge any noir and Western fan in the UK to take the chance to see this rare picture the next time it shows. It doesn't deserve to stay rare. 7.5/10