Review of Canyon Passage (1946) by Bill M — 24 Apr 2009

What struck me first about this was the sheer beauty of the color photography. You have to remember this was 1946, a time when the vast majority of motion pictures were in black and white. Yet, thanks in part to restoration and DVD quality, there were times when it seemed this could've been shot last week for Pete's sake.

In terms of the plot, once again this film is ahead of its time. It makes no bones about how absolutely brutal frontier life could be, and that the White Man may have had it coming to him by knowingly encroaching upon land that had belonged to the Natives for a long, long time.

This film is also mature in how it depicts relationships. The synopsis calls it a romantic triangle, but it's more like a square: Logan, George, Lucy, and Caroline. The bind they collectively get themselves into during the Jacksonville scenes is far more complex (and therefore more realistic) than a lot of what you see at the multiplex nowadays.

You also have to give props to how it depicts frontier justice. In the movie The Texas Rangers, which this film is packaged with, there's a scene where they're holding court in a bar. The same thing happens in Canyon Passage, only Logan won't stand for it.

He knows George is guilty, but he insists on the rule of law as opposed to a kangaroo court presided over by drunks. Tough stuff. All in all this is a very satisfying film offering you a glimpse of what American frontier life was like beyond what the textbooks say.

And mind you, this very American film was directed by none other than a Frenchman, Jacques Tourneur.