Santa Fe Passage (1955)

John Payne plays Kirby Randolph, a disgraced Indian scout who along with his trusty side-kick Sam Beekman (Slim Pickens) finally gets hired by Aurelie St. Clair (Faith Domergue) & Jess Griswold (Rod Cameron) to escort a wagon load of guns through Indian territory. With the past hanging over him like a bad smell and the Indians on their trail, the last thing Kirby needs is Aurelie catching his eye. Especially since she's Griswold's girl. This is sure to be one perilous and life changing journey.There's a lot of common words been used in reviews for this William Witney directed film. Routine, different, exciting, boring & unusual, all of which proves just how divisive cinema can be. Adapted by Lillie Hayward from an Esquire Magazine story written by Heck Allen, Santa Fe Passage is out of Republic Pictures and is shot in the Trucolor process on location at St. George, Utah {Bud Thackery photographs}. Personally speaking I found the film something of a chore to get thru, which in a Western that has a high action quota is some what surprising to me. A lot of it can be put down to the wooden acting from the principals and the rather bland screenplay.Payne never convinced in Western's, and here he is showed up by the reliable Pickens. In fact ex-convict Leo Gordon who is also in the piece would probably have been a better choice for the lead role of Kirby! Domergue is a picture of doe eyed sexuality, her engaging features benefiting from one of Republic's better color prints, but she struggles with the meandering script and looks bored in love scenes with old stiff Payne. Worst of the bunch tho is Irene Tedrow as squaw Ptewaquin, if you manage not to laugh then you deserve a medal.The failings in the cast are a shame because Witney manfully does a good job with the action. A horse stampede and two Indian attacks are real entertaining highlights fit to be in some other higher budgeted Western. But then the focus has to revert back to uninteresting characters being given uninteresting portrayals. It's clear what the makers were trying to do. The old Anti-Western/Anti-Racist core to be mixed with action and a potential complex love triangle, looks good on paper. But when you come out of the film only remembering Domergue's green eyes and an unintentional comedy squaw character, well you got problems. A creaky 4/10 from me.

John Payne's character spouts all the native Indian racist and anti-feminist diatribes he can muster in this wild west actioner taking place on a pack train to Santa Fe. Kirby Randolph (Payne) and his partner Sam (Slim Pickens) look to redeem themselves from a prior scouting job that ended in disaster for settlers on a wagon train passing through Cottonwood Draw. This might be the first time I've seen an Indian tribe actually get drunk on screen, as Randloph's attempt to placate Chief Satank (George Keymas) only gets him fired up for revenge.Credit the film makers with a significant historically accurate scene in which the main street of a Western town consists of about six inches of mud. You get to hear Payne in his role as the wagon scout refer to men required for point, swing, and drag duty. The film also has a great action scene involving a horse stampede that threatens the Griswold party, full of colorful sequences and quite well done.At the center of the story lies a romantic triangle involving Randolph, his boss Griswold (Rod Cameron) and Griwswold's partner and expected future wife Aurelie St. Clair (Faith Domergue). The revelation of St. Clair's heritage as daughter of a Kiowa mother brings out a few more Injun clichés before the story's progress brings Randolph full circle in his thinking about accepting individuals on their own merits. By the time the Kiowa's make their final attack, Randolph can say "I won't have a squaw who won't take orders" with a nod, nod, wink, wink, and have St. Clair accept it with an understanding smile.The one thing that kept distracting me though was the casting of Irene Tedrow as St. Clair's aide Ptewaquin. I never quite caught on that she would figure in one of the story's twist endings, probably because I kept trying to figure out where I'd seen her before. Checking out her career credits, now I know.Best line of the picture - Satank describes the Mexican Chavez (Anthony Caruso), ally of Griswold - "Don't like him, stink too much, like dead buffalo." It conjures up as colorful a picture as the traitor McLawery (Leo Gordon) winding up as buzzard bait.

Why Payne is in any western is the question. Rod Cameron is clearly suited to perform both roles at the same time. The guy that played the indian chief Satang was also totally unbelieveable. I like my westerns with less wimps. This reminds me of several other that were miscast because the producer wanted to star in a western. Willie Nelson comes to mind.

Once again, Republic Studio brings together a great cast in a superior Western tale. Payne is the discredited scout, Pickens his side-kick, hired to guide a wagon full of guns through hostile Indian territory. As the action unfolds, Payne must overcome the hostiles, gun-runners and his own prejudice to win out. There is a lot of suspense here, and never a dull moment. An excellent watch!