Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Scott LeBrun While no classic, "Night Passage" is a solid Western that tells an entertaining story. Jimmy Stewart stars as Grant McLaine, a disgraced former employee of a rail line who is approached by them once again when they are plagued with a series of payroll robberies. They realize they need to do something different, so they take a chance on him. Grant must deal with a gang of outlaws including the cool and charismatic Utica Kid (played by Jimmy's fellow WWII hero Audie Murphy) and the lively, volatile Whitey Harbin (an amusing Dan Duryea). He also makes friends with a young boy named Joey Adams (Brandon De Wilde of "Shane" fame).Borden Chase wrote the often literate script, based on a story by Norman A. Fox. It's not really anything special, the story, but it's entertaining to follow, with doses of humor, a theme of "good and evil", and an exciting climactic shootout. James Neilson, who mostly worked in television, does a decent job with the direction. As is so often the case with Westerns, it's the widescreen photography of various rural locations that makes the movie really pleasing to look out. It also doesn't hurt to have some lovely ladies on hand: Dianne Foster as "Charlie", and Elaine Stewart as Verna. Jimmy himself wasn't particularly impressed with the script, but took the gig anyway because he was anxious to show off his skills on the accordion (McLaine is toiling away as a musician as the story opens); however, the music ended up being re- recorded by a professional anyway. The score by Dimitri Tiomkin is lovely.There are plenty of familiar, reliable actors present and accounted for: Jay C. Flippen, Herbert Anderson, Robert J. Wilke, Hugh Beaumont, Jack Elam, Paul Fix, Olive Carey (as a helpful old woman named 'Miss Vittles' (!)), James Flavin, Donald Curtis, and Ellen Corby, among others. Jimmy is good, and Audie is fun as the "funny" outlaw. De Wilde is extremely appealing as the kid.Sadly, Stewart and original planned director Anthony Mann had a falling out, with Mann walking off the picture and the actor & filmmaker never working together again; this is what led to Neilson being hired.Seven out of 10.

Robert W. There are a few of very necessary things to remember when creating a Western especially back when Westerns were a thriving genre. There are A LOT of them and some of them are spectacular and fans of Westerns are a very particular sort and if you don't give us what we want...we'll hate it. Night Passage in general has a potentially decent story but it gets bogged down in poor production decision, bad casting and (if the rumours are true) there was a lot of tense clashing on the set and that hurts a film and often comes through in the final product. Night Passage feels like missed potential. It feels like they rushed certain parts, and they weren't sure whether they were going for a thriller, a heist movie or...oh yah a Western. It just quite often felt like it was often missing its heart and soul somewhere in there and I think it boils down to not feeling the chemistry and energy from the cast. Still, the landscape, scenery and scenes aboard the tops of trains are truly outstanding. There is just some jaw dropping moments of scenery that they would have to create without the aid of computers like they do now.Since I became a MASSIVE James Stewart fan in the last year or so, I am piling through his Westerns. I will say that Night Passage is the first Western of his I've seen where he isn't the angry, volatile, rough cowboy as he is in some of the other ones. He has a much softer side but not too soft in his performance. He does well but rumour has it that he took this role so that he could play his accordion and sing (both of which he does quite well) BUT it feels forced into the story and seems silly in context. I had heard of Audie Murphy before but I'm fairly certain this is the first time I've seen him in action. Another rumour is that original director Anthony Mann left the project because he felt (among other things) that Murphy was wrong for the role...well Mann should rest easy because he was right. Murphy is too soft, too short, looks ridiculous and completely unbelievable as this legendary evil criminal. I don't know if he is like this in every role but this was not a good one for him and the chemistry between he and Stewart is non-existent. Dan Duryea was actually the far superior villain and instead he is reduced to a sidekick for Murphy and that's ludicrous. However, Duryea still makes a good villain and saves that aspect of the film. Everyone else is decent in their perspective roles. Brandon DeWilde does a decent job as the kid that latches onto Stewart's cowboy. He's a little irritating and overused but he's alright. The women in the film are so underused and out of place and too much emphasis is put onto the bizarre love triangles and former flames going on.On the surface a Western is sort of like a horror film...reeeeally easy to make and please fans. There are a few key ingredients that have to be in place to make a good Western and Night Passage seems to have some brawls, bad guys, good guys, train robberies and dusty towns but none of it comes together just right. It was okay but when you're swimming in a sea of westerns you have to be better than just okay. Director James Neilson is someone who comes from mostly television and perhaps he didn't have the chops or experience to make this work quite right. Night Passage (as far as I know) isn't considered a classic and you will find out why though I am sure it has its solid fans. I look forward to moving on and getting back to high quality Westerns. This one is forgettable at best. 5.5/10

jhkp This is a good western, though it lacks the atmosphere and pace Anthony Mann (originally slated to direct) would have brought to it. Then again, there was a reason he didn't direct it. (He walked at the 11th hour, causing a rift between him and Stewart, who was getting a percentage of the profits.)The film, to me, has a kind of deadness at the center. I don't think it really has a stylistic concept, a way of telling this particular story that would make it intriguing. Even with a flawed concept, the original director might have given it all a unity, purpose, or vision. This is just filmed in a workmanlike fashion. We seem never to get inside the story.In a way, this is the Stewart-Mann-Borden Chase formula re-worked one too many times. There are elements here from all the previous westerns, and it had to get tired, eventually. James Stewart is beginning to look old and wiry, rather than the young-middle-aged leading man. That's okay but it's not in keeping with the plot. Dan Duryea is here, playing almost the same psycho he played in Winchester 73. The good brother/bad brother theme is back, too. Supposedly, one of the attractions of the film for James Stewart was that he got to play the accordion and sing; in a rather unbelievable story point, he plays a man who entertains the railroad people. The cast is quite good, overall, and it must have seemed a good idea to Universal, at the time, to have not merely a James Stewart western, or an Audie Murphy western, but a Stewart-Murphy western. Shame it was just okay, not great.I enjoyed Olive Carey in her scenes with Stewart, and the location.

johnnyboyz Night Passage comes across as one of those sparsely-seen, little-known American films of old that wouldn't be particularly hindered in any way by a remake. With a bleaker tone; villains whom might come across as a little more sadistic than they do here and a more convincing lead in the role of a former scoundrel-gone-straight, whom it is needs to be entrusted with a large amount of money, you might be looking at an interestingly rounded effort. For what it's worth, 1957's incarnation of Night Passage is a decent and involving enough little picture about a man's test of character and how both he and one other man balance dealing with the back-story they share with a raucous scenario they must come to face. There is additionally some ample support in the way of sub-text to do with young men and their venturing onto career paths, and how the coming to be torn between amorality and morality can rear its head.James Stewart plays a man named Grant MacLaine whom rides on into a town whose inhabitants are in the process of constructing a railroad, an ex-railroad employee himself, MacLaine's past is hinted at in that it involves a tarnished history involving a murder of some kind. He doesn't need to be in the presence of these people for very long before they become rather fond of him; the rendering of MacLaine as the centre of attention unfolds through his accordion playing and charming dialogue, of which the song he churns out eventually revealed to us that it was a number his father played to him and his brother to keep them from fighting, with the instance MacLaine himself ceasing to play seeing those around him begin to brawl with one another, thus, a childlike sensibility is instilled about most of those he's dealing with. MacLaine is the sort of guy whom now, we're told, and following his past nastiness, pauses to have friendly cups of coffee so as to talk about the local disused mines or even come to the aid of a young boy in distress at the hands of an elder cowboy. Here is a man we have to come to believe is reformed in whatever manner, with little-to-no bad blood as a result of his past railroad employment problems and additionally decides to reign in his more antagonistic skills.Whilst in and around the area, an opportunity comes about when his former boss offers him the chance to help in the delivery of an exceptionally large payment to be made to other railroad workers; a payment which has been hijacked en route so many times by the same gang that the situation is becoming desperate and the turning to McLaine is the result in spite of the past. With the young boy whom he rescued from earlier on, named Joey (De Wilde), in tow; MacLaine boards a train to head off unaware of the brooding plot lines begging to be set in motion off-screen as well as the agenda's certain characters yet unbeknownst to MacLaine have in store for the money. The film has Joey verbally establish the menace and presence of the gang of characters MacLaine will chiefly come to clash with before many of them have even appeared on screen, the cowboy from earlier whom was terrorising the boy a part of a greater network of thugs whom were the ones sabotaging the money's prior journeyings. As one of them attains their presence on board the train by way of infiltrating a carriage's roof before getting indoors with composed ease, Joey runs through the characteristics of particular gang members that have a greater say in the clan's own matters; they being Whitey (Duryea) and a younger man known as The Utica Kid (Murphy).Joey has us aware of a past bank raid in which each of them partook, the subsequent events to which was a successful haul turning out to be the turning on one another due to disagreements and the threatening of one another with firearms. We cut to the said group, Whitey and The Utica Kid correctly dominating proceedings, Whitey of whom is bedraggled and looks rough-and-ready; The Utica Kid far smarter and much more handsome with an ebony black wardrobe complimenting a stiff and regimental overall look. When we first encounter them, they're already bickering about the robbing of the train MacLaine and Joey are actually on; the fighting amidst themselves again correctly prominent as half wish to follow through with it and half do not. Eventually, they head out to rob it and through one means or another, end up with the money albeit it unwillingly and not to their own initial knowledge.The film is a competent effort surrounding the retrieving of the payroll, effectively a journey that takes on particular redemptive elements for MacLaine as he completely and entirely makes up for whatever bad blood was spilt between he and the railroad company in the past. Director James Neilson captures some wonderful location photography, including a quite stunning cliff-top train ride along some rather steep drops and has an eye for engaging narrative as well as the well choreographed shoot outs which occur as a result of it all. What Stewart in the lead role lacks in necessary menace given his past and given he's going up against the sorts that he is, he makes up for in the form of a particular boyish confidence in his character and techniques which ought to see him win out on the day. While nothing spectacular, Night Passage is a decent and well made Hollywood western of old which delivers in character and rather immersing drama alike.