Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Spikeopath 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

hildacrane I first saw this western many years ago on TV, and the wonderful villainy of several characters, as well as the sly music for them, stayed with me. Especially that of the Patricia Neal character. She insinuates herself to the accompaniment of a sultry tango-like Max Steiner theme, and seems to relish her every double cross. After decades, I saw the movie again, and that theme still tickles me. One wonders how Neal and Zachary Scott, another Warners player, and fine as a scheming scoundrel, would have worked together.Aside from Neal, Steve Cochran is a suitably conniving and lecherous counterpart, and quite an eyeful in his leather vest. Dolores Hart is quite good as the good girl. Dennis Morgan is a bit tired in this one. Fairly standard territory-squabble plotSee it for Pat and Max.

BOB L'ALOGE I confess I was somewhat shocked at the role Patricia Neal played in this movie. She was the dastardly darling all the way through right up to the end. And to someone who has been a "loving" fan of hers since he was 13 and saw her in The Day the Earth Stood Still--that was a shock.The plot is very good. She arrives in town to find herself in the midst of a feud between two families. She immediately seeks out a young man from the richest family and seductively (which she is excellent at) works her way into his heart. He marries her and she is given deed to half the ranch. When her husband brings home an even richer man who owns a railroad in hopes of getting him to financially back the ranch, she convinces her husband to leave the job to her. Instead, she seduces him into falling in love with her also and talks him into buying out her husband. He agrees.Suddenly, they find themselves totally alone as all the hands have quit the ranch. So she sends for a gunman she met by chance at the very beginning of the Western. He brings in his "boys" and they begin to take over the ranch. Finally there is the ultimate showdown between Neal, Morgan (her husband) and the gunman (Cochran).And as I said: Patricia Neal is the dastardly darling right up to the very last breath. The role would have better suited Barbara Stanwyck or Betty Davis. But Patricia Neal it did not suit even though she did a fine job (as always). While I have seen her in many movies I shall never be able to accept her in any villain role. The Western is very good and well worth any amount of money paid to obtain it but it is just not the kind, sweet, adorable feminine Neal I am used to in movies.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) This film catches you off guard. It starts by showing how a wealthy rancher Marc Challon (Dennis Morgan) falls in love with Ann (Patricia Neal), a woman he just saw arriving on a stagecoach. It also shows that the family of Jim Ponzer hates the Challons because they are very small compared to them and are always getting the worst deal. The exception is Lena Casamajor (Dorothy Hart) who is in love with Marc. Marc proposes to Ann, they get married, and his father Pierre gives them as a wedding gift the joint ownership of the ranch. By that time you think this is a routine western, but then the unexpected occurs. Ann is very ambitious and she convinces Marc to try to get a loan to improve the ranch. He contacts Prentice who is willing to do so and falls in love with Ann. When Marc, coming back from a trip sees Ann in the arms of Prentice, they both propose to Marc to buy his part on the ranch. Marc eventually agrees, but he makes a plan to make Ann go broke. Ann hires a mean gunslinger Van Cleave (Steve Cochran), and then quite a war begins between the two sides. This western is very unusual considering the year it was released, it is much more violent then most of that time and also the change of character of Ann after she gets married is shocking., a good performance of Patricia Neal. In Brazil this film was known as "Escrava Da Cobiça" (Slave of Ambition)