Raton Pass

This western is for me a pure Warner Studios movie, recognizable from the very start - no matter of course the logo WB - because of the cast, technical crew, music score, and then the pace, very very fast, tense, and the overall plot and directing. It was not a Paramount nor a Metro Goldwyn Mayer...Impossible to get wrong. Dennis Morgan was a second rate lead role for Warner movies, and I have never liked it that much. He was so bland, unlike of course the terrific Steve Cochran who literally steals the show here, with also Patricia Neal, whom I would have never guessed to find in this kind of film.

Having gotten rich by bullying all of the other ranchers in the area, a powerful and ruthless cattleman by the name "Pierre Challon" (Basil Ruysdael) is delighted when his son "Marc Challon" (Dennis Morgan) decides to marry an attractive woman named "Ann" (Patricial Neal) who has only recently arrived in town. At first, everything is going well and, to signify his approval, Pierre even hands over half of his estate to her as a sign of his affection. Big mistake as she soon maneuvers a rich businessman named "Prentice"(Scott Forbes) into becoming her lover and then uses his money to force her husband into turning over the rest of the ranch to her. Needless to say, this rather sudden turn-of-events infuriates Pierre, to the point that he refuses to have anything to do with Marc--despite the fact that Marc has a plan to get it all back. What Marc doesn't realize, however, is just how vicious his former wife can be once she feels threatened. Now, rather than reveal any more, let me just say that this movie started off rather slow but got much more interesting once the plot further developed. Admittedly, I thought that the ending was a bit unrealistic but, even so, I enjoyed this movie for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

It is late 19th century in the New Mexico territory. Ann (Patricia Neal) arrives in Raton Pass with flirtatious criminal gunslinger Cy Van Cleave (Steve Cochran). Instead, she pursues Marc Challon (Dennis Morgan), heir to the largest local ranch. They get married and his father gives them the estate. As the wife, she is entitled to half, but Marc doesn't take her seriously. The arrival of Chicago banker Prentice (Scott Forbes) gives her another opportunity.

I don't know if this shouldn't be all from Marc's point of view. This is a boy scout in a pit of vipers. Ann needs to be accentuated as the devil woman. This movie is trying to push the old theme of the dutiful wife. It takes a great woman to support her man. It takes a devil woman to tear him down. It takes awhile to get there, but the last act really hits the nail on the head. I wish that they had more cattle, but 10k may be too many. I really like that almost everybody is out for themselves.

The movie is vague in my mind because I saw it 55yrs ago when it debuted here in Raton, New Mexico. I remember it was exciting; this was for a five year old. The greatest excitement came from the city activities to commemorate the occasion. This included parades, dances and parties. My present day next door neighbor, a high school student at the time, danced with Dorothy Hart---a lifetime event for him.

For the benefit of civic historical programs, I am trying to track down a copy of the movie. We are a small town trying to beat the doldrums that affect many small towns in America at this time. We are trying put together a film festival focused around "The Raton Pass" and the associated history of our area---the Santa Fe Trail. We have been through what seems to be all of the normal sources to find this movie. Can anyone help with a source?

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.