Oregon Passage

Will anyone be offended if I say that Edward Platt was not as good a screen actor as Henry Fonda, nor John Ericson as interesting as John Wayne? I mention these startling opinions because the first half of this movie is a remake of FORT APACHE.

I'll go further with these radical insights and assert that Paul Landres was not as good a director as John Ford. While most of the actors are at least adequate, there are some wonky lines offered that didn't sound very convincing.

After the borrowed beginning, this settles down into a standard B western in which Ericson winds up fighting H.M. Wynant, the Indian chief who leads his warriors into battle by standing on a rock and raising his arms. It's an attempt to save the B Western by some serious location shooting in Deschutes National Forest in Oregon, and the camera-work of Ellis Carter is up to the job; he chooses lighting that suggests the forests of the Hudson Valley School of painting, rather than the Frederick Remington lighting that Ford lighted for his color excursion to the Southwest. However, the rest of it is standard fare.

An usual B-western without enough attractive forces to hold in the chair, firstly having a second class casting usually on TV series, a three-side fight, between an insurgent Black Eagle against cavalry sheltered in the fort, led by a cocky careerist Major Roland who intent to get promotion to be back to east, by any means including putting all soldiers in danger against Black Eagle, in other hand a Lt. Niles a second on command has been pressure by the insane Major, among all this has a Major's wife a beauty Lola Albright a former fiancée of Niles and also including Little Deer a young Indian rescued from the Indians by Niles, this odd triangle affair is more dangerous than the angry Indians, the fabulous locations on Oregon national forest is quite sure the highlights of this average production, the spots nearby river rapids are breathtaking, l guess this picture hardly comes to light officially someday, l have it recorded from tv in low resolution, unlikely event of restoration could improve the picture a as consequence get better reputation!!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6

Oregon Passage (AKA: Rio Bravo) is directed by Paul Landres and adapted to screenplay by Jack DeWitt from the novel written by Gordon D. Shirreffs. It stars John Ericson, Lola Albright, Toni Gerry, Edward Platt, Rachel Ames and H.M. Wynant. Music is by Paul Dunlap and CinemaScope photography is by Ellis Carter.

It's somewhat surprising that given the production value here that this is a little known Cavalry & Indians Oater. Of course the absence of "A" list male stars explains its rarity a touch, but still it deserves a look if not for the formulaic plotting, then for the production strengths.

Plot finds Ericson as Lt. Niles Ord in Oregon 1871, he's 1/16th Cherokee and has a grasp of the Indian situation! Holed up at the fort with a commanding officer who has a grudge (Platt), Ord and the rest of the soldiers operate in constant threat of attack from Black Eagle and his Shoshone warrior tribe. Meanwhile tricky matters of the heart produce internal war within the fort's boundaries.

Nothing for Western fans to get too excited about but it's a very well mounted picture. Platt is a Custer character just waiting to get comeuppance, his pigheadedness and repeated locking of horns with Ericson drives the story forward. Albright and Gerry are absolutely socko gorgeous, lit up in De Luxe colour and given written parts that may be familiar, but nonetheless are performed for good impact. It often gets draggy as it spends too much time inside the fort, the character interactions at times becoming extraneous, but action pops in from time to time and is competently staged and raises the pulses. The CinemaScope photography is most pleasing, Ellis Carter (The Incredible Shrinking Man) making use of the Deschutes National Forest locations. Dunlap's musical score is by the numbers for such a Western movie, though his various incorporation's of "Red River Valley" strike an impression, whilst the design of the fort - all sharpened timber - is also striking. Worth a viewing for the Oater of mind. 6/10

John Erickson is Lt Niles Ord, a cavalry officer stationed at a fort nervously awaiting an attack from a marauding Indian chief, who also has to contend with tyrannical post commander Eric Platt in this ordinary b-movie from Allied Artists. It seems that the commander's new wife is a bit of a cougar who took advantage of Ord when he was a callow youth and now sees him as a way out of the godforsaken posting which she considers to be her husband's way of punishing her for being desirable to other men. Erickson makes a bland leading man and the rest of the cast - apart from a luminous Lola Allbright as the predatory femme fatale - is equally forgettable.

Nice outdoor location cinematography is the best feature of Oregon Passage, a western shot on location, well, Oregon. John Ericson stars in this film and he's got himself an impossible mission. He wants to bring in Shoshoni chief Black Eagle alive.

Turns out to be an impossible task after martinet eastern Major Edward Platt takes command. The fact that his new bride Lola Albright has some history with Ericson doesn't help matters.

Albright is the real star here, one frontier vixen. Even the Shoshonis here say that fair haired women are to be avoided. This one sure should.

Battle scenes are nicely staged and the plot is most adult.