Rainey Dawn This film is a fairly quick paced western - they get to point of revenge fast within the first few minutes of the film - there is no drawn out waiting game. The character building happens during the "revenge" so there is none of character building before the good stuff starts like you see in so many of today's films.This is a film I was introduced to via Lon Chaney Jr... watching his westerns. This one is a pretty good western with a great cast - a few big names. The story gets interesting right from the start - so it drew me in after about 10 minutes of viewing and I'm not a big fan of western movies.7/10

ma-cortes This story is set on early California's wild and wicked pioneers days . It's a particular Western with a magnificent Cornel Wilde seeking vendetta against the killers of his loved ones and a splendid Yvonne De Carlo in double role . This moving picture tells the story of Juan ( Cornel Wilde) a respected citizen who returns to the rancho of his old friend Gaspar (John Qualen) , he comes and just promised marriage his young girlfriend (Yvonne De Carlo) and settle down for a peaceful existence . Just when they are about to marry ,comes the vengeful Sandro (Rodolfo Acosta) and his henchmen (Lon Chaney Jr , Frank DeKova) and murder the family . Juan has sworn revenge , detain and undercover the gunfighters. Juan kills some of them and is pursued by deputies (Raymond Burr and Anthony Caruso) . Meanwhile he escapes and is only helped by the twin sister ( again Yvonne De Carlo ) . At the ending takes place the dreaded final showdown against the thug on the snowy outdoors and the protagonist realizes he must stand alone against impossible odds , nobody is willing to help him .Acceptable Western set in Old Spanish California dealing with range war and full of fights , duels , revenge and stirring drama . Ample support cast plenty of known secondary actors who lend solid support as John Qualen, Robert Warwick, Anthony Caruso, John Dierkes, Stuart Whitman, Lon Chaney Jr , Frank DeKova , many of them usual in Western genre . Although made in low budget by the producer Benedict Bogeaus and RKO , Radio Pictures Inc, is a very efficient film and pretty entertaining . The picture contains colorful cinematography by John Alton( Noir cinema's usual photographer along with Nicholas Musuraka), though is necessary an urgent remastering because the copy is granulated ; furthermore atmospheric and appropriate musical score by Louis Forbes . This quickie is finely directed by Allan Dwan , a craftsman working from the silent cinema . Dwan directed over 1400 films , including one-reels, between his arrival in the industry (circa 1909) and his final film in 1961. Among them some good Western as ¨ Restless breed¨, ¨The rivers edge¨,¨Cattle Queen of Montana¨, ¨Tenessee's partner¨, ¨Montana Belle¨ and ¨Silver Lode¨ his unqualified masterpiece. Rating : 5,5 . Passable and acceptable Western in Mexican style.

MARIO GAUCI Maybe I had been spoiled a fortnight ago by the 'surprising' excellence of Dwan's SILVER LODE (1954), or perhaps I had my mind on other things while it was playing (I had just installed my brand new DVD recorder), or it is simply that the film needed a more compelling villain than Rodolfo Acosta; the fact remains that I was underwhelmed by this first viewing of PASSION. Not that it really has a reputation to uphold or anything but, retaining the services of much of the same crew as SILVER LODE (director Dwan, producer Benedict Bogeaus, cinematographer John Alton, composer Louis Forbes, art director Van Nest Polglase, bit-part actors Stuart Whitman and Robert Warwick, etc.), one can't help but expect similarly satisfying results. At least, the cast is quite good: Cornel Wilde, Yvonne De Carlo (in a dual role as Wilde's ladylike wife and her tomboyish twin sister!), Raymond Burr (as the Sheriff), Lon Chaney Jr. (as a drunken brute with a really loud cackle), John Qualen (as De Carlo's grandfather) and Anthony Caruso (as Burr's suspicious colleague). The film, set in Old California, follows a typical revenge story pattern which, unfortunately, seems not to have inspired Dwan much until the snowbound (or rather studio-bound) finale: in fact, Wilde does most of the killings – barring that of Chaney and Acosta – offscreen! Ultimately, PASSION emerges as a modestly pleasing and colorful diversion that falls short of achieving its potential…especially when judging the end result against similar contemporary Western fare about obsessive odysseys of revenge like Fritz Lang's RANCHO NOTORIOUS (1952) and Henry King's THE BRAVADOS (1958).

Michael Although this centres around the nondescript rendering of a standby genre plot - rancher seeks vengeance on those responsible for the massacre of his family - this at least turns out to have the succinct punch of economic efficiency that was the hallmark of many an RKO western. There's nothing much to speak of in terms of both script and acting - everyone is far too solemn, and disappointingly this does not exclude the quality thespian triumvirate of De Carlo, Burr and Chaney Jr.The real star is the colour photography (a panchromatic change of pace from a veteran cinematographer of many b/w 40s noirs) and the scenery within it; mise-en-scene courtesy of Fred-n-Ginger art deco specialist Van Nest Polglase. Both are sufficient to sustain one's interest through to the 'revenge is just as immoral as murder' conclusion.It's exactly the sort of film that transcends Dwan's more usual 'Cattle Queen Of Montana' type dross to attract the attention of those predisposed to critical revisionism of the B-western after a sufficient passage of time, which is why I'm all the more surprised at the lack of previous user comments.