Reviewed by JONATHAN LEWIS:         


RATON PASS. Warner Brothers, 1951. Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal, Steve Cochran, Scott Forbes, Dorothy Hart, Basil Ruysdael, Louis Jean Heydt, Roland Winters. Screenplay: Thomas W. Blackcburn based on his own novel. Director: Edwin L. Marin.

   I had hoped for a little more from Raton Pass, a rather mediocre horse opera set in the New Mexico Territory. The standard elements are all there: a hired gunman; a father-son conflict; a culture conflict between Whites and Mexicans; a dispute over who properly owns a ranch. You get the picture.

   Having a female lead portray the film’s primary villain is a bit out of the ordinary, and it adds a little something extra into the mix. But it wasn’t nearly enough to make this early 1950s oater all that memorable. Then again, the film’s cast and in particular, Dennis Morgan, isn’t particularly known for their work in the Western genre.

   The plot: There’s a new lady in town and her good looks belie her nefarious intentions. Her name is Ann (Patricia Neal) and it doesn’t take her long for her to marry ranch owner, Marc Challon (Dennis Morgan). Truth be told, it doesn’t take her too long to do much of anything because before you can blink an eye, it seems, she’s seduced a Chicago financier named Prentice (Scott Forbes) and has wrestled control of the Challon ranch.

   This naturally upsets both Marc and his father, Pierre (Basil Ruysdael), who can’t believe his son won’t shoot Prentice dead there on the spot. A lot of drama ensues as Marc comes up with a scheme to win back control of the range and exact his revenge on Ann who, it should be noted, is still technically his wife.

   But Ann’s not going down without a fight! She’s hired a slimy gunfighter named Cy Van Cleave (Steve Cochran) to make trouble for Marc and his men.

   How will it all turn out? It suffices it to say that melodrama gives way to action sequences that, in turn, give way to tragedy. It’s standard Western fare, all served up with competent, but by no means, outstanding cinematography and direction. There’s also too little natural scenery to be found in Raton Pass, which is a shame given how much it would have counterbalanced the otherwise completely average script.