Jimmy Stewart made some wonderful Westerns in the late 1940s and through the 50s. Compared the the average Western of the time, they had rather complex and featured non-traditional plots. As a rule, I actually hate the formulaic Western, as they have absolutely nothing new to offer and are just too derivative to be taken seriously. While this movie does have some new plot devices and the excellent acting of Stewart, this movie is the closest of these Westerns to approach the old formulaic themes. As a result, it is probably my least favorite of his films, but it is still pretty watchable.

Stewart, uncharacteristically, is a traveling accordion player (I am NOT kidding about this, really) and he has been doing this job for several years since being blamed for a train robbery (he was working for the railroad at the time). This film gives him a chance to prove himself and regain his old job with the railroad. But, along the way he encounters Brandon DeWilde (the cute kid from Shane who was killed at a very young age) and Audie Murphy (the war hero and actor who also died way too young). Aside from these two characters and Stewart, nothing about the plot is particularly outstanding. A decent and watchable film, but awfully predictable and forgettable.

By the way--a note to movie buffs--you DO get to hear Jimmy Stewart sing several songs in this film! While his singing was absolutely awful in BORN TO DANCE, in this film it isn't bad--the loud and cacophonous according did great things to hide his less than stellar voice! If only he'd used it in this previous musical!!

Night Passage was supposed to be the 6th western and 9th film of the director/actor combination of James Stewart and Anthony Mann. Unfortunately Stewart and Mann quarreled and Mann walked off the picture. James Neilson, who later went on to direct a bunch of Disney products, did most of the film. Of course Jimmy Stewart and a cast of Mann regulars like Jay C. Flippen, Robert J. Wilke, Dan Duryea, knew what was expected of them and delivered the goods.

Night Passage like the first Stewart/Mann film, Winchester 73 is the story of a good and bad brother. Stewart was a former railroad detective who was fired off the job for giving a break to bad brother Audie Murphy. Murphy is popularly known as fast gun Utica Kid and he rides with Dan Duryea's outlaw band. Like in Winchester 73, Dan Duryea's criminal activities deter Stewart in his mission.

Unlike in Winchester 73, Stewart's mission is to redeem and not kill his outlaw brother. That's a task easier said than done as Murphy, Duryea and the gang hold up the train Stewart's on that is carrying the railroad payroll. What happens to the brothers and the gang is the story behind Night Pasage.

Anthony Mann even though he was not directing this had the path already marked out and the players followed his lead. Audie Murphy and Jimmy Stewart, World War II heroes both, have a good chemistry between them. Dan Duryea like in Winchester 73 is unforgettable as the slightly psychotic outlaw leader.

Also featured here is Jimmy Stewart playing the accordion and singing a couple of songs that blend nicely with the plot. No surprise to real movie fans, after all Stewart is the guy who introduced Cole Porter's Easy to Love in Born to Dance.

Grant McLaine (James Stewart) is a fired railroad worker who is playing the accordion for scraps. Recent train robberies by Whitey Harbin and his men force the boss to rehire him to carry the payroll cash to the workers. When his train is held up, he hides the money in a boy's shoebox. The boy turns out to be The Utica Kid (Audie Murphy).

The start is very slow. We don't get to the train for awhile. This part of the story definitely needs more tension. Once the train robbery happens, a more proper amount of pace is injected into the movie. But even here, the dialog is hokey and the movie is every bit a run of the mill western. This is definitely missing a more adventurous style. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this for more than a James Stewart fan or a Sunday afternoon filler.