Santa Fe Passage (1955) User Reviews

"I don't like any Indians, I like half breeds less."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 29 June 2007]

John Payne's character spouts all the native Indian racist and anti-feminist diatribes he can muster in this wild west actioner taking place on a pack train to Santa Fe. Kirby Randolph (Payne) and his partner Sam (Slim Pickens) look to redeem themselves from a prior scouting job that ended in disaster for settlers on a wagon train passing through Cottonwood Draw. This might be the first time I've seen an Indian tribe actually get drunk on screen, as Randloph's attempt to placate Chief Satank (George Keymas) only gets him fired up for revenge.

Credit the film makers with a significant historically accurate scene in which the main street of a Western town consists of about six inches of mud. You get to hear Payne in his role as the wagon scout refer to men required for point, swing, and drag duty. The film also has a great action scene involving a horse stampede that threatens the Griswold party, full of colorful sequences and quite well done.

At the center of the story lies a romantic triangle involving Randolph, his boss Griswold (Rod Cameron) and Griwswold's partner and expected future wife Aurelie St. Clair (Faith Domergue). The revelation of St. Clair's heritage as daughter of a Kiowa mother brings out a few more Injun clichés before the story's progress brings Randolph full circle in his thinking about accepting individuals on their own merits. By the time the Kiowa's make their final attack, Randolph can say "I won't have a squaw who won't take orders" with a nod, nod, wink, wink, and have St. Clair accept it with an understanding smile.

The one thing that kept distracting me though was the casting of Irene Tedrow as St. Clair's aide Ptewaquin. I never quite caught on that she would figure in one of the story's twist endings, probably because I kept trying to figure out where I'd seen her before. Checking out her career credits, now I know.

Best line of the picture - Satank describes the Mexican Chavez (Anthony Caruso), ally of Griswold - "Don't like him, stink too much, like dead buffalo." It conjures up as colorful a picture as the traitor McLawery (Leo Gordon) winding up as buzzard bait.

Thrilling and colorful Western starred by a tough John Payne , involving a wagon train against Indians

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 8 August 2019]

An unfortunate Indian scout called Kirby (John Payne) and his disgraced partner (Slim Pickens) are excluded by colonists or settlemen , that's why some families were slaughtered by the Indians and neither he nor his colleague Sam Beekman can get jobs . Later on , they are hired to escort a wagonload of guns through Indian territory. Aurelie St. Clair (Faith Domergue) , who owns half of an ammunition shipment for sale in Santa Fe to Mexican insurrectionaries, protests when her pal and lover Jess Griswold (Rod Cameron) hires Kirby and Sam as guides . After that , Kirby and Aurelie fall in love, although Kirby does not realize she is half-Indian . Along the way they have to face off the ruthless Kiowa chief Satank (George Keymas) who instigates a spectacular wild horse stampede . The danger trail that only the daring traveled ! Ablaze with Raging Adventure! afire with Romantic Love! aflame with the Fury of Hate-Crazy Savages!

Run-of-the-mill Republic Picture flick with usual elements, such as noisy action, thrills, crossfire, drama, romance and some spectacular action scenes . Along with a love triangle in which implicates Kirby/Payne and Jess/Cameron who is also in love with Aurelie/Domergue . The plot is plain and simple a wagon train results to be chased and ambushed by the Indians , then the survivors trust on an expert scout despite his ostracism status. A blending of functional main actors with great character players of whom John Payne holds the best role as a brave frontiersman . The hothouse plot drives mercilessly forward with action , thrills , attacks , treason and turns . The tale is strong one and the yarn is wonderfully located against a background of Utah . Well directed by Witney who made a lot of low-budget movies , though he followed to work for cinema and was capable of making large-scale movies as ¨Santa Fe Passage¨ revolving around a wagon train against Indians . Stars John Payne, as a valiant scout and wagon-train guide Kirby Randolph , he delivers a peculiar role as a vengeful explorer who hates all Indians, , whose massacre of an entire wagon-train of settlers led by Kirby to hate really the Indians ; Payne being one of the popular actors of the forties and fifties, today a little forgotten. He starred the classy Miracle in 34th street and performed all kinds of genres as Noir: Slighly scarlet, Kansas City confidential, The vanquished, Adventure: Raiders of seven seas, Crosswinds, Tripoli and Western : Santa Fe passage, Rails into Laramie , Silver lode, Tennessee's partner, The Road to Denver. Payne is well accompanied by a good support cast such as : the always sympathetic Slim Pickens here co-starring , Rod Cameron , the habitual baddie Leo Gordon , Irene Tedrow , George Keymas and Anthony Caruso .

It contains colorful and brilliant cinematography in Trucolor by director of photography Bud Thackery . And thrilling and atmospheric musical scrore by Dale Butts .This classic as well as traditional movie was produced by Herbert J Yates from Republic Pictures and professionally directed by William Witney , containing some vigorous scenes . Witney was a good craftsman who directed 140 titles from the 30s . Oklahoma-born William began his long screen career as a studio messenger in silent days joining Republic Pictures shortly after . By 1936 , he was already script supervisor on serials and his own directorial career started the following year . Witney graduated to director at 21, he was Hollywood's youngest , and he teamed with director John English on many of the period's best serials . He realized many of the era's best serials , most of them highlighted by kinetic fight and chase scenes that helped change the face of action movie-making and from 1956 , he transferred these stirring energies to TV Westerns with prolific and enjoyable results . The favorite shooting was the 1939 serial ¨Zorro's fighting legion¨ . As his pictures were mainly serials , after WWII service with US Marines , he moved on to Roy Rogers Westerns , inserting into them a new tough backbone that offended some Rogers purists . In 1954 he made one of the best films ¨The outcast¨ with John Derek , besides his television work which includes some quite exciting episodes of such series as ¨High Chaparral¨, ¨Bonanza¨, ¨Laramie¨, ¨Zorro¨, ¨The Virginian¨ and ¨Wagon train¨ and ¨The Bonnie Parker story¨about the famous gun-moll , and specially his greatest hit : ¨Master of the world¨ . The motion picture will appeal to Western/adventure buffs ; it's an agreeable popcorn story plenty of breathtaking scenes , thrills , colorful exteriors and many other things . It's a wonderful popcorn story for kids , teens and old people . Rating : Decent Western 6/10

Leading a Wagon-Train Through Indian Territory

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 25 February 2015]

While leading a wagon-train through Indian territory, "Kirby Randolph" (John Payne) attempts to prevent an attack upon his people by negotiating with the Kiowa chief named "Satank" (George Keymas). What he doesn't know is that Satank has already sent his braves to attack the wagon-train and is essentially stringing Kirby along. Not long afterward Kirby is told that all but a very few people on the wagon-train were murdered. To make matters worse Kirby's reputation is completely destroyed and nobody wants to hire him any more. Fortunately, his luck changes for the better when he comes across a wagon-train in desperate need of a scout. What he doesn't know is that this particular wagon-train is carrying rifles to the Mexican Army and that the Kiowas know about it and want them very badly. Complicating matters even further is an attractive woman named "Aurelie St. Clair" (Faith Domergue) in this wagon-train who the wagon master "Jess Griswold" (Rod Cameron) is in love with and begins to get jealous of Kirby the longer the trip to Santa Fe lasts. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that, although there was an obvious "anti-racism message" in this film, it was still enjoyable for the most part. The sad fact is that the 50's had its share of problems and racial injustice was just beginning to become recognized. Be that as it may, I liked this film overall and rate it as slightly above average.

Different enough western to be considered distinguished. Very watchable.

[Poseidon-3 · 24 February 2005]

Managing to be both standard and unusual at the same time, this western should entertain most viewers for its 91 minute running time. Payne plays a trail scout who, with his sidekick Pickens, helps wagon trains cross hostile Indian territory. After one of his jobs goes horribly wrong, he has trouble finding work until Cameron hires him to assist his team of packhorses (and three wagons) on a drive to Santa Fe. Also on the trip is tough, skeptical Gordon as the trail boss and Domergue, who plays Cameron's girlfriend and owner of the cargo being transported. Domergue has an Indian companion (Tedrow!) who combs her hair and gets her gussied up each night at camp in one pretty gown after another. Before long, a love triangle develops between Payne, Domergue and Cameron, with Domergue harboring a shameful secret. Meanwhile, the Indians (led by chief Keymas) try everything they can think of to destroy and loot the wagon train. Some of the usual "Pioneers versus the Indians" clichés are touched on here, but the film does have more than a few unique and interesting touches. (It must have the most authentically muddy city streets of any film from this period.) It's also quite picturesque and relatively full of action and interest. Payne does a decent job and shows off a still fit and trim physique (in a memorably uncomfortable scene involving being caught in his drawers by Domergue.) Domergue, outfitted with some distracting and anachronistic earrings, is also strong in her role, though her storyline borders on the preposterous. Cameron, who at 6'5" towers over everyone (making even 6 foot tall Payne seem diminutive!), is solid and tough throughout. He has a memorable scene involving the handling of a traitor. Pickens is authentic and mildly entertaining in his sidekick role. What really sends this flick into Bizarro-Land is the presence of Tedrow as an old Indian squaw. Stone-faced, smeared with tan Ben Nye make-up, borrowing Groucho Marx's eyebrows and speaking in a tone 3 octaves lower than usual, she is hysterically funny. Best of all is when she comes alive near the end of the film and turns into a knife-wielding Super Squaw, running at the speed of light, fiercely riding a horse and taking part in skirmishes with her enemies! No viewer of Tedrow as Miss Lucy Elkins on "Dennis the Menace" could ever have envisioned that she once played this role in a movie! The viewpoint towards Native Americans in the film is mostly the standard unsympathetic one of this time with some exceptions. Keymas is wounded at one point and sports some hilariously unconvincing injury makeup. One memorable sequence involves a very dusty pony stampede and the attempts to divert it. There's also a big "twist" ending that is completely discernible within the first 15 minutes of the film. It's a familiar type of tale, but one told with a diverse cast, lots of activity and some edge in the story and direction.

Indian hater falls for half breed, her mother saving his life.

[weezeralfalfa · 6/10 · 12 June 2017]

This is a Republic Pictures production, filmed in Trucolor, mainly in various parts of AZ and UT, with mostly dry rocky backgrounds, supposedly on the Santa Fe trail, which crossed the plains of Kansas, to NM. It concerns a wagon train scout(John Payne as Kirby) and his partner Sam(Slim Pickens), who are responsible for protecting two wagon trains, which are in grave danger of being attacked by Kiowa, lead by Chief Satank(Sitting Bear)(George Keymas). Incidentally, Satank was a famous historical Kiowa chief, famed as a fierce warrior in battles with various surrounding tribes early in his career, later switching mostly to fighting white settlers, wagon trains, and even army posts. before being arrested for murder.

Aside from interactions between the wagon trains and Kiowa , the plot emphasizes a developing love triangle between Kirby, a woman called Aurelie(Faith Domergue) and the organizer of the wagon train(Rod Cameron, as Jess Griswold). Initially, Aurelie was opposed to choosing the duo as their scouts, because the last wagon they scouted for was ambushed and annihilated by Kiowa, while Kirby was negotiating with Santank elsewhere. However, when Kirby saved her from sever burns when her skirt caught fire, by smothering it, she changed her attitude toward him, and they began a romantic relationship. However, Griswold, who also had a romantic interest in her, threw cold water on their relationship by telling Kirby that she was a Kiowa half breed. Kirby had previously said that he hated all Indians, and especially half breeds. Thus, Kirby was cool toward Aurelie for a while. But, especially after her mother saved his life in a knife fight with Satank, he warmed up again. He came to understand that not all Kiowa were murdering madmen. Meanwhile, Griswold had asked Aurelie to be his wife. She gave him a non-committal answer each time. Not apparent why. Kirby and Griswold have a physical fight over Aurelie, rolling down a steep slope, until Griswold drops off a short ledge, breaking his leg. This would prove fatal, as the Kiowa warriors swarmed over him after Kirby and Aurelia rode off, as he requested.

Aside from the climactic battle between the Kiowa and wagoneers, perhaps the most exciting episode is the stampeding horses the Kiowa drove toward the wagon train, in a draw. Kirby directs the wagons and pack animals to get out of the way of the probable path of the horses, so that only minor damaged resulted.

Available in color at YouTube.

Routine western adventure

[NewEnglandPat · 5/10 · 5 August 2003]

A scout with a questionable reputation guides a wagon train through hostile Indian country in an okay but predictable western. John Payne and Rod Cameron are the top cast names and their main interest here is a half-breed girl as the train makes its way to Santa Fe. Good support is given by Slim Pickens, Anthony Caruso and Leo Gordon, old hands in the western genre, and Faith Domergue does what she can with a one-dimensional role. The action is decent and a wild horse stampede adds excitement to the film but otherwise there's nothing about the movie that separates it from dozens of others of its type. The picture has beautiful camera work and displays pretty Utah landscapes to good advantage. The film was based on a novel by Clay Fisher who had some of his other works made into excellent westerns.

Little Too Much Doublecrossing

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 12 December 2012]

Some rather questionable character motivations make this particular Republic western something of a mixed bag for me. John Payne's dislike of Indians and his distrust of mixed blood people make it a rough road in courting Faith Domergue who is half Indian.

Santa Fe Passage casts John Payne as a frontier scout who lost his last wagon train going to Santa Fe because of some bad judgment he made about the Kiowas and their chief. Now he and sidekick Slim Pickens can't get a job in their profession and have a lot of people ready to shoot them on sight.

That is until Domergue and her partner Rod Cameron hire them over the objections of Leo Gordon their trail boss. They're taking a shipment of rifles to Mexico for sale and of course that perks up interest among the Kiowas.

There was a little too much doublecrossing and all the males of the cast Payne, Cameron, and Gordon are thinking with their male members and truly beyond reason. Even Slim Pickens gives Domergue more than a second glance. The plot made little sense to me, but the action was pretty good.

A great cast in a superb Western.

[bux · 10/10 · 14 June 2000]

Once again, Republic Studio brings together a great cast in a superior Western tale. Payne is the discredited scout, Pickens his side-kick, hired to guide a wagon full of guns through hostile Indian territory. As the action unfolds, Payne must overcome the hostiles, gun-runners and his own prejudice to win out. There is a lot of suspense here, and never a dull moment. An excellent watch!

Witney's eye for action undone by poor script and a misfiring cast.

[hitchcockthelegend · 4/10 · 2 April 2010]

John Payne plays Kirby Randolph, a disgraced Indian scout who along with his trusty side-kick Sam Beekman (Slim Pickens) finally gets hired by Aurelie St. Clair (Faith Domergue) & Jess Griswold (Rod Cameron) to escort a wagon load of guns through Indian territory. With the past hanging over him like a bad smell and the Indians on their trail, the last thing Kirby needs is Aurelie catching his eye. Especially since she's Griswold's girl. This is sure to be one perilous and life changing journey.

There's a lot of common words been used in reviews for this William Witney directed film. Routine, different, exciting, boring & unusual, all of which proves just how divisive cinema can be. Adapted by Lillie Hayward from an Esquire Magazine story written by Heck Allen, Santa Fe Passage is out of Republic Pictures and is shot in the Trucolor process on location at St. George, Utah {Bud Thackery photographs}. Personally speaking I found the film something of a chore to get thru, which in a Western that has a high action quota is some what surprising to me. A lot of it can be put down to the wooden acting from the principals and the rather bland screenplay.

Payne never convinced in Western's, and here he is showed up by the reliable Pickens. In fact ex-convict Leo Gordon who is also in the piece would probably have been a better choice for the lead role of Kirby! Domergue is a picture of doe eyed sexuality, her engaging features benefiting from one of Republic's better color prints, but she struggles with the meandering script and looks bored in love scenes with old stiff Payne. Worst of the bunch tho is Irene Tedrow as squaw Ptewaquin, if you manage not to laugh then you deserve a medal.

The failings in the cast are a shame because Witney manfully does a good job with the action. A horse stampede and two Indian attacks are real entertaining highlights fit to be in some other higher budgeted Western. But then the focus has to revert back to uninteresting characters being given uninteresting portrayals. It's clear what the makers were trying to do. The old Anti-Western/Anti-Racist core to be mixed with action and a potential complex love triangle, looks good on paper. But when you come out of the film only remembering Domergue's green eyes and an unintentional comedy squaw character, well you got problems. A creaky 4/10 from me.

Witney's done better

[fredcdobbs5 · 4/10 · 10 February 2016]

Disgraced Indian scout and his sidekick lead a wagon train carrying freight through Kiowa country to Mexico. John Payne is the scout, Slim Pickens is his sidekick and Rod Cameron and Faith Domergue are the wagon train "bosses". Director William Witney was an expert at making tight, fast-moving westerns, but he had a bad day here. Except for a well-handled wild-horse stampede and a couple of slightly less well-handled Indian attacks, this picture moves like molasses, with performances ranging from enjoyable (Pickens) to stiff (Cameron) to indifferent (Domergue) to awful (Irene Tedrow as a Kiowa "squaw" accompanying Domergue on the train). Payne looks like he'd rather be somewhere else and doesn't connect at all with Domergue, his ostensible love interest. Only Pickens and Leo Gordon as a villainous (what else?) trail boss manage to breathe any life into their characters, and the script holds no surprises for anyone (especially the "twist" ending). An OK time-waster, that's about all.

Groaner

[sandcrab · 21 July 2003]

Why Payne is in any western is the question. Rod Cameron is clearly suited to perform both roles at the same time. The guy that played the indian chief Satang was also totally unbelieveable. I like my westerns with less wimps. This reminds me of several other that were miscast because the producer wanted to star in a western. Willie Nelson comes to mind.

OK Passage of Time

[Waiting2BShocked · 3/10 · 6 September 2005]

A strikingly photographed but also strikingly ordinary western. Payne leads a cattle drive through 'Injun' territory. Do you reckon they're going to let him through peacefully? It's admittedly never short on action, but such trifle now seems more than a bit outré considering the contemporarily modish spate of 'be nice to Indians' Westerns. Fair to say though, that even though 'Broken Arrow' had set such a trend 5 year back, traditional Western audiences regarded the concept with less-than macromolecular significance. With Faith Domergue being typically insipid (This Island Earth was still one year off), but looking as if she thinks she deserves to be paid like Barbara Stanwyck.

One of Witney's Best!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 1 April 2013]

Although this is director William Witney's best film, it seems to have been overlooked by most critics, including Paul Simpson who doesn't even mention Witney at all in his "Rough Guide to Westerns" (2006). Witney was the guy who turned Roy Rogers from a singing clothes horse into a tough hell-fighting hero. This film, however, stars John Payne, then at the height of his box office appeal, thanks to vigorous promoting by Howard Hughes at RKO. Yet somehow the Payne name didn't work its usual magic. In fact, the movie suffered a bad break right from the beginning. Although it was made on an "A" budget, it wasn't even released in New York. Consequently, no reviews from the country's most prestigious critics. Even a thumbs down collection of reviews from New York is better than no reviews at all. Anyway, although there are a few obvious studio scenes, this little gem was photographed for the most part on actual locations in Utah. Director Witney and his photographer make such atmospheric use of desert browns and reds sharply outlined against powerful blue skylines, the film is always a wonder to look at. It's chock full of action and great stunts (never mind that some of the stunt players are a little too obvious at times), but nevertheless directed with a bit of style as well as pace and vigor. The interesting support cast lines up Rod Cameron – playing the heavy for once – and Leo Gordon giving his usual vigorous study in villainy. No expense was spared on full throttle running inserts for the action spots. At 90 minutes, the movie is maybe a bit talky, and the plot is pretty predictable. But all the same, it's entertaining, exciting, and great to look at. Based on an Esquire magazine story.

A frontier scout (John payne) guides a wagon train through Indian territory.

[dougbrode · 8/10 · 19 March 2006]

Perhaps most interesting about this memorable B+ western is that it's the only Republic color western that doesn't look like a Republic color western - meaning that their usual color film stock, which makes everything appear to be a bizarre blend of soft blues and hot pinks, is not what we see. Rather, this looks (and feels) like one of oaters that Columbia Studios churned out at that time, particularly in terms of the color stock that was employed, and the only dead give away that this is indeed from Republic is the presence of Rod Cameron, one of their stock company members, as the second male lead who veers back and forth between being an okay fellow and a total villain, adding a patina of interest to the characterization. The plot itself is quite fascinating: John Payne plays a frontier scout who, along with his gruff sidekick (Slim Pickens), was disgraced when he tried to trick some Indians into letting his wagon train through hostile territory and inadvertently got the pioneers massacred. No one will hire him until he gets a job with a 'questionable' train run by Cameron and a gorgeous woman (Faith Domergue). Cameron wants to marry her, and doesn't care one whit that she's a halfbreed. But Payne, who has developed a fierce and vicious prejudice against all Indians owing to the despoiling of his reputation, fumes at her racial background - even as he too falls in love with her, creating an intriguing romantic triangle. Ultra PC types might mistake this for a racist western, though in truth its anti-western, as the hero arcs away from his own absurd prejudices and comes to accept her as a person. Slim Pickens is, as always, a joy to watch, particularly when high atop his bucking mule that would also be used in Walt Disney's THE SAGA OF ANDY BURNETT two years later. Terrific skirmishes with the Indian warriors, all of them well staged by William Witney, an old hand at above average B westerns.

Exciting John Payne western

[coltras35 · 10/10 · 25 December 2020]

Along with Silver Lode and Rails into Laramie, this is another enjoyable western that keeps one engaged all throughout. A good wagon train story with plenty of good action - such as the horse stampede - and great location. John Payne plays scout who hates Indians due to a previous incident. Things get complicated when he falls for the ravishing Faith Domergue who, unknown to him, is half-injun.

Good Western

[januszlvii · 8/10 · 18 December 2021]

Santa Fe Passage is a good western I just saw on YouTube. I was just going through a list of the films of stunning Faith Domergue and noticed this is a film I never heard of ( I guess for some reason has not been shown on TV ( even Encore Westerns)). It is about. Kirby Randolph ( John Payne) a disgraced wagon train scout who made a mistake that led to his wagon train being massacred by. Chief Satank an evil Kiowa Chief. This led him to being prejudiced against Native Americans. Of course, he ends up falling for Aurelie ( Faith) who is a half Native American. Besides being able to look at Faith ( beautiful as always), the scenery is the primary reason to watch the movie ( especially the wild horse stampede scene). There are several different bad guys in the movie who stand out. In particular Rod Cameron ( Jess griswold), who loves Aurelie ( although she does not love him). There is one scene where he kills.another bad guy named Chavez.( Anthony Caruso) for being a traitor ( although he became a traitor as well). Why is this a good instead of great western? John Payne is okay but not great in westerns ( unlike Film Noir ( like Kansas City Confidential and ( especially) 99 River Street)). Spoilers Ahead: As you can imagine Kirby and Aurelie will be married ( they were going to make love in a teepee ( in honor of her mother who saved his life and killed Satank ( at the cost of her own life), but his partner Sam Beekman ( Slim Pickens) brings over a priest for them to get married first ( anything else would not have escaped the censors.in 1955). 8 of 10 stars mostly for the scenery ( especially Faith and the stampede scene).