DVD Review: El Paso (1949)
Another one of the most interesting releases from Kino Lorber’s classics division, “El Paso” is a post-war western made for the usually low budget Pine-Thomas productions. However, for this project, the studio spent a bit more money in order to secure the services of William Holden, who turned down the lead role. It went to John Payne, and he is supported by Gail Russell, Sterling Hayden, Gabby Hayes, and Dick Foran.
The story deals with Clay Fletcher (Payne) a former Captain of the confederacy who seeks to bring law and order to a town filled with disruptions that is without any structure. A corrupt sheriff, an inept drunken lawyer, and a land baron who wields far too much power are among the obstacles. Initially, he attempts to straighten things out legally, but eventually the corruption is found to be so overbearing, he is forced to jettison his feelings for law and order and become a vigilante.
The film is one of those western stories where a town is controlled by corruption and every lawful attempt to change anything has failed. Thus, the town must react with the same sort of violent confrontation in order to be triumphant. Payne does a nice job of playing a character that must balance between toughness and naiveté, while Sterling Hayden really shines as the corrupt landowner. Dick Foran is perfectly cast as the sheriff, challenges the heroics of his B western past at Warner Brothers by playing corrupt rather than heroic. Henry Hull, already a veteran character actor by this time, is riveting in his scenes as the defeated drunken judge.
Along with Gail Russell’s soft, alluring presence as the female lead, Eduardo Noriega stars as a Vázquez, a Mexican vigilante who is firmly on Clay’s side. While Russell is chagrined by Clay’s descent into vigilantism, Vázquez fosters it. “There is only one law in El Paso,” he states, “learn to shoot first.” Humor is added with the sneaky pickpocket Stage Coach Nellie, played by Mary Beth Hughes and the always welcome Gabby Hayes, who comfortably plays within his type. Gabby's rustic presence enlivens every scene in which he appears. By the time he did "El Paso," Hayes was already headed toward iconic status among western movie sidekicks.
“El Paso” was written and directed by Lewis R. Foster, whose long, varied career dated back to silent comedies (Laurel and Hardy’s “Double Whoopee” with the noted Jean Harlow cameo), and extended to television (Foster wrote and directed several episodes of the old Jim Bowie western series). Foster dabbled in various genres, but had a keen eye for western films. Since he both wrote and directed “El Paso” his auteurist approach results in vast establishing shots and takes advantage of the location filming in the title city as well as in Nevada territory.
The film is shot in CineColor, which works well with reds and browns but has muted greens and purples, and it also looks a bit more washed or faded than the more vibrant Technicolor. Still, for low budget westerns, it was an effective process, and while more money was spent on the production of “El Paso,” the production company still realized it could shoot in CineColor for only about 25% more than black and white, and, unlike Technicolor, rushes were available as soon as 24 hours after filming.
With a one million dollar budget, “El Paso,” was able to turn a profit of about $700,000 which is reasonably successful for a low budget company. This was an early western for John Payne and he made many more, several for Pine-Thomas.
The DVD and blu ray of “El Paso” from Kino Lorber is a brand new HD master from a 4K scan of the original 2-color positive and negative separations. Thus, it is the best possible print of this movie. Along with some trailers, the special features on the disc includes a commentary by western movie expert Toby Roan. Whenever a western film boasts commentary by Mr. Roan, one can expect to be enlightened and informed about some of the most fascinating details regarding the film, the filmmakers, and the performers. “El Paso” is no exception.
Recommended for western film fans, “El Paso” is available at this link: