El Paso

I think El Paso started out to be a much more ambitious western than it eventually turned out. There was a lot more potential there than for what did eventually make it to the screen.

Except for a short subject he did at Warner Brothers in 1939 El Paso was the first western that John Payne did and he definitely seemed comfortable in the genre. He plays a lawyer and former Confederate veteran who goes west to El Paso from Charleston, South Carolina in search of an old friend of Payne's grandfather H.B. Warner.

That friend is Henry Hull who went west with his daughter Gail Russell for health reasons and is now a drunken pawn of town boss Sterling Hayden. With Hull as judge and sheriff Dick Foran to enforce some trumped up foreclosures, Hayden's grabbing all the real estate he can in and around El Paso from veterans who were not paying taxes while they were fighting in the Civil War.

Payne tries it the legal way, but he's learned a few things as well in those war years. When it doesn't work he finds himself leader of a guerrilla band who are exacting justice after a couple of murders of cast members sympathetic to Payne.

Editing was pretty botched in El Paso. There are references during the film to scenes that were obviously cut out. The film also seemed to be building to a terrific climax and the end was quite a let down. You'll see what I mean if you view the film.

El Paso was produced by Pine-Thomas Productions, two guys with the first name of William. William Pine was Cecil B. DeMille's associate producer on several of his earlier epics from the Thirties and I think he was expecting a DeMille like budget and didn't get it. So cuts were made that I think spoiled the overall quality of the film.

Still fans of the western and of John Payne will like it. Note the comic relief performances of Mary Beth Hughes as Stagecoach Nell and Gabby Hayes for once an Easterner in a western.

"El Paso" is an ugly looking film. I assume it looked a lot better when it first debuted, but the print from Netflix is yucky looking. Part of this might be because it used Cinecolor (a very inexpensive but far from perfect color system) and part of it surely is due to the effects of degradation over time. All I know for sure is that the film is full of sepia tones and green-grays but many other colors are absent.

The film begins just after the Civil War. A lawyer (John Payne) is sent from Charleston to El Paso to get some papers signed by a judge who used to live in South Carolina. Unfortunately, when Payne arrives, he finds that the judge (Henry Hull) is a drunk and the town is run by an evil boss (Sterling Hayden) whose aim is to steal away everyone's land. Can Payne use the law to his advantage or will he and his new friends have to take the law into their own hands?

The evil boss-man theme is a very, very familiar one in American films of this era--perhaps THE most familiar. I am pretty sure it was used long before it was in "Birth of a Nation" (this was an evil boss film despite its sick racist message). Because it's become a bit of a cliché, "El Paso" certainly lacks originality. But, despite the familiar, the film is handled well on several levels. While the boss-man story is overused, using an alcoholic judge to help make the land-grab 'legal' was an inspired change to the standard story. Additionally, Payne and Hayden are both good actors and make the most of the material. In addition, it was nice to see the way Mexicans were handled in the film. Too often, they are simpletons in westerns, but here they are both noble AND manly--with Eduardo Noriega's character being one of the better ones in this era. Along for the ride is old reliable Gabby Hayes for a nice bit of comic relief. In addition, while the film might be a bit blood-thirsty, it sure did make it exciting and better than the usually over-sanitized western of the day. The overall package manages to breath life into an ancient sort of story and makes the film a lot better than it should be. Worth seeing--particularly if you like westerns.

This Cinecolor Western from 1949 boasts a terrific cast and an interesting storyline. John Payne stars as a gun-toting attorney who takes on the so-called "lawmen" of El Paso. Sterling Haytden and former singin'cowpoke Dick Foran have fun roles as the bad-guys running the town. With the help of a drunken Judge, they rule with an iron fist .... until Payne arrives !

Gabby Hayes has a featured role and is as endearing as ever. This film is fun and well-produced, but is a little long & drags a bit in the middle.

Those with patience and a 100+ minutes to spare should enjoy this old-fashioned cowboy movie.

Frankly attractive main and support cast in an acceptable Western professionally directed by Lewis R. Foster. Set in El Paso, where arrives the lawyer and ex-Confederate captain Clay Fletcher (John Payne). Fletcher reunites with his once lady-friend, Susan Jeffers (Gail Russell) , when his father, Judge Fletcher, sends him on an errand to El Paso, Texas to get the signature of Susan's father, Judge Jeffers (Hemry Hull), on a legal document. Once there he finds the judge has become a drunk and a laughing stock, doing the bidding of local magnate Bert Donner (Sterling Hayden) and his running dog, Sheriff La Farge (Dick Foran). So the town is run by a crooked landowner, the judge is a drunk and the sheriff is corrupt. Along the way, Fletcher befriends a sympathetic elderly man, Pesky Tees (George 'Gabby' Hayes). Later on, Fletcher forms a vigilante group to bring law and order to a town. As our captain has to confront nasty powerful owners, villain sheriffs and deputies, and eventually taking justice into his own hands, acting as judge, jury and executioner .Here was one law in El Paso ... you learned to kill quick ... if you wanted to live long!

This is a tornado and adventure movie from Pine-Thomas Productions , containing thrills , emotion , action, go riding and crossfire. A decent western with a twisted and interesting intrigue written by Lewis R. Foster and based on a story by Robert Bren. Dealing with the thoughful issues of expeditiously applying justice when the ordinary legal regime does not work, our protagonists take justice into their own hands, leading to cruel hangings and executions. Nice-looking but run-of-the-mill International Universal Picture Western , including some novelties , but also with usual elements , such as franctic action , thrills , crossfire , drama , romance and some spectacular action scenes . A blending of functional main actors with great character players of whom John Payne holds the best role as an ex-captain/lawyer who leaves the legal system and instead adopt the murderous tactics of a vigilante. A warm and moving storyline and thanks to a personable and breathtaking action scenes makes an enjoyable movie , a real pleasure to listen to as well as watch . Being a vigorous western with nice performances provided by a good cast with plento of familiaar faces at the time , such as: Gail Russell, Sterling Hayden, Dick Foran, Eduardo Noriega, Henry Hull, Mary Beth Hughes, H. B. Warner, Arthur Space and, of course , the always likable George 'Gabby' Hayes.

The picture was effficiently produced but in medium budget by William H. Pine and William C. Thomas, this were known in the industry as "The Dollar Bills" because they made movies so quickly and efficiently that their films seldom, if ever, lost money. The film was well directed by Lewis R Foster . He was a prolific composer, songwriter, author and director, educated at the University of California. He began his directorial and film-writing career in 1920. Joined Hal Roach Studios as a writer/gagman in 1923, the same year as director Leo McCarey. He also worked as a newspaperman in San Francisco. He joined ASCAP in 1960. Foster was the director who gave Stan Laurel the freedom to do things his way in films . Worked as a director at Universal Pictures from 1936-37, at Paramount Pictures from 1949-53. And directed a lots of films such as 1953 Tropic zone , 1953 Those Redheads from Seattle ,1950 The Eagle and the Hawk 1950 Captain China , 1949 Manhandled ,1949 El Paso , 1949 The Lucky Stiff ,1937 Armored Car , 1937 She's Dangerous , 1936 Love Letters of a Star . And for TV the successful series : El Zorro with Guy Williams. Rating El Paso: 6.5/10. Well worth watching.

In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War a Confederate officer by the name of "Clay Fletcher" (John Payne) returns to his home in Charleston, South Carolina, to restart his law profession. Upon hearing that a former sweetheart named "Susan Jeffers" (Gail Russell) and her father "Judge Henry Jeffers" (Henry Hull) have moved to El Paso, Texas, he volunteers to take some important legal papers to him. When he gets to El Paso he finds that a group of thugs have taken control of the small town and are manipulating the alcoholic judge to enforce their corrupt interests. Now, rather than detailing the entire story, I will just say that this film had a "Grade B" feel from start to finish. None of the actors distinguished themselves, the plot was shaky and some of the scenes seemed a bit corny at times. To be fair though, some of these criticisms can be attributed to the time-period in which this film was made. Even so, I thought it could have been better and so I have scored it as slightly below average.