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NIGHT PASSAGE – Dimitri Tiomkin
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Producer Aaron Rosenberg decided that he wanted to cast the stars of Universal Pictures’ recent hits – “The Glenn Miller Story” (James Stewart) and “To Hell and Back” (Audie Murphy) – together in a Western. He saw an opportunity in the 1956 novel “Night Passage” by Norman A. Fox. Universal gave the green light; Rosenberg would manage production, Anthony Mann was tasked with directing, and Borden Chase was hired to write the screenplay. For the cast, James Stewart would star as Grant McLain, and Audie Murphy would co-star as the Utica Kid (Lee McLain). Joining them were Dan Duryea as Whitey Harbin, Diane Foster as Charlotte “Charlie” Drew, Elaine Stewart as Verna Kimball, Brandon de Wilde as Joey Adams, and Jay C. Flippen as Ben Kimball. Production went off the rails quickly when Mann left the project, believing that Audie Murphy was miscast and that the screenplay was weak. To his credit, his opinion was later validated by critics and the box office. Consequently, James Neilson was brought in to direct. Read more…
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