That was an excellent one.

As Good As It Gets

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Good outdoor western with an unusual plot and a generally unpredictable storyline. Surveyor Beale (Cameron) is leading a mapping caravan through an Apache-ridden desert. Along the way he picks up two fugitive bank robbers (Ireland & Dru), one of whom poses as a doctor. Meanwhile finding water is a real problem, even for the camel pack-animals and their Arab drivers. So how will all this sort out, especially since both guys are stuck on the same girl.I'm thirsty just looking at the barren Kanab, Utah locations. They sure look like a long way from nowhere. It's a good strong cast, particularly Ireland as a good-bad guy and Dru who really looks like she can ride and shoot. Okay, maybe budget-minded Edward Small Co. couldn't get the Duke for the big guy role, but Cameron still manages to persuade.Some good touches add color. It's really strange seeing the Moslem Arabs doing their bowing to Mecca in the middle of a western. But there they are. The camels too, are a good imaginative addition. But note the brief scene with the wrecked wagon that Beale orders chopped up for firewood. I wouldn't be surprised it was wrecked during filming and was cleverly inserted into the narrative. Whatever, it adds a realistic touch.My only complaint is an ending that appears pretty contrived, unlike what went before. Oh well, it's Hollywood, after all, a place where no one really dies. Still, it's a pretty darn good little western.

Making the film must have taken great effort with location shooting in Utah. I would like seeing it in 3-D; the colour is vivid, well saturated. Director Ray Nazzaro knew his business; writer Harry Essex was not as skillful. The plot works but the dialogue often sounds silly.The cast with beautiful Joanne Dru, her husband John Ireland, and Ron Cameron, along with excellent stock actors make watching this movie fun. You realise that actors like John Dehner, Darryl Hickman, and Stuart Randall enriched many films and television programs we enjoy.I almost forgot about the camels while watching the movie. The hook works, I suppose, but that is not what makes it work. The fine cast, good direction, interesting photography, crisp editing, and great location do.I enjoyed watching this movie.

I was sucked into watching this movie because of the lead actors, John Ireland and Joann Dru. They were husband and wife at the time after they met during the filming of "Red River", five years before this movie. Despite its poor quality, "Southwest Passage" does have some interesting elements.Here's what I liked:Dru and Ireland deliver good performances, given the limited opportunity the script gave them. Dru is much better looking and has more charisma than I remember from "Red River".Stalwart John Dehner makes an interesting appearance as a heavy.Camel/Arab theme is unusual.Interesting location shoots. Unlike what another user review claims, this is in no way Monument Valley.Here's what ruined the movie:Plot wise, it starts out OK, but quickly devolves into an absurd simplistic patch work of illogical characters, conflicts and transitions. They clearly were shooting without a script and made the story up as they went along. There's no point in going into details, since the movie isn't worth watching to begin with.

Actor John Ireland and his wife Joanne Dru star in this originally released 3-D color Western that was filmed in what appears to be John Ford Country (Monument Valley, Moab). Ireland met his future wife on the set of "Red River" and appeared with her again in "All the Kings Men". While this film is not in the same category with those two cinema classics, it does feature Rod Cameron and a healthy menu of great character actors such as Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, John Dehner, Morris Ankrum, etc. The story centers around Ireland, Dru and her brother (Darryl Hickman) robbing a bank. Eventually Ireland and Dru join Rod Cameron as he leads an expedition complete with camels to survey a new route to California. The group encounters a band of outlaws as well as Apaches along the way that keeps the viewers interest. What I found most interesting was the introduction of Middle East values to the wild west. A conflict result when Dehner, a mule skinner, starts a fight with the Arab camel drivers when he tries to force them to eat pork .... a custom opposed by their religion. Dehner grumbles about the camels constantly and cannot accept the fact that they are necessary for the expedition. I thought the script left something to be desired as the dialog was sometimes humorous when it was not meant to be. An example of this is when Dehner complains to "Big Boy" Williams, "What are you trying to do kill my mules? Standing out in this sun is worse than working them to death!" Williams replies, "The camels seem to be enjoying it." Dehner counters, "They ain't got sense to know better. All this map making is a bunch of buffalo chips. Can't he tell that's a mountain without looking through a spy glass?" Big Boy then shakes his head and says, "Man when they gave out brains in Tennessee...you must have been in New Orleans!" The only thing that saves this film from being less than mediocre is the veteran group of actors, the John Ford type of location, numerous action scenes and the beautiful color employed in the filming.