I just watched 'Canyon Passage' by Tourneur, and I really enjoyed it. It's somewhat different than other westernfilms I've seen from the same era. I think this is thanks to Tourneurs broad character gallery and expressive colour-palette with reds and greens contrasting each other especially in the autummn setting of the film. I like how restlessly Dana Andrews plays the lead role, always on the move, and all these different relations he makes and has made - that changes and changes. His friendship with the gambler who loves the same woman as he does is surprisingly touching, but very believable.
While watching the town scenes and the families building new homes out in the countryside, I remember thinking of the communities and the sense of being together that Jean Renoir is so good at describing in his films 'The Lower Depths', 'Toni' and 'A Day in the Country'. I find the troubadour who pops up here and there and sings his own tunes as he pleases, a kinda Renoir type as well. But this western surely has the imagination of Tourneur at display; strong women and men, the expressive use of light and shadow (even in broad daylight) the atmosphere of impending doom and sudden impact of violence. The fistfight scene with Ward Bond is among the most painful fights I've seen on film, and I'd never guess that the last part of 'Canyon Passage' would be that intense.
I like the list, a good resource for westerns to check out next. I have only seen a couple of these.
