Set in a frontier town in 1856 Oregon, CANYON PASSAGE doesn't really have any canyon passages but it does have a whole bunch of smaller stories going on. Most, if not all, of them involve freight company and general store owner Dana Andrews. He's courting one girl when it's obvious that his best friend's girl likes him much better; his friend is in debt thanks to gambling debts; Ward Bond wants to kill him; his businesses are barely getting by; there's a house to build and Indians are a constant threat.
CANYON PASSAGE is a passable western, but I can't really see any reason why I would want to watch it again any time soon. The characters (with the exception of that annoying singing dude) were fine, but the story (or should I say stories?) didn't really do anything for me. Good acting, reasonable pace, beautiful scenery, familiar faces from a strong cast...too bad about the weak script. Entertaining enough for a single watch.
