Warmhearted Western in the Southwest marred by contrivances and dubious acting
An aged Marshal Pat Garrett (Charles Bickford) chases a questionable robber (Joel McCrea) through long stretches of New Mexico. On the way, the latter meets a lovely nurse (Frances Dee) and befriends a sympathetic innkeeper (Joseph Calleia). William Conrad is on hand as a sheriff that joins the marshal’s pursuit.
“Four Faces West” (1948), also known as “They Passed This Way,” is a decent Western with stretches of lyrical beauty, hindered by the B&W photography (the magnificent locations mean very little in flat B&W). The warmheartedness is refreshing and Dee is winsome, but McCrea doesn’t know how to play an overly sympathetic protagonist, the proverbial good bad guy.
Meanwhile Calleia lays it on a little too thick and his character comes across unbelievable. Speaking of unbelievable, the way the protagonist escapes capture on the train is “Why Sure!” territory. Yet the train sequence is otherwise well done. Another “Yeah, right” episode takes place in the last act involving a Mexican family.
It runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot entirely in New Mexico, except for interiors done in Hollywood. The locations include: San Rafael, Alamogordo, El Morro National Monument near Ramah (Inscription Rock), Gallup, Red Rock Canyon State Park and White Sands National Monument.
GRADE: C+