Oregon Passage (1958) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

John Ericson is Lt. Niles Ord, a cavalry officer with lots of problems. In his search for Shoshone chief Black Eagle, he winds up rescuing Little Deer. She’s been kidnapped from a neighboring tribe, intended as a virgin bride for the chief.

Then there’s the new post commander, Roland Dane, headstrong, anxious for glory, suspicious of Ord’s understanding and sympathy for some Indians.

There’s a Mrs. Dane, too. Her named is Sylvia and, before she was married, she had an affair with Ord.

Now she’d like to convince him to rescue her from a monotonous life out West with the insanely jealous Roland. Of course, she doesn’t mind making his jealous.

Finally, there’s Black Eagle himself. He desperately wants Little Deer back, and manages to lure small numbers of soldiers from the fort at a time, weakening it for an eventual all-out attack.

Ord eventually wises up where Sylvia Dane is concerned.

The question is: Will Roland Dane wise up and take Ord’s advice, especially concerning the afternoon rides Sylvia takes every day, in spite of the fact that there are Indians on the warpath?

John Ericson as Lt. Niles Ord, confronted with Indian trouble and female complications in Oregon Passage (1958)

Edward Paltt as Col. Roland Dane, the headstrong new commander of the cavalry outpost in Oregon Passage (1958)

Review:

Interesting thanks to the character of Sylvia Dane, played by Lola Albright at her loveliest, plus a couple of rousing Indian-cavalry fights that are chock full of stock footage.

And if the eventual bond between Lt. Ord and the pretty kidnapped Indian virgin is predictable, the fate met by Dane and his wife is not. Oh, but she never winds up tied to a stake, as some of the posters for the film would suggest.

This marked the biggest film role for Toni Gerry, who plays the part of Little Deer, and she’s given some ridiculous dialogue to pull off and winds up doing it quite well. She did most of her acting in TV roles.

Edward Platt, who plays the post commander, gained fame on TV, as the boss of Maxwell Smart in the 1960s hit “Get Smart.”

Lola Albright as Sylvia Dane, trapped in a loveless marriage in a remote Western outpost in Oregon Passage (1958)

Toni Teerry as Little Deer, explaining her female intuition in Oregon Passage (1958)

Directed by:
Paul Landres

Cast:
John Ericson … Lt. Niles Ord
Lola Albright … Sylvia Dane
Toni Gerry … Little Deer
Edward Platt … Col. Roland Dane
Rachel Ames … Marion
H.M. Wynant … Black Eagle
Paul Fierro … Nato
Walter Barnes … Sgt. Erschick
Jon Shepodd … Lt. Baird Dobson
Harvey Stephens … Capt. Boyson

Runtime: 80 min.

H.M. Wynant as Black Eagle, just waiting for the right time to attack the fort in Oregon Passage (1958)

Paul Fierro as Nato, the Indian scout Lt. Niles Ord frequently relies upon in Oregon Passage (1958)

Memorable lines:

Lt. Ord, of Little Deer: “What’s she doing here?”
Nato, Indian scout: “Virgin bride for Black Eagle. Make purified for two weeks. Big steam every day. Like white man do lobster.”

Lt. Ord to Little Deer, who has led him to Black Eagle’s ceremonial site: “I can’t dry gulch a man while he’s praying.”

Sylvia Dane: “Aren’t you taking army life a little too seriously?”
Lt. Niles Ord: “I’m a professional soldier, Sylvia.”
Sylvia: “I like it better when you act like a professional lover.”