Passion (1954)

Cornel Wilde is the dashing Juan Obregon, a south-of-the-border cattleman who returns home to find his lady love, Rosa, has given birth to a son. He goes to town to arrange a marriage.

When he returns, he finds the ranch where she lived burned to the ground, his wife and her parents dead. Only Rosa’s sister Tona (Yvonne De Carlo) escapes harm.

From that point on, Obregon is on a mission of vengeance, trying to track down and kill his wife’s murderers one by one.

That puts him at odds with an old friend, Capt. Rodriguez (Raymond Burr), who must track down Obregon or risk losing his position.

Among the culprits are Don Domingo (Richard Hale), a wealthy landowner who decides to chase all the smaller ranchers from the valley, and his henchmen Castro (Lon Chaney Jr.) and Sandro (Rodolfo Acosta).

Cornel Wilde as Juan Obregon, returning to the Melo ranch to find he has a new son in Passion (1954)

Yvonne De Carlo as Tona, tomboyish sister to Rosa, Juan Obregon’s lover in Passion (1954)

Review:

Pretty looking piece of fluff. And, no, you aren’t seeing double early in the film. Yvonne De Carlo. who never looked lovelier, plays two roles — that of the tomboyish Tona and her sister, Rosa.

Capt. Rodriguez, his hands tied because of Don Domingo’s power, is sympathetic to Juan’s plight early on. He even allows him to escape capture after killing Castro in a knife fight. But when Juan keeps killing, he’s forced to act.

And that includes chasing Juan into a snowy wilderness as he hunts down Sandro, the final villain responsible for his wife’s death. Tona joins the chase, too. She has news that might make Juan more careful about risking his life.

The cast also includes Clayton Moore of Lone Ranger fame and Stuart Whitman in small, uncredited roles.

Anthony Caruso as Sgt. Munoz and Raymond Burr as Capt. Rodriguez, determined to capture Juan Obregon for taking the law into his own hands in Passion (1954)

Rodolfo Acostas as Salvador Sandro (left), head henchman for Don Domingo in Passion (1954)

Directed by:
Allan Dwan

Cast:
Cornel Wilde … Juan Obregon
Yvonne De Carlo … Rosa / Tona Melo
Raymond Burr … Captain Rodriguez
Anthony Caruso … Sgt. Munoz
Lon Chaney Jr. … Castro
Rodolfo Acosta … Salvator Sandro
Richard Hale … Don Domingo
Frank DeKova … Martinez
Peter Coe … Colfre
John Dierkes … Escobar
John Qualen … Gaspar Melo
Rozene Kemper … Grandmother Melo
James Kirkwood … Don Rosendo
Belle Mitchell … Senora Carrisa

Runtime: 84 min.

Cornel WIlde as Juan Obregon with a knife to the throat of Castro (Lon Chaney Jr.), demanding the names of those who attacked the Melo ranch in Passion (1954)

Cornel Wilde as Juan Obregon and John Qualen as Gasper Melo, reacting to demands that they move off the land they’ve settled in Passion (1954)

Memorable lines:

Captain Rodriguez: “I’ll get Juan Obregon, if I have to dig to Hades to do it.”

Gaspar: “Everyone is well. Our family has increased, that is all.”
Juan Obregon: “With the passage of time, that is natural.”
Gaspar: “Natural? Uh, do you know one of the heifers you left now has a little calf with your brand.”

Capt. Rodriguez, to Tonya, who thinks she recognizes the voice of one of the attackers: “I cannot arrest voices in the dark.”

Juan Obregon, preparing to knife fight Castro: “Give him his knife, Tonya.”
Tonya: “All he deserves is a bullet.”

Tona: “Oh, Juan.”
Juan Obregon: “Don’t worry. It’s hard to kill a man who has much to live for.”

Cornel Wilde as Juan Obregon and John Dierkes as his foreman Escobar, disciplining a ranch hand for harassing Tona in Passion (1954)

Richard Hale as Don Domingo, ordering homesteaders off land he claims is his as Captain Rodriguez (Raymond Burr) looks on in Passion (1954)

Robert Warwick as the padre, trying to find a peaceful resolution to the land disputes in Passion (1954)

Alex Montoya as Manuel Felipe, the man who saves Juan’s baby from a fire in Passion (1954)

Yvonne De Carlo as Rosa, father of Juan Obregon’s son in Passion (1954)