Rod Cameron is Edward Beale, a surveyor trying to map a route through the desert to California … and trying to prove camels would be a useful tool for the cavalry in negotiating that trail.
John Ireland is Clint McDonald, a man full of get-rich-quick schemes. His latest: robbing a bank of $20,000 with the help of Joann Dru (as Lilly) and her brother, who is mortally wounded during the getaway.
When the posse closes in, Clint borrows the identity of a veterinarian hired to tag along on the survey expedition. He succeeds in playing doctor for a while.
Once discovered, he’s banned from the survey party and appears in danger of losing Lilly to Beale, who’s no longer interested in a future purchased with dirty money.
The survey party faces problems of its own, including marauding Apache and a shortage of water as the trek across the desert proves more difficult than expected.
Rod Cameron as Edward Beale, searching for a new path to California and surveying the way in Southwest Passage (1954)
Joann Dru as Lilly, trying to escape an outlaw past in Southwest Passage (1954)
Review:
If you didn’t figure out that this was originally shot in 3D, you’ll realize it during the climatic showdown between the Indians and Cameron’s survey party, because everything under the sun is tossed directly at viewers.
Up to that point, this is slightly better than what you’d expect from a director named Nazarro and a film that tosses in four camels to make it stand out.
John Ireland’s character finds himself in quite the pickle. He has to pretend to be a doc capable of healing man and beast. He has to keep his eyes on his saddle bags full of stolen loot. And he has to hide the fact that he and Lilly are lovers because they join the caravan separately.
The cast also features John Dehner as a whip-wielding mule skinner who has no use for camels or much of anything else and Guinn “Big Boy” Williams as Tall Tale, Cameron’s right-hand man.
On the downside, the plot features some of the dumbest Apache braves ever to grace the silver screen. First, they’re tricked into thinking the camels are white man’s gods. Then they’re tricked out of their waterhole by a ridiculous ruse orchestrated by Clint McDonald.
John Ireland as Clint McDonald, the outlaw who pretends to be a veterinarian in Southwest Passage (1954)
John Dehner as Matt Carroll, gawking at Lilly as she bathes in Southwest Passage (1954)
Directed by:
Ray Nazarro
Cast:
Rod Cameron … Edward Beale
John Ireland … Clint McDonald
Joann Dru … Lilly
Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams … Tall Tale
John Dehner … Matt Carroll
Mark Hanna … Hi Jolly
Darryl Hickman … Jeb
Stuart Randall … Lt. Owens
Douglas Fowley … Toad Ellis
Morris Ankrum … Dr. Elias P. Stanton
Stanley Andrews … Constable Bartlett
Kenneth MacDonald … Sheriff Morgan
Hank Patterson … Barstow
aka: “Camels West”
“Camel Corps”
Runtime: 75 min.
Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams as Tall Tale, right-hand man to Edward Beale (Rod Cameron) in Southwest Passage (1954)
Joann Dru as Lilly with Jed (Darryl Hickman), her wounded brother, in Southwest Passage (1954)
Memorable lines:
Barstow, of Beale’s camels: “What are you trying to prove with those things, Mr. Beale?”
Edward Beale: “The Arabs call them ships of the dessert. I aim to prove they can sail our desserts as well as theirs.”
Matt Carroll, as he’s being bandaged by Clint McDonald: “Why are you so nervous?”
McDonald: “I’m not used to killing people. Exceptin’ my own patients.”
Clint McDonald: “From now on, honey, we’ll be playing with a whole new deck of cards.”
Lilly: “What good’s a new deck, if you go on dealing them off the bottom?”
Matt Carroll: “All this map making is a lot of buffalo chips. Can’t he tell that’s a mountain without looking through a spyglass?”
Tall Tale: “Man, when they were handin’ out brains in Tennessee, you must have been in New Orleans.”
Stuart Randall as Lt. Owens and Rod Cameron as Edward Beale, leading the expedition in Southwest Passage (1954)
Morris Ankrum as Dr. Elias P. Stanton, tending to Lilly’s wounded brother in Southwest Passage (1954)
Lilly, handing a six-gun back to Beale after scaring off a peeping Tom while she was bathing: “I did just what you said, Mr. Beale. I held it in both hands and pulled the trigger. But I think I must have closed my eyes.”
Beale: “Hate to have you shooting at me with them open.”
Lilly to Clint McDonald: “You can’t start a clean life on dirty money. You can’t even build a home on it that I could live in. Every plank and nail would be stolen. Every time the floor creaked, I’d jump and look around and you’d grab for a gun.”
Tall Tale: “Even an eagle would have to pack a water bag to get across this hellhole.”
Joann Dru as Lilly, about to take a shot at a peeping tom in Southwest Passage (1954)
John Ireland as Clint McDonald, reunited with Lily (Joann Dru) in Southwest Passage (1954)
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