Passion (1954)
Starring Cornel Wilde as a young rancher seeking vengeance for the murders of his wife (Yvonne de Carlo - here playing two roles) and his parents. The killers are a ruthless band of land grabbers led by Salvador Sandro, who Wilde, now a fugitive from justice himself thanks to sheriff Raymond Burr, intends to kill one by one.
Passion is a western that's as surprising as it is ludicrously titled. Sounding like a romantic drama, it comes across as very misleading. What we actually have is a brutal revenge thriller set in Mexican ruled Spanish California that seems to pre-empt the Spaghetti western genre by several years, not only that. The final third leaves the sweltering desert towns and plunges us into a chilly snowbound chase across the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Not as low budget as many RKO westerns, the film features some nice photography among the numerous shoot outs. Horror fans may be interested to know that Lon Chaney is the first of the thugs to meet his makerat the hands of Wilde. (See pic below)
Recommended.