This is a great Western. McCrea shows off some great horsemanship as does Frances Dee, something rarely seen in female leads. I was intrigued with the authenticity (for the time) of the Hispanic and Native Americans portrayed in this movie. Joseph Calleia, playing against type, is a middle-class Hispanic, rather than just a poor Mexican, with property and a very large extended family in the region, something that was very common in New Mexico but rarely understood outside of its borders. There are surprising Spanish phrases used throughout and I was even impressed with the McCrea character's good Spanish -- so different from other Westerns of the era. The Native Americans, shown only in the opening scene at the Pat Garrett welcome, look like they could have been Mescalero Apaches from southern New Mexico. This movie really respected all the different cultures of southern New Mexico. Finally, El Morro aka Inscription Rock, now a national monument, was a significant symbol in this movie, a testament to its importance to the many different people and cultures that "Paso por Aqui" over the ages.

Warning: Possible spoilers.

An absolute gem, this wonderful western - shot in black and white on rugged, interesting locations, is a sheer pleasure from beginning to end. It is something to cherish. The quiet, handsome Joel McCrea - playing the most thoroughly decent outlaw I've ever come across in a western, has never been more appealing as the bank robber on the run.

Using his pointed gun as collateral, Ross McEwan (McCrea) makes a $2000 "loan" from a bank - right under Pat Garrett's (Bickford) nose. The furious bank manager puts up a reward of $3000 for his capture: dead or alive. So Garrett - a pretty good guy who is going to make damn sure no one shoots Ross in the back, and a posse set off in hot pursuit. The crafty McEwan jumps on a train and evades capture with a help of a baby and a blanket. He meets the honest, attractive railway nurse Fay Hollister (Frances Dee) and the mysterious Mexican gambler Monte Marquez (Joseph Calleia) while on the train. Fay realizes that Ross has broken the law and is a wanted man, but she falls in love with him anyway - hell, she's ready to sacrifice her job and follow him to the ends of the earth. Of course, every bounty hunter in the territory is now also searching for Ross.

With Monte's help, Ross continues to evade the determined Garrett and eventually travels across the desert - on a bull. On the way, however, Ross stops to find a horse and comes across a poor, sick Mexican family at their little homestead. The father, his wife and their two small boys are desperately ill. They will all surely die if Ross doesn't stop to help. But if he stays and tries to save them, the law will catch up with him and he won't make it across the border...

Seeing Joel McCrea and his wife Frances Dee romantically paired is rather lovely; they have real chemistry (it's no surprise their marriage lasted for over 50 years). The four leads are all pitch perfect in their roles, but a marvelous Joseph Calleia deserves a special mention. If this exciting, unusual, uplifting and richly romantic western (in which not one shot is fired or a single punch thrown) doesn't touch you, you have an ice-cold, cynical heart of stone. Based on a story by Eugene Manlove Rhodes called "Paso por Aqui" ("They Passed This Way"). Highly recommended.

Four Faces West (AKA: They Passed This Way) is directed by Alfred E. Green and collectively adapted to screenplay by C. Graham Baker, Teddi Sherman, William Brent and Milarde Brent from the novel Paso por acqui written by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. It stars Joel McCrea, Francis Dee, Charles Bickford and Joseph Calleia. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by Russell Harlan.

Ross McEwen (McCrea) robs the bank of Santa Maria but requests only $2,000 and issues an I.O.U. to the bank manager with the promise of paying back the money. The bank manager, aggrieved and agitated, puts a bounty of $3,000 on McEwen's head and quickly finds the law, in the form of Sheriff Pat Garrett (Bickford), aiding his cause. But McEwen is no ordinary thief, and as he makes his way across the lands during his escape, revelations and relationships will reveal something quite extraordinary.

All the things are in place here for a conventional 1940s Western movie, with the robbery of a bank followed by a posse pursuit, a serious sheriff on the case, a pretty gal turning heads and some card playing of course. Yet this is far from being a conventional Oater. Old fashioned? Yes! Definitely, but it's a beautifully crafted picture that relies on characterisations - locations - and a story of such humanistic redemptive qualities; it demands to be better known.

It has rightly been pointed out before that no blood is shed here, no bullets are fired; in fact bullets play a key part of the story for a different reason, but the action quota here is still very high. With blazing fire tactics used at one point and pursuits through the rocky terrain very much in evidence, the pic often raises the pulses. Tension is also provided by the efforts of McEwen to evade the attentions of the posse and the law, with some intelligent and believable methods put into action. The romance angle is also thoughtful and never cloying, given credence by real life lovers McCrea and Dee, while non white actors play South American characters without charges of stereotype or fodder being brought into play.

With first grade black and white photography from Harlan (New Mexico Tourist Board done a favour here), unfussy direction by Green, and a quartet of great performances by the principal players leading from the front, Four Faces West (not the best of titles to be fair) is a treat for the Western fan. It may lack a "shock" outcome but it sure as heck fire casts off cynicism and makes you feel better about people in general. Bravo! 8/10