Too many fans seem to be blown away

Such a frustrating disappointment

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Way too many familiar faces, plotlines, plot twists, graveyard plots and potholes on the streets of this Rio Grande River locale. John Payne takes the opportunity after the end of the civil war to move out west from Savannah and finds himself in trouble with the law while fighting against the corruption. This Pine/Thomas western, beautifully filmed in color, has the potential of being a great saga of settling and civilizing, but overstuffs everything like a 10 layer burrito. When the plot is set up with a pretty stagecoach con-artist Mary Beth Hughes hoodwinking the passengers, the predicted plot goes nowhere and her character simply vanishes until an appearance at the end. For romance, there's pretty Gail Russell; for conflict, Sterling Hayden, and for the bulk of the laughs, George "Gabby" Hayes. The white folks live peacefully among the Spanish folk, joining in their fiestas and picking up their culture. There's hardly any racial tension, just the fights for justice between the good guys and bad guys. It is impressively filmed, but for a good majority of this 100 minute film, I pondered the basic plot, and could only come up with a simple story with a bunch of conflicts, and nothing to really tie them together. There's a touching cameo by the ancient H.B. Warner as Payne's worried grandfather, and a shootout amongst a giant windstorm, but those are "moments". The lack of a continuity factor is the nail in the coffin of this not bad but obviously missed opportunity western

In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War a Confederate officer by the name of "Clay Fletcher" (John Payne) returns to his home in Charleston, South Carolina, to restart his law profession. Upon hearing that a former sweetheart named "Susan Jeffers" (Gail Russell) and her father "Judge Henry Jeffers" (Henry Hull) have moved to El Paso, Texas, he volunteers to take some important legal papers to him. When he gets to El Paso he finds that a group of thugs have taken control of the small town and are manipulating the alcoholic judge to enforce their corrupt interests. Now, rather than detailing the entire story, I will just say that this film had a "Grade B" feel from start to finish. None of the actors distinguished themselves, the plot was shaky and some of the scenes seemed a bit corny at times. To be fair though, some of these criticisms can be attributed to the time-period in which this film was made. Even so, I thought it could have been better and so I have scored it as slightly below average.

I think El Paso started out to be a much more ambitious western than it eventually turned out. There was a lot more potential there than for what did eventually make it to the screen.Except for a short subject he did at Warner Brothers in 1939 El Paso was the first western that John Payne did and he definitely seemed comfortable in the genre. He plays a lawyer and former Confederate veteran who goes west to El Paso from Charleston, South Carolina in search of an old friend of Payne's grandfather H.B. Warner.That friend is Henry Hull who went west with his daughter Gail Russell for health reasons and is now a drunken pawn of town boss Sterling Hayden. With Hull as judge and sheriff Dick Foran to enforce some trumped up foreclosures, Hayden's grabbing all the real estate he can in and around El Paso from veterans who were not paying taxes while they were fighting in the Civil War. Payne tries it the legal way, but he's learned a few things as well in those war years. When it doesn't work he finds himself leader of a guerrilla band who are exacting justice after a couple of murders of cast members sympathetic to Payne.Editing was pretty botched in El Paso. There are references during the film to scenes that were obviously cut out. The film also seemed to be building to a terrific climax and the end was quite a let down. You'll see what I mean if you view the film.El Paso was produced by Pine-Thomas Productions, two guys with the first name of William. William Pine was Cecil B. DeMille's associate producer on several of his earlier epics from the Thirties and I think he was expecting a DeMille like budget and didn't get it. So cuts were made that I think spoiled the overall quality of the film.Still fans of the western and of John Payne will like it. Note the comic relief performances of Mary Beth Hughes as Stagecoach Nell and Gabby Hayes for once an Easterner in a western.

This Cinecolor Western from 1949 boasts a terrific cast and an interesting storyline. John Payne stars as a gun-toting attorney who takes on the so-called "lawmen" of El Paso. Sterling Haytden and former singin'cowpoke Dick Foran have fun roles as the bad-guys running the town. With the help of a drunken Judge, they rule with an iron fist .... until Payne arrives !Gabby Hayes has a featured role and is as endearing as ever. This film is fun and well-produced, but is a little long & drags a bit in the middle.Those with patience and a 100+ minutes to spare should enjoy this old-fashioned cowboy movie.