Walter Wanger's best picture and one of the big moneymakers of all time was "Stagecoach," written by Ernest Haycox. So Walter has gone out and snagged Haycox's new western serial, "Canyon Passage." He plans it as a sequel to "Stagecoach," in Technicolor, with the same cast, if possible--John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Claire Trevor.
Louella Parsons, "Hollywood Headlines," Illinois State Journal, Indianapolis, February 6, 1945, page 11


    Medford, July 21 (AP)--Film cameras may start grinding not long from now in Jacksonville and the Rogue River Valley, sites of "Canyon Passage," Saturday Evening Post story by Ernest Haycox, Portland author.
    The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce said today Henry Spitz will survey the pioneer mining community next week to find out movie possibilities for Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc., which owns the screenplay.
    Governor Snell has promised the company his cooperation.
Capital Journal, Salem, July 21, 1945, page 11


    There is a definite possibility that Ernest Haycox' latest Saturday Evening Post serial, "Canyon Passage," will be filmed in Jacksonville and the Rogue River Valley where most of the action of the story occurred, according to word received Friday by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. Henry Spitz, representative of Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc., of Universal City, Calif., and a party of three will visit the Jacksonville area this week to survey the locale. The Wanger company has purchased the "Canyon Passage" film rights.
    The motion picture men will be shown about the region by Ranger Lee Port of the Star Ranger Station, who has been assigned to the duty by Forest Supervisor Karl Janouch.
    Haycox' two best-known novels, which were filmed in Technicolor and proved top box office attractions, were "Union Pacific" and "Stagecoach." The recent novel of early life in the gold mining community of Jacksonville will be produced on a similar scale. Chamber officials here have expressed gratification in the interest of Southern California film producers in the Oregon area, believing that selection of this section for the filming of "Canyon Passage" may lead to future productions in this valley.
    Assurances of cooperation have been extended to Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc., by Governor Earl Snell and the local chamber. The author of "Canyon Passage" recently spoke at a Medford Rotary Club meeting and is a honorary member of the Jackson County Sheriff's Posse.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 23, 1945, page 8


    MEDFORD, July 24 (AP)--A group from the Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc., of Universal City, Calif., headed by Henry Spitz, will arrive here Wednesday to survey the Jacksonville area for possible filming there of Ernest Haycox' latest Saturday Evening Post serial, "Canyon Passage."
    The Wanger company has purchased film rights. The motion picture men will be shown the pioneer business places and homes of the old mining town by Forest Ranger Lee Port, who will also take them to some of the abandoned mining camps in the vicinity.
Herald and News, Klamath Falls, July 24, 1945, page 5


    Henry Spitz of Walter Wanger Pictures, motion picture producers of Universal City, California, accompanied by F. O. Collings and Frank Phillips, arrived in Medford Wednesday night to survey this area for the filming of "Canyon Passage." Lee Port of Rogue River National Forest service is accompanying the film producers on a tour of the Jacksonville area today. Other locations in the state will also be eyed by the group seeking a locale for the latest Ernest Haycox film.
    Jackson County chamber of commerce officials are assisting Spitz and Collings in their research here. If this area is selected for the picture of Jacksonville in pioneer days an effort will be made locally to secure appropriate historic material and and personnel for use in filming "Canyon Passage." Top-flight Hollywood stars have already been secured for leading roles in the forthcoming Technicolor picture.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 26, 1945, page 7


    When Ernest Haycox's Saturday Evening Post serial thriller, "Canyon Passage," is adapted to motion pictures this fall the glories of Oregon's scenery will receive worldwide attention. Representatives of Walter Wanger Pictures of Universal City, California, with the movie rights of this latest story by Portland's famous western writer tucked away in their pockets, came to the Rogue River Valley last week. They came and saw and were conquered by the beauty of our great forests, sparkling lakes and lofty mountains. New Technicolor techniques will show this scenic land at its best.
    In "Canyon Passage," which is a story of rugged pioneer days in old Jacksonville, the hero, Logan Stuart, and the dark-eyed heroine, Lucy Overmire, make the long trek on horseback from the settlement at Portland to the Southern Oregon mining town. It provides the producers an opportunity to include such scenic attractions in Western Oregon as Mt. Hood and the Three Sisters. They plan to make the most of it.
    Many Southern Oregonians will probably be enlisted as subordinates in the cast when this picture is filmed here this fall, supporting top-ranking stars in the roles of Logan and Lucy, Badman Bragg, George Camrose, the Dance family and Jack Lestrade. Haycox's fertile imagination has of course provided a full measure of thrills for movie fans--Indian battles, rough-and-tumble fist fights, plenty of gun play and dark frontier intrigue with the usual sprinkling of backwoods romance. If the picture measures up to the author's "Union Pacific" and "Stagecoach"--both box office winners--cinemagoers will not be disappointed.
    A recent fire at Universal Studios deprived the producers of "Canyon Passage" of frontier wagons, furniture and similar equipment. Ranchers here who have such items of sufficient vintage in barnyard boneyards are requested to list them at the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. Hollywood has finally discovered Oregon's unmatched scenery. Let us keep them coming back for more.--H.G.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 1, 1945, page 4


    Every effort is being made by motion picture producer Walter Wanger to film a great part of his Ernest Haycox drama "Canyon Passage" in Oregon.
    The story by Portland’s famous writer of western romantic dramas has Oregon background ranging from Portland south to Jacksonville. It will be brought to the screen in Technicolor by Wanger for Universal Studios.
    Henry Spitz, production manager of the picture, has already made a preliminary survey of location sites. Director Jacques Tourneur and Eddie Cronjager, cameraman, will leave Portland Friday to inspect locations recommended by Spitz, judging them for suitability in relation to technical problems.
    "Canyon Passage," according to Spitz, will be the highest budget picture of the season for Universal. Stars already signed are Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, Brian Donlevy, Preston Foster and Andy Devine. Featured players will be signed as production date nears. Shooting is scheduled to begin in the studio August 13 with location filming now dated to start the 28th.
    If Oregon locations are approved and problems of transportation and housing for the company can be worked out, it is the intention of picture officials to start photographing north of Bend and work south to a point near Medford, Spitz said.
    Hope is held that many of Oregon's landmarks, such as Mount Hood, and other beauty spots, can be caught by the Technicolor cameras. If facilities and transportation are made available the screen company will headquarter at Bend and Diamond Lake. Residents of these districts would be used in the picture for local color with such equipment as will fit into the days of 1856, date of the Haycox story.
    In a fire at Universal Studios thousands of dollars worth of wagons, coaches and furniture of the frontier era were lost. Persons owning such equipment are asked by Mr. Spitz to contact Judge Robert Sawyer in Bend, or Herb Grey in Medford. Oxen are also needed, Spitz said.
    Spitz declared that in his travels in the interest of film production he has never met with such fine cooperation as shown by the people of Oregon. He added that it is his sincere hope all problems in connection with filming plans in Oregon can be successfully met and the screen company brought to this state.
    Among the film successes produced by Wanger are "Stagecoach," from a Haycox story; "Trail of the Lonesome Pine," first big budget outdoor feature filmed in Technicolor, "Foreign Correspondent," and "Salome, Where She Danced."
Oregonian, Portland, August 3, 1945, page 16


    Final approval for filming Ernest Haycox's latest Saturday Evening Post story, "Canyon Passage," in the Rogue River Valley where most of the action takes place is now pending in the offices of Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc., Universal City, Calif., according to information disclosed at the Chamber of Commerce board of directors' luncheon meeting at the chamber offices Friday noon.
    Three representatives of the picture company, Henry Spitz, F. O. Collings, and Frank Phillips, were here recently to survey the area, and chose a site near Diamond Lake as the most suitable location. Producers plan to film the story in Technicolor, on a scale comparable to Haycox's earlier stories, "Union Pacific" and "Stagecoach."
"Canyon Passage Filming Awaits Studio Approval," Medford Mail Tribune, August 5, 1945, page 3


Medford Mail Tribune, August 17, 1945, page 1


    "Canyon Passage," Ernest Haycox's story of old Jacksonville, is now in production with preliminary scenes being taken at Universal City, according to information received here today by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. The picture, which is being produced in Technicolor on the scale of Haycox's two famous screen hits, "Union Pacific" and "Stagecoach," will feature some of Southern Oregon's finest scenery.
    On the 26th of this month one troupe from the Walter Wanger Pictures organization will journey to Bend, where some of the sequences will be filmed. Soon after Labor Day 130 members of the Hollywood staff, with the stars, Susan Hayward, Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy and Andy Devine, will take over the Diamond Lake resort and operate throughout the Diamond Lake and Union Creek areas. Through the cooperation of Col. Charles Brooks, commandant of the Marine barracks at Klamath Falls and Capt. Lowell Coggeshall, in charge of the barracks rehabilitation program, Marines will be used as extras in the picture.
    Contractors will begin at once the construction of log cabins in the Diamond Lake region for use in important scenes, according to Henry Spitz, official of the motion picture company. Technical advisers are expected in Medford this week to supervise this construction and handle other preliminary details.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 21, 1945, page 8


    MEDFORD, Aug. 25. (Special)--Contractors have started construction at Diamond Lake of log cabins for use in scenes in the Universal Studios filming of "Canyon Passage," Ernest Haycox's story of early-day Jacksonville.
    A troupe of film actors will journey to Bend Sunday, where some of the sequences will be taken.
Oregonian, Portland, August 26, 1945, page 11


    Postponed by dense smoke from the Minto Pass fire in the Metolius section, work has been delayed on "Canyon Passage," Universal Studios' number one Technicolor spectacle to be filmed in scenic Central Oregon.
    The company was due to leave Hollywood tonight, according to director Charles T. Barton, who said today that he was hopeful work could start Friday on the picturesque lava beds in the high Cascade country near Mt. Jefferson.
    Here with Barton to make advance arrangements for the filming of the super-western are a party of six, including Fritz Collings, business manager, and Charles Boyle, cameraman. The officials said that the smoke condition would determine when shooting would begin.
Bend Bulletin, August 27, 1945, page 1


    Universal Studio prop men and technicians have arrived in Bend to begin work in preparation for filming of the Ernest Haycox western, "Canyon Passage." The crew is working in the Metolius River area. Members of the party that arrived yesterday are:
    M. S. Smith, Charles J. Wiltshire, Mae Clarke, Dorothy Kevs, Babe DeFreest, Claire Simon, Edward Coleman, J. Rosenkrantz, Sherman Clark, George S. Gall, Technicolor technician, D. W. McLatchie, Gordon Jones, Joseph F. Kenny, Albert Hall, Frank Garofato.
    Nipo Strongheart, Jerry Sheldon, Edward Roberross, Peter M. Rock, Montey F. Goodale, Albert MacInnarnie, Henry Wills, Pete Albriss and Ivan Wright.
Bend Bulletin, September 1, 1945, page 1


    Filming of "Canyon Passage," Ernest Haycox novel of pioneer Jacksonville days, is now under way in the Diamond Lake region. With the arrival earlier this week of Susan Hayward, Brian Donlevy, Andy Devine, Ward Bond and Dana Andrews, shooting of scenes was to have started yesterday or today, weather permitting.
    Accompanying the stars will be a company of 130 extras and technical workers. Jacques Tourneur will be directing and Richard Riedel is art director. Filming is expected to take about three weeks, with the cast and company housed at the Diamond Lake resort lodge.
    A group of buildings has been constructed during the past week as a setting for the film, with Mount Thielsen in the background. A ranch house, wagon shed and cabin were constructed of native timber and stone and given a look of age with moss and mud.
    Barbed wire fences were torn down and replaced with the less modern rail type, and since the picture is to be in Technicolor, grass and shrubs which had turned brown with the advancement of the season have been sprayed with green paint. A church was devised by adding a belfry to an old CCC camp building.
    The art director has been quoted to the effect that filming will depend entirely upon weather since the skies must have white, billowy clouds for best photography results. Marines from the Klamath Falls barracks are to be used to portray Rogue Indians needed for the picture.
    It is understood that the Diamond Lake district was selected for the filming rather than the immediate vicinity of Jacksonville due to the open type of countryside.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 5, 1945, page 1


    A Night in Klamath--Ten members of the movie unit filming "Canyon Passage" spent Monday night at the Willard [Hotel], leaving early Tuesday morning for Diamond Lake.
"City  Briefs," Herald and News, Klamath Falls, September 6, 1945, page 5


    About 54 members of the Jackson County Sheriff's Posse and the Ashland Riding Association will ride their horses Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week in scenes of "Canyon Passage," which is now being filmed at Diamond Lake by Universal Studios. Arrangements to secure the riders were made between Henry Spitz, Universal Studios official, and the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
    Dana Andrews, who is playing the lead in the picture, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy and other stars and featured players will attend the Victory Rodeo at the Fairgrounds Saturday night and Sunday. Some of the film folk will participate in the rodeo while others will attend as spectators.
    Ernest Haycox, author of "Canyon Passage," yesterday notified chamber of commerce authorities that he will attend the rodeo Saturday night and go to Diamond Lake to watch filming Sunday. He will be accompanied by his wife and two children.
    In Medford yesterday to attend to details in connection with the film were Spitz, Mrs. Bobbie Sierks, Edward Keyes and Frank Phillips, all of Universal.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 7, 1945, page 7


    Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, Andy Devine and Brian Donlevy, leading stars of "Canyon Passage," now in production at Diamond Lake, will be among a large group of Universal Pictures actors and officials attending the Jackson County Sheriff's Posse rodeo here Saturday night, according to word received by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. The movie group will appear in the parade and attend the rodeo later in the evening. Dana Andrews and Andy Devine will ride horses in the parade, according to present plans.
    Included in the group coming from Diamond Lake will be Ernie Pascal, screen writer, director Jacques Tourneur, Patricia Roc, a new Hollywood star from England, Henry Spitz, Edward Cronjager and Ward Bond, Universal officials.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 7, 1945, page 9


    Among attractions at Diamond Lake for the Labor Day vacationists were the buildings being constructed at the south end of the lake for the filming of "Canyon Passage," the story written by Ernest Haycox and laid around Jacksonville.
    Several of the buildings, made of logs, bark and rocks, were already completed, in the area of the CCC camp and nearer the lake.
    Filming of the story is expected to take about three weeks, if the weather is right. Several stars, including Susan Hayward, Brian Donlevy, Andy Devine, Ward Bond and Dana Andrews, have arrived. Jacques Tourneur is directing the filming, and Richard Riedel is art director.
    The picture will not all be "shot" at Diamond Lake, however, as plans call for taking part of the pictures in Jacksonville, where the main action of the story took place.
    Marines from the Klamath Falls Marine base are scheduled to serve as Indians, and there will be more than 100 extras.
    In charge of general arrangements for the filming are Harry Spitz, Fritz Collings and Dick Riedel, all of the Universal staff.
Medford News, September 7, 1945, page 1




    Snow at Diamond Lake has rendered filming by Universal Pictures impossible for Saturday, according to word received by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. A request has been issued by Universal officials for local people scheduled to appear in "Canyon Passage" to stand by until weather clears. It is hoped that production may be resumed Sunday, but that will depend upon weather conditions.
    If extras are needed Sunday word will be rushed to the local chamber, and those who have signed to take part in the picture may secure last-minute word Saturday. Everything is ready for immediate camera work when the sky clears, according to Henry Spitz, in charge of Universal Pictures operations at Diamond Lake.
    More than 80 people were interviewed by Spitz at the chamber's office Thursday, and this community will be well represented in the cabin-raising sequence of the widely heralded Technicolor picture of Southern Oregon and Jacksonville.
    Brian Donlevy, one of the stars of the picture, arrived in Medford this afternoon from Hollywood after a brief trip to the motion picture capital.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 21, 1945, page 1


    With continued snow at Diamond Lake "shooting" of the colorful "Canyon Passage" cabin-raising scene has been postponed for an indefinite period, according to word received Saturday morning by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. Future plans will depend upon weather conditions at Diamond Lake resort, it was stated.
    Henry Spitz, in charge of Universal Pictures' Diamond Lake operations, left today by plane for a conference with company officials at Universal City.
    Local citizens signed for roles in "Canyon Passage" have been asked to stand by for later word on filming operations in Southern Oregon.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 23, 1945, page 6


    Buses which will transport local extras for Universal Pictures' "Canyon Passage" to Diamond Lake Saturday and Sunday of this week will leave the Jackson County chamber of commerce each morning at 6:30 o'clock, according to Henry Spitz, production manager.
    Those who have signed for participation in the colorful cabin-raising sequence in the Technicolor picture have been asked to be on hand promptly at that time both Saturday and Sunday mornings so that there will be no delay in the scheduled filming at Diamond Lake.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 27, 1945, page 5


    It makes a pretty picture there at Diamond Lake where the Universals are shooting Ernie Haycox's "Canyon Passage"--movie actors and actresses lolling in lush comfort in warm Oregon sunshine. Male flicker folk in loud Hollywood tweeds with collars open down to the breastbone. Females in light sheer dresses made out of silk mosquito netting, or wearing next to nothing, mincing around to find shade so as not to get sunburned.
    But it just isn't true. KGW's chief announcer, Frank Coffin, just back from the scene, has got the real lowdown. Also he has got what he went for--a batch of prime movie autographs on those pledge cards KGW is sponsoring to provide professional entertainment for hospitalized veterans in peacetime.
    Frank himself had that phony picture in mind when he left Portland the other day with a bunch of blank cards, a fountain pen and a thin business suit. But he began to have misgivings when he lowered his bulk from the train at Chemult at 6 in the morning. A freezing blast hit his torso and he ran for the two-room oil lamp-lighted station and huddled for two hours shivering until the film company sent a car down from the lake, Saint Bernard fashion, to rescue him. It was 8 a.m.; the thermometer stood just at freezing.
    At the resort, which Universal has taken over lock, stock and barrel, Frank found nothing that looked like the corner of Hollywood and Vine. No summer tweeds, no flimsy dresses. Just a bunch of guys and gals swaddled in mackinaws and high boots. He looked at them and said he had hit a loggers' convention. One of them, Susan Hayward, looked at him in his business suit and yelled, "Hey, pipe the foreigner!"
    Not everybody was up yet and Frank found that while the high-priced boys and babes were staying at the lodge, the hoi pollois who do all the work were sleeping on porches, in bags here and there, under trees and in tents. Or, rather they were staying awake shivering. It had snowed a few nights before, and the climate was hard on warm Hollywood tempers.
    Nobody was mad at Frank, however, for they signed his KGW "Remember Our Men" cards. Miss Hayward signed. Also Andy Devine, Dana Andrews, Ward Bond, Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Peterson.
    The Universal crowd occupies not only the lodge, it's all over the place. Frank had to drive 47 miles to find one guy he wanted to sign. Brian Donlevy he missed. The great Donlevy was off by himself somewhere trying to get warm in front of a fire, and after chasing around in the cold, Frank finally said the hell with Donlevy, let him mail his card when he thaws out his fingers.
    Going back to Chemult, Frank rode in a bus full of Indian boys who are working in the picture as extras. The Universals didn't bring any extras along, and about everybody in and around Chemult will appear in the film. Back in Chemult Frank found the only sleeping space available was a trailer somebody was renting for $5 per night per person. So he went over to the depot and huddled under the oil lamps until 2 a.m. when, teeth chattering, he hauled his 275 pounds onto the train headed for Portland.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 28, 1945, page 3


    DIAMOND LAKE, Sept. 29.--(AP)--Virginia Patton, Portland, was carrying a 100-year-old parasol today in the filming of "Canyon Passage," a production based on the novel of Ernest Haycox, Portland.
    In the picture--being shot in this Oregon region--Miss Patton plays the part of her great-grandmother, Mrs. Polly Patton, who built one of the first log cabins in the Oswego region in 1847.
    Miss Patton will wear her pioneer ancestor's wedding ring and use her parasol.
Oregon Journal, Portland, September 29, 1945, page 2


    A check for $750 for the building fund of the Jackson County Sheriff's Posse was presented to the posse by Universal Studios at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon yesterday noon at the Hotel Holland. The check, given in appreciation for the aid the posse has rendered during the filming of "Canyon Passage" at Diamond Lake, was presented by president Herb Grey of the chamber and accepted by Walter Leverette, captain of the posse.
    In accepting the gift Leverette declared that much favorable publicity for Southern Oregon would result from filming of the picture in this locality, where the story's plot is laid.
    A number of posse members were guests at the luncheon. Present were Leverette and C. Lyall Fidler, especially commended for their aid to the film company, Sheriff Howard Gault, honorary president of the posse; S. M. Tuttle, first lieutenant; A. J. Boitano, second lieutenant; C. C. Leonard and W. E. Thomas, directors; F. J. Cullen, platoon sergeant; Harry Furch, quartermaster sergeant; William Meyst, Jr. and O. H. Bengtson.
    In addition to the speaker, Harvey Stowers, assistant to the president of the Aircraft Industries Association of America, others introduced were H. S. Deuel and Richard Alley, chairmen respectively of the aviation committees of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Medford Junior Chamber of Commerce; Capt. H. B. LaFavre and Com. Paul Weeks of the Camp White hospital.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 2, 1945, page 1


    A party of Universal Pictures men went through here yesterday on the way to Bend to begin shooting for the picture "Canyon Passage," based on a highly successful story by Ernie Haycox, Oregon author.
    Bend vistas will be used for background of many of the views to be seen in the pictures. Most of the film, however, will be shot in the Diamond Lake country, which Universal officials say offers ideal settings for pioneer scenes.
    Members of the Universal cast will arrive in a week or two. Chemult is to be used as the rail point for the Diamond Lake activity, and a local transfer firm will handle the removal of equipment from Chemult to the sets near the lake and on Union Creek.
    It is possible that men at the Marine barracks will be offered opportunity to appear in the picture as Indians, pioneer soldiers, etc. Universal officials have asked the barracks administration for permission to call for Marines for this purpose if they want to serve.
Herald and News, Klamath Falls, October 6, 1945, page 6


    Employees of the Universal Studios assisting in filming the picture "Canyon Passage" at Diamond Lake were guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lem Manning on Thursday evening. Dinner was served and dancing enjoyed later at Lakeshore Inn. Assisting the Mannings were Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Jacobsen, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bustin, and Mary Brophy. Roberta, attractive little daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Manning, has been working in the film production as an "extra." Guests for the evening from Universal included: Lawrence C. Van Voorhies, Otto Myer Jr., Sol Goldberg, Earl Neal, Bill Grule, Elden McElmez, and Julius Rosenkranz, all of Hollywood and Los Angeles.
Herald and News, Klamath Falls, October 6, 1945, page 6


    Taking an evening away from their work on the filming of "Canyon Passage" at Diamond Lake, a large group of the film's company held an informal dinner at Union Creek Lodge last Saturday evening.
    With Paul Bulkin of Medford as chef, stars, cameramen, script girls and others of the film company helped to cook and serve the dinner. Even the lowly task of "washing up" wasn't neglected. Brian Donlevy, one of the stars, not only chopped the vegetables for salad but returned to the kitchen after dinner to wash the dishes.
    Medford residents at the dinner returned with pictures of Donlevy, Dana Andrews and Andy Devine as mementos of the jolly evening.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 7, 1945, page 12


    MEDFORD, Oct. 7 (Special)--Universal Studios cameramen the past week took views of the pioneer town of Jacksonville, for use in the picturization of Ernest Haycox's "Canyon Passage," now under filming at Diamond Lake. Jacksonville is the locale of the story.
    Views were also taken of the home of Emil Britt and Miss Mollie Britt at Jacksonville, where in the early 1850s their father, Peter F. Britt, established one of the first photograph galleries in Oregon. The home and studio are rich in antiques and relics of Southern Oregon history. A redwood planted by his father on the day Emil Britt was born 81 years ago, now a stately tree, was also photographed.
    Some of the Britt home pictures will be embodied in the "Canyon Passage" movie and others will be presented in a planned movie short.
Oregonian, Portland, October 8, 1945, page 21  The "movie short" of the Britt house survives in a copy at the SOHS Research Library.


    Brian Donlevy's stand-in was hurt on location in "Canyon Passage." So Brian refused to do the hard riding sequences in the film until the boy recovered. He's superstitious. In the past whenever the stand-in has been hurt, something painful has happened to Brian.
Sheilah Graham, "Hollywood Chatter," Chicago Daily News, October 8, 1945, page 166


    To the editor: As one of a group of around one hundred or more Medfordites and valley residents selected to take the part of extras in the filming of "Canyon Passage" by Universal Picture Company, in the Diamond Lake region, I am confident that I am voicing the opinion of everyone participating in the filming in Technicolor of this thrilling drama of pioneer life in what is today the village of Jacksonville.
    The story deals with events transpiring 90 years ago when gold was discovered on Jackson Creek and thousands of miners, adventurers, gamblers and gunmen flocked in.
    The extras included a group of mounted men as well as men, women and children on foot, also a score or more of Indians decked out in war paint and feathers. Universal secured use of the lodge and cottages at the lake and moved in over one hundred of its staff from Hollywood, including stars, both men and women, directors, artists, technicians, makeup men and experts in every division of the picture industry.
    These, together with the one hundred or more extras, a large collection of horses, dogs, cows, pack mules and poultry, made a lively community in that usually peaceful region.
    The company provided bus transportation for the extras from Medford daily, a two-hour trip up the valley of the Rogue.
    Makeup men transformed the extras into miners, with sideburns, full beards, handlebar mustaches and goatees; wearing clothes in keeping with the period. The ladies wore long dresses, sunbonnets, shawls and funny little coats to match the hoop skirts.
    I am convinced that they all got a kick out of wearing the garments in style nearly one hundred years ago. All children were decked out in clothes of the period and enjoyed it immensely.
    Around 10 o'clock groups were assembled and scenes shot under the supervision of the director and numerous assistants. The entire staff was very democratic, including the stars, who never hesitated to sign autographs, answer questions and make themselves agreeable.
    The lunch truck came at noon and when the assistant director and paymaster, Joe Kenny, mounted the truck and shouted, "come and get it," there was a real scramble. It was just a big picnic for everybody.
    The Sheriff's Posse officers, including a group of the members of same, were present for the first three days of filming and donated their services for the publicity which Jackson County will derive from this Technicolor picture. All other mounted men participating, as well as extras, were paid by Universal and I am quite sure that all extras were delighted with the experience and enjoyed the friendly treatment received from the Universal staff.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 9, 1945, page 6


    Susan Hayward had to be rescued by a motorboat in a blow on the Diamond Lake location for "Canyon Passage." She was rowing like mad in a skiff but, in the wind, wasn't making any headway.
Harrison Carroll, "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood," Danville Morning News, Danville, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1945, page 6

    Recently I left Medford for Diamond Lake with two busloads of local people to help make "atmosphere" for the filming of "Canyon Passage," the story by Ernest Haycox about early Jacksonville. It was quite an experience for me, and I enjoyed it to the utmost.
    The ride there and back was something to remember. The vine maple, dogwood and mountain ash are all gold and red, and were
a delight to the eye. We had such splendid drivers and fine chartered buses. We were comfortable, and perfectly at ease.
    When we arrived, we had to be made up and dressed for the picture. Now this was really funny. We hardly knew each other after this was finished. I never saw so many whiskers in all my life. One man told me that he had to comb his stomach after each meal.
    Everything was a beehive of activity. There were many cameras and reflectors of pure silver leaf that almost put your eyes out it you looked directly at them. Everywhere you looked there was movement and action--cows, calves, horses, mules, ducks, chicken, old wagons, carts, covered wagons, plows, axes, shovels, pots, pans, wooden buckets, kettles, baskets, old furniture, and people everywhere.
    We really got a closeup of human nature.
    Not having any movie star aspirations myself, I just stood on the sidelines and waited until I was called on to take part in the shots, but we had a lot of fun watching the ambitious ones maneuvering for position as near the stars and cameras as they could get.
    All of the stars, actors and Universal Pictures personnel were wonderful to us, good to talk with and just plain fine folks.
    We hope they will come here again.
Medford News, October 12, 1945, page 1


    Resuming the filming of "Canyon Passage," a pioneer story of the Jacksonville country, written by Ernest Haycox of Portland, members of the Universal Film Corporation cast today moved to a new location in the Sisters area. They have spent the past several weeks taking "shots" in the Diamond Lake area.
    Heading the party is T. O. Collings, and Charles Barton is director. Included in the cast of the picture and others from Universal Studios are:
    Dorothy Keys, Babe DeFreest, Earl Neal, P. R. Chamberlain, P. A. Ikerd and wife, B. R. Owen, George S. Gall, Paul K. Waddell, Ray Teal, Sherman Clark, Edward Coleman, Charles Boyle, Peter M. Rock, A. E. Sethwick, Charles J. Welshire, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Sheldon, D. McLatchie, J. Rosenkratz, Nancy J. Page, Claire Simon, Mae Clark, Ray Burdick, Harry Tenbrook, Albert McBarrie, Gordon Dodds and James S. Huskie.
Bend Bulletin, October 13, 1945, page 5




    Location company of "Canyon Passage" are having the time of their lives hunting and fishing. Ward Bond got an eight-point buck and Andy Devine's stand-in shot a bear. Brian Donlevy wasn't so lucky. His boat capsized in a sudden snow and rainstorm. Brian had to swim for shore and walk seven miles before a rancher picked him up.
Harrison Carroll, "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood," Danville Morning News, Danville, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1945, page 5


    A movie star is apt to be a clothes horse, a work horse, or a saddle horse. Dean Hollinshead's palomino, "Mac," a star in any man's rodeo or horse show, made his debut in the flickers as "one of the boys in the line," in Universal Studios' "Canyon Passage," filmed in the picturesque Diamond Lake country south of Bend and in the Broken Top area.
    As a matter of fact, in one scene, Mac heads the line, as leader of the 30-"mule" pack train which appears in the picture on a scenic background at the foot of Broken Top. Undaunted by being cast as a mule, Mac also gets hitched to a buggy in which top-notchers on the cast have a wild ride, and among other scenes, takes part in the cabin-raising episode.
    Also on location with Mac, as extras in the crowd of cowboys, Indians and bad men who populate the scenes, were Mr. and Mrs. Hollinshead, who spent six weeks working on the picture, as did Mrs. Minnie Livingston of Bend and Reuben Long and Mrs. Avon Derrick of Fort Rock. Long furnished 36 head of his famous Western horses to take part in "mob scenes."
    Other Bend people who got a taste of movie life as extras in the super-Western were Henry Livingston, Maurice Hoover, Merle Hoover, Kenneth Millican, Ferrell Priday and Earl Wear.
Bend Bulletin, October 26, 1945, page 8




    Fight scene from "Canyon Passage" sent Ward Bond and Dana Andrews to the hospital. Bond required six stitches in his lower lip and Andrews four in his scalp.
Harrison Carroll, "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood," The Bradford Era, Bradford, Pennsylvania, November 9, 1945, page 6


    DIAMOND LAKE (Or.) Nov. 10.--Filming the "cabin-raising" scene in the Walter Wanger production of "Canyon Passage" entailed hours of intensive research on the methods and practices of the Oregon pioneers.
    The cabin was not a "phony" set, but was built under the direction of Universal Studios construction engineer, Chauncy Webb, and a crew of old-time Oregon lumberjacks. It was then disassembled and, after several hours of instruction, the stars, Dana Andrews and Brian Donlevy with Lloyd Bridges, Ray Teal and Victor Cutler, reassembled it under the discerning lens of the Technicolor camera.
    One hundred and sixty residents of Medford, Grants Pass, Ashland and Jacksonville came up to the "Canyon Passage" location at Diamond Lake to enact the roles of their forefathers in the scene. Most of the parents of these "extras" settled Oregon in the era of the Ernest Haycox novel, and they in turn were born and raised there.
    The Indians, whose presence adds a touch of menace to the scene, were descendants of the Yakama and Rogue Indians who figured in the famous rebellion of '56. One of them, Nipo Strongheart, is the great-grandnephew of the man responsible for the uprising, and great-grandson of Owhi, the chief of the Yakama Indians at that time.
Los Angeles Times, November 11, 1945, page 25


    HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 10.--The passion of Indians for solid gold dentures, needed or not, posed a makeup problem for the company making "Canyon Passage" on location in Utah [sic].
    As the story takes place in the late 'fifties, and the filming is in color, the flashing gold teeth had to be concealed somehow.
    Makeup men blocked out the single good teeth with white paper and glue, setting the braves in the sun to dry with open mouths.
    One picturesque fellow, who had a whole mouthful of gold, required different treatment. They gave him a large scalping knife to hold in his teeth during the closeups in which he appeared.
Press-Telegraph, Long Beach, California, November 11, 1945, page 17


    It happened during the filming of Walter Wanger's "Canyon Passage" on the Universal lot: Dana Andrews and Ward Bond were enacting a roughhouse scene in which the two men engaged in a fist fight. As usual in such scenes, the principals throw light, harmless punches and the cameras do the rest.… Andrews, however, never before had enacted such a scene. When the script called for him to land an uppercut to Bond's jaw, he actually landed one with all his might. Bond's head snapped back and his knees buckled. He then retaliated with a smash to Andrews' head, after which the director called a halt.… Six stitches were taken in Bond's lip and five in Andrews' head.… Young Andrews later apologized profusely to Bond "for being so stupid."
Irv Kupcinet, "Kup's Column," Chicago Times, November 15, 1945, page 78


    HOLLYWOOD--Ward Bond, character star, had quite a surprise on the set of Walter Wanger's "Canyon Passage," on location at Diamond Lake, Ore.
    Bond was introduced to Little Weasel, an underchief of the Umatilla Indians, who is working in the Universal Technicolor picture.
    "Glad to know you," said Bond, extending his hand in greeting. He shook Little Weasel's hand and added, "brother!"
    "Pardon me?" said Little Weasel.
    "I said 'brother'…that grip you gave me?"
    "Oh," smiled Little Weasel. "That is the grip of the Weasel Clan of the Umatilla Indian tribe."
    "Well," replied Bond, a University of Southern California football star before he turned actor, "It's also the handclasp of the Chi Psi fraternity. I thought we were fraternity brothers."
    "We are now," rejoined Little Weasel. "Now that you know the grip, I proclaim you an honorary member of the Weasel Clan."
Newark Star-Ledger, November 29, 1945, page 16


    They've had to put Ward Bond on a liquid diet. On solids, he kept tearing out the stitches in his lower lip after Dana Andrews accidentally socked Ward a terrific blow in a fight scene for "Canyon Passage."
Harrison Carroll, "Hollywood Roundup," Beatrice Times, Beatrice, Nebraska, November 30, 1945, page 5


    "Canyon Passage," Ernest Haycox's tale of early pioneer Oregon life, and for which many scenes were taken in Central Oregon, will be finished this week at Universal Studios in California, it was learned here today.
    Universal players, directors and prop men spent more than two months in this area in the midsummer, taking many "shots" in the Metolius, Sisters, Dutchman Flat and Diamond Lake regions. A number of Indians from the Warm Spring Reservation, as well as Central Oregon folk, had minor parts in the film.
Bend Bulletin, December 21, 1945, page 5




    Hollywood, May 25--(U.P.)--A Portland, Ore., audience could look forward today to the premiere July 10 of "Canyon Passage," a picture dealing with Oregon scenes and history.
    Oregon Gov. Earl Snell flew here to confer with Walter Wanger and Universal Studios to obtain the first film showing because it was filmed at Oregon's Diamond Lake, dealt with Jacksonville, Oregon, history and was written by an Oregonian, Ernest Haycox.
    Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy and Susan Hayward star in the picture.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 26, 1946, page 3


    "Canyon Passage," the movie filmed at Diamond Lake about J'ville, in which a number of local equestrians and residents portrayed pioneers looking for mean Indians in the twilight, will have its premiere in the metropolis July 10.
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, May 26, 1946, page 6


    E. Ulrich, the Prospect Mtn. Wm. [i.e., "hillbilly"], towned Fri. He can hardly wait for the showing here next month of "Canyon Passage," the movie taken at Diamond Lake. The leading lady praised both him and his horse. They helped furnish atmosphere for the picture.
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, June 23, 1946, page 6


    Portland, June 25--Oregon will trot out the fatted calf in earnest July 13 when the three planeloads of Hollywood celebrities invited here for the world premiere of "Canyon Passage" arrive, Portland premiere headquarters announced today.
    Plans to treat the filmland visitors as prodigal sons, western style, were originally launched by Medford members of the Oregon Advertising Club, who have completed arrangements with John S. Day, owner of the famous Blue Moon Ranch, for a barbecue there with one of his prize fatted Herefords as piece de resistance.
    When it was discovered, however, that plane schedules would prevent a lengthy stopover in Medford, where a visit to Jacksonville, locale of the "Canyon Passage" story, was also planned, Day volunteered to make good his promise anyway.
    The Hereford, one of the ranch's prize entries being groomed for fall showing at the Great Western Livestock Show in Los Angeles, has been processed, hung for curing, and will be shipped to Portland.
    The Oregon Advertising Club, with member Virginia Miller in charge, will put on the barbecue here, in a setting patterned after Stuchell's saloon in Jacksonville, where much of the action in the Oregon-filmed movie takes place.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 25, 1946, page 7  A photo of Mr. and Mrs. Day and the calf was printed on page 5 of the July 12 issue.


    Announcement was made today by the Leverette Interstate Theaters that some lucky "old timer" couple of the Jacksonville area will be selected to be guests of the Universal Film Company for the world premiere showing of "Canyon Passage," in Portland, July 13.
    The Walter Wanger-Universal Studios production, "Canyon Passage," based on the Saturday Evening Post serial "Canyon Passage," by the famous Western author, Ernest Haycox, has created much local interest. Not only is the story laid in this territory, Jacksonville being the southern terminus of "Canyon Passage" and Portland the northern terminus, but many people of Jackson County and organizations cooperated in its filming.
    "Canyon Passage" was filmed in Technicolor in the famous Umpqua National Forest, the first full-length feature picture to be made in Oregon.
    The company of 156 people was transported from the Universal studio in Hollywood to location headquarters at Diamond Lake for most of the filming. More than 125 special effects men, carpenters and painters spent four weeks building sets on the various location sites. In some places new roads were built into hitherto inaccessible regions.
    Cooperation of Oregonians and their public officials was pledged by Governor Earl Snell, who designated Herb Grey of the Medford Mail Tribune and E. Palmer Hoyt, then publisher of the Oregonian, as his special agents to help make "Canyon Passage" the most authentic of the great regional motion pictures that have been the industry's contribution to the recording of American history.
    The Medford showing will follow soon after the Portland premiere.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 30, 1946, page 8


AUTHOR APPROVES MOVIE VERSION
    How does an author feel when he sees the figments of his imagination become life and blood characters working out a real story on a Technicolor screen?
    If the author is Ernest Haycox, Portland writer, he feels workmanlike.
    Each change which his story undergoes is as vital to him as though he were undergoing it himself. But the finished product, if it's "Canyon Passage," is pleasing to the author. "It was fine," Haycox explained upon seeing the complete picture for the first time Monday night. Before, he'd seen "rushes" during the shooting.
    Haycox modestly was not referring to his story but to the screen's translation of it. The story's fine, too, as thousands of Saturday Evening Post readers will testify, and as Hollywood motion picture executives will agree.
    "The screen and writing are two entirely different mediums," the author explains seriously. "All the ‘think' part goes out. It has to be translated into dialogue or action."
    When there's as much action as Haycox has packed into "Canyon Passage," several characters sometimes combine into one, and their dialogue is handled by one actor. But the overall feeling of the book is carefully reproduced in the picture, so the final result is happy for both author and audience.
    This is the fourth of Haycox's stories to be made into movies--the first an obscure little B picture based upon a short story, then "Abilene Town," and the nationally acclaimed "Stagecoach."
    "Canyon Passage" is an all-Oregon tale which carries the action from Portland down to gold-mining Jacksonville with Southern Oregon and the McKenzie Pass the actual locales for the magnificent Technicolor shooting.
    Oregon audiences will view the picture in its world premiere at the Broadway Theatre Saturday, July 13, following a "Canyon Passage" parade and a $1000 man-hunt through the West Portland hills for Sgt. Cliff Ohren, Portland policeman who is the "Man from Canyon Passage."
Oregon Journal, Portland, July 2, 1946, page 15


    Hollywood, July 7--(U.P.)--The first big postwar press-player junket will be a weekend Hollywood-to-Portland jaunt for the world premiere of Walter Wanger's "Canyon Passage."
    Elsa Maxwell, garrulous little czarina of America's cafe society, who will act as official hostess of the party, said two airplanes would carry the movie stars, newspaper columnists and radio commentators from Hollywood July 12 and return July 14.
    "We're going to have a bang-up barbecue dinner, a parade with real Indians and cowboys, a torchlight street show and a couple of other events I haven't figured out," declared Miss Maxwell.
    "Canyon Passage," the story of pioneer Oregon, stars Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy and Susan Hayward. Much of the picture was filmed on location in Oregon's Crater Lake and Rogue River country.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 5, 1946, page 5


    "Canyon Passage," the J'ville movie, will show here June 24 at the Crate for one week. A lot of local scenery and whiskers and some veteran horses of the Sheriff's Posse appear in the film.
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, July 10, 1946, page 10


    Medford will be represented at the festivities planned in Portland in connection with the premiere of "Canyon Passage" Saturday by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Leverette, Mr. and Mrs. Eino Hemmila and Mr. and Mrs. John Day. The Hemmilas are already in Portland, Mr. and Mrs. Leverette left this morning and the Days will leave tomorrow morning.
    The premiere, to be held in the J. J. Parker Broadway Theater, will be truly an all-Oregon affair, for the story "Canyon Passage" was written by Ernest Haycox of Portland, deals with historical events surrounding Jacksonville and was filmed at Diamond Lake near Medford. Attending will be a number of Hollywood celebrities, including Susan Hayward, feminine star of the picture, Walter Wanger of Universal Studios, who produced the picture, his wife, Joan Bennett, and Hoagy Carmichael of song fame.
    Day, owner of the Blue Moon cattle ranch, had shipped to Portland one of his finest steers to furnish Oregon beef for a barbecue dinner preceding the
premiere.
    Leverette's Interstate Theaters has secured the film for showing at the Craterian Theater here beginning July 24 and to run a week.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 11, 1946, page 5


    Not a bit worried that the premiere planned in Portland for "Canyon Passage" might be over before she arrived there, husky-voiced Elsa Maxwell, famous as a hostess, columnist and for her radio program, stopped in Medford Friday afternoon long enough to eat a belated lunch at Valentine's cafe. After a quick meal, Miss Maxwell and her two companions set out for Portland in a car provided by W. H. (Heine) Fluhrer at the special request of Gov. Earl Snell, and driven by Tommy Culbertson.
    "They can't have the party without me," she declared vigorously. Haven't I brought a special western costume to wear? Why, I've got two big six-guns and I'm going to dash out and shoot those guns at the governor and the mayor of Portland and yell, 'Here I am.'" She added, "Wasn't it nice of the governor to send a special car for me?"
    Miss Maxwell, who was to have presided over a dinner in Portland before the showing of "Canyon Passage," positively refuses to travel by air, so while other radio and film celebrities made the trip to Portland by plane, Miss Maxwell, with her secretary, Florence Edwards, and Ted Bonnet, personal representative of Walter Wanger, producer of the movie, set out on the "Cascade," which was stalled at Dorris, Calif., by a derailment, and had to be rerouted. "All my friends warned me about that train,'' she recalled, "and they certainly will razz me when I get back to San Francisco. Next time I'll use a covered wagon or mule pack, like they did in the picture!"
    According to Elsa, "Canyon Passage" is a wonderful picture. "It isn't a bit 'corny' and it's not all full of flapjacks and phony cowboys. It impressed me as being a fine picture which really tells a story of pioneer days. And the color shots of Oregon scenery are simply gorgeous." She said Wanger had told her that every effort had been made to reproduce the Ernest Haycox story faithfully and to preserve the true pioneer flavor which Haycox fans admired so much.
    Miss Maxwell said that when Wanger first asked her to go to Portland for the premiere she retorted "Heavens no! What do I want to go to Portland for!" but that when Wanger reminded her how proud she was of her native San Francisco and the rest of the West she relented and consented to go, if the picture was good. After seeing the finished picture, Miss Maxwell said she was so enthusiastic she readily agreed to attend the premiere and ordered a costume.
    The costume, incidentally, consisted in part of a gorgeous white satin blouse, heavily embroidered in bright design, and a wide white felt western hat with an embroidered band. "I love costumes and costume parties," she declared.
    Miss Maxwell, between bites of meat, mashed potatoes and gravy, talked in a friendly manner of her life in New York, Hollywood (which she professed to cordially dislike) and San Francisco, which she said she loved. She lives for the most part in New York, where she gives many of the lavish parties for which she is famous, and spends but a few months on the West Coast. She writes a daily newspaper column and broadcasts six days a week on the radio. Elsa is now busy planning a "white ball" to be given later this summer in Hollywood, and during which she will give prizes to guests who can boast the deepest coat of tan "anywhere visible" and also for the whitest skin. The columnist explained that the extremely fair skins are an asset for work in colored motion pictures.
    When "Heinie" Fluhrer arrived to report that the car was ready to leave, he again offered to provide a plane for the Maxwell party, but she firmly declined. When Mr. Fluhrer hinted that residents of this part of the state weren't exactly satisfied with train service and that perhaps Miss Maxwell should use her influence she declared, "I'm your girl. I'll take it up on my radio program. I have a lot of listeners in this part of the country."
    In Portland Miss Maxwell was to be a guest of Philip Jackson of the Portland Journal and Mrs. Jackson, and upon returning to San Francisco will spend a vacation with Mrs. George Cameron, whose husband is part owner of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 14, 1946, page 6


    A mild editorial controversy is now cooking over the location of the scenery revealed in "Canyon Passage." As a matter of fact, it is well scattered over Douglas, Josephine, Klamath and Deschutes counties. Also Jackson County and Jacksonville share in the distribution. This area has the glory of producing most of the horseflesh and all the whiskers, exclusively.
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, July 15, 1946, page 4


    Hailed as the most pretentious drama of Oregon and the Great Northwest to reach the screen, "Canyon Passage" will have its Southern Oregon premiere showing at the Craterian Theatre, starting Wednesday, July 24th. Produced in Technicolor by Walter Wanger from Ernest Haycox' famous Saturday Evening Post
story, the picture co-stars Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy and Susan Hayward.
    Filmed for the most part in the magnificent scenic regions of Southern Oregon including Diamond Lake and Jacksonville the picture is of great interest to the people of Jackson County and the Rogue River Valley. "Canyon Passage" features in its cast such prominent cinema favorites as Patricia Roc, Hoagy Carmichael, Ward Bond and Andy Devine, plus a host of Jackson County citizens who appeared as extras.
    "Canyon Passage" is the lusty, brawling saga of the Oregon Trail. The absorbing story of the pioneer men and women who, despite Indian uprisings and the dangers of the Oregon Trail, trekked across the continent and through "canyon passage" to settle the Pacific Northwest.
    Many months were devoted to research and the filming at the locale of the story to assure authenticity in the presentation of historical incidents. Some of the "props" and locations in the picture are not imitations, but actual relics and places of the period of the Haycox story.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 17, 1946, page 10


Medford Mail Tribune, July 19, 1946, page 6


    "Canyon Passage," the movie of J'ville in early days, will be on tap for one week starting next Wed. The horse that stepped on Hilding Bengtson's foot, when he was presenting a medal to Andy Devine, and 79 other Jack. Co. equines are in the picture.
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, July 21, 1946, page 6


    Next Wednesday Rogue River Valley people are going to get their first glimpse of "Canyon Passage," Universal's screen version of Ernest Haycox's Saturday Evening Post novel of old Jacksonville in the 1850s. The fact that numerous local people appeared as "extras" along with the Jackson County Sheriff's Posse, and the picture is filled with eye-appealing scenery hereabouts, will add much to the pleasure of this initial showing in Medford.
    "Canyon Passage" is hailed as the "most pretentious drama of Oregon and the Great Northwest to reach the screen." Reports from the preview at Portland, so ably staged on a "super-colossal" scale by the Oregon Advertising Club recently, seem to give substance to press agents' superlatives.
    Walter Wanger, producer of "Canyon Passage," is somewhat of a pioneer himself in coming to Oregon for authentic background scenery--bringing 156 stars and technicians 1100 miles. Diamond Lake resort was taken over, lock stock and barrel, for the big job. Cinema fans will enjoy a relief from Southern California scenery, which seems to look more familiar with every release from Hollywood.
    Jacques Tourneur's reputation as an able director is well sustained in "Canyon Passage," according to reports of the Portland preview, and even the author approved of Ernest Pascal's screenplay--something unusual in the picture-making business. The richly colored scenery at Lava Caps, Diamond Lake, the Natural Bridge over the Rogue, Dutchman's Flats and Metolius Meadows provided cameraman Eddie Cronjager with matchless material for vivid Technicolor "shots." The cast sparkles with big names--dapper Dana Andrews, the hero, saucy Susan Hayward, the heroine, Brian Donlevy and bad man Ward Bond, the villain. Patricia Roc, wholesome young star fresh from England, and "lovable Andy Devine" are in this film which runs the gamut of romance under the Douglas firs to bar room brawls and Indian fights. Even Hoagy Carmichael, whose "Stardust" we like much better than his boogie-woogie, sings "Rogue River Valley."
    It would be unfair not to toss a few orchids to others who helped make "Canyon Passage" possible but whose names do not appear in lights and press sheets-- Henry Spitz and Fritz Collings, for example, who spent weeks searching for suitable locale and headed the two units on location. There were Eddie Keyes, the two script girls, Dorothy and Bobbie, Frank Phillips, car drivers and directors alike made friends here.
    Yes, we're looking forward to Medford's own preview of "Canyon Passage," with its brilliant cast, its familiar scenery and its generous sprinkling of neighbors rigged out in grease paint and pioneer costumes. We're glad that Walter Wanger and Universal are showing the world the scenic beauty of Oregon's lakes and mountains while reminding us that the neighborly spirit of Jacksonville pioneers, so well depicted in the cabin-raising sequence, might well be revived.--H.G. [Herbert G. Grey]
Medford Mail Tribune, July 21, 1946, page 6


    "Canyon Passage," the J'ville movie, comes Wed. to the Crate. If one looks close they can see Bill Hansen, the Diamond Lake hermit, in a red shirt and black hat making shakes and shaking. Pop Gates also flitted across the panorama hiding behind false whiskers. Chet Leonard shows up as a pioneer with sideburns astride a horse.
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, July 22, 1946, page 6


    "Canyon Passage" at the Crate drew packed congregations, and faces and places known to all appeared on the screen. It winds up Wed. Bill Hansen, the hermit of Diamond Lake, showed up splitting shakes, building a pioneer fireplace, and in a fight at the J'ville saloon. While making the picture, he caught a mess of fish for the leading lady, and ran around with Andy Devine so much he can now talk like him.
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, July 28, 1946, page 6


Medford News, August 2, 1946, page 5


    To the editor: One afternoon I decided to see the picture I heard so much about that was filmed here in Oregon. I found a seat and settled myself to enjoy the picture, which was then in progress.
    No more had I wriggled myself into a comfortable position when rattle, rattle, smash, smash, crunch, crunch. Popcorn. Now if anything distracts me from enjoying a movie more than rattling paper sacks I don't know what it is unless it is a crying baby. Crying babies, at times, cannot be helped, but popcorn, yes. I don't pay my money to listen to rattling paper sacks but to see and hear the film.
    Well, all things have to end and the corn was finally eaten, then blessed silence--for a whole two minutes. Then an elderly couple sat down in the two vacant seats to my right. A whispered conversation took place, the man arose and left and came back presently--with two sacks of popcorn. Then it really did start.
    Well, their corn finally came to an end and I sighed in relief hoping I could at least enjoy the first part of the film which I had missed. To my left were two vacant seats. Here came a couple to occupy them. I arose to let them past. I never sat down again. I left. In their hands as they passed me were two sacks of popcorn. "Canyon Passage" may be a great film--I don't know. But why do we have to put up with this? Perhaps the shows are running at a loss and their only profits are from the sale of popcorn, but I would like to see one day a week set aside for those of us that pay our good money to see and hear a show, just one day a week when the sale of popcorn is suspended. Until then I'll spend my leisure in the shade of a tree.
"Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, August 5, 1946, page 4


    To the editor: Some people may not like moving pictures and popcorn, but some of us from here in Prospect think that if a person likes to enjoy seeing a show and eating popcorn, more power to him.
    We don't get to town very often to see a show, and when we do we like our popcorn. If a person can't concentrate enough on the picture--he hadn't ought to
go.
    Anyway, we enjoyed "Canyon Passage" very much and we also enjoyed the popcorn we ate.
    Signed Levon Sargent, Blanche Davidson, Thelma Clark, Marie Daily.--Prospect, Aug. 7.
"Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, August 8, 1946, page 10


    "Canyon Passage," the J'ville film, in which Douglas, Deschutes and Jackson County scenery is revealed in Technicolor, opens in San Francisco, Friday. In the theater ads no mention is made of the location of the scenery. All Cham. of Comms. are keeping a close watch to see it doesn't shift to the "High Sierras of the Golden State."
Arthur Perry, "Ye Smudge Pot," Medford Mail Tribune, August 15, 1946, page 10


    As the Medford band formed a pear formation at the band show, Herb Brower, dressed like Hoagy Carmichael in "Canyon Passage," rode out on a donkey singing "Rogue River Valley." The Portland junior chamber of commerce aided the Medford band in obtaining the donkey, "Pee-Wee," which did appear in the movie, "Canyon Passage," it was reported.
"Director High in Praise for Band at Portland Rose Show," Medford Mail Tribune, June 15, 1948, page 14


    In 1945, the resort was reserved for a cast of 150 plus 300 extras who filmed the movie "Canyon Passage." Just before the movie company arrived after that Labor Day, Andy Devine commented to the Howards, "You won't like it. We actors are a lot different on location than we are on vacation."
    "I often thought of Andy's remark while those people were here," Mrs. Howard said. "Those actors and actresses were high strung due to their work. They partied a lot and tore the place apart. We had to make a lot of repairs later."
    Devine, who was as easygoing "off stage" as he was in his characterization as an easygoing westerner, was amused as Mrs. Howard did her best to please one of the more difficult and snobbish actresses. It was an interesting experience, but she wouldn't do it again, Mrs. Howard said.
"Diamond Lake Resort Continues To Be Popular Vacation Retreat," Medford Mail Tribune, August 25, 1963, page B2



   Last revised July 24, 2022