Devil's Doorway

Near as I can figure, Anthony Mann remained with Metro by dent of loans from Eagle-Lion to do Border Incident and Side Street. After these, it appears a switch was made to install him full-time at MGM, along with cinematographer John Alton (a buy-out of their E-L contracts?). Cost-cutting remained Metro policy heading into 1949. Recently installed production chief Dore Schary measured projects for thrift and whatever prep work could avoid time/resource waste once cameras began turning. Devil's Doorway was in works since before Mann's arrival. February 1949 even saw announcement of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn for leads. Part of Schary's clean-up was to keep talent busy. That put Mann to Robert Taylor's Ambush quick on heels of Side Street ... but jobs might shift from one day to next on this busier-than-ever lot, thus scratch Tracy/Hepburn, take Mann off Ambush, and proceed with Devil's Doorway for Fall '49 Durango shooting and on-lot completion at pared-to $1.3 million negative cost, way less than expense previously common to MGM star vehicles.

Devil's Doorway plays tougher than typical even of dark approached westerns after the war. Interiors are inky black, location days shot mostly for night, with a grim finish that surely didn't clear short of arguments among MGM sales folk who'd rather have substituted a happy or at least hopeful ending. Minus marquee insurance of Robert Taylor, this might have been third strike (and out?) for recent-to-the-lot Mann. Having…