Devil's Canyon
Tags: revenge

Plot synopsis:
Arizona, 1897: A female outlaw, Abby Nixon, warns a lawman, Billy Reynolds, that her accomplices Bud and Cole Gorman are nearby. Reynolds manages to kill both in a gunfight, but finds himself arrested for murder, convicted and sentenced to a desert prison known as Devil's Canyon.
One of the prisoners there is a third Gorman brother, the ruthless Jesse, who intends to gain revenge for Reynolds having killed his kin. Jesse is also romantically involved with Abby, but is unaware that she's the one who tipped off Reynolds as to his brothers' whereabouts.
Reynolds is treated fairly by Morgan, the warden, but not by Captain Wells, a sadistic guard. Abby ends up sent to Devil's Canyon herself for a robbery. To keep her as far as possible from the male inmates, Abby is assigned to work with Dr. Betts in the prison infirmary. She treats Reynolds' wounds after Jesse injures him in a fight.
Abby plots a jailbreak. Sneaking guns to Joe and Red, outlaw partners of Jesse, she tries to persuade Reynolds to join them. He refuses, respecting the law and also not trusting Jesse a bit. Wells finds knives in Reynolds' cell, planted there by Jesse.
The warden and Wells are tipped off about the breakout, but Jesse guns down Wells in cold blood. Guards are taken hostage and the other prisoners are set free. Abby, now afraid of Jesse and his violent ways, is slapped by him and left behind. She manages to free Reynolds, who takes over the guards' machine-gun nest, kills Jesse and orders the others back to their cells. The warden vows to do everything in his power to grant Reynolds and Abby a pardon for their crimes.

Review: How hard is it for a good man to go bad?.
This grim sagebrush drama is about a clash between inmates at a 1890s Arizona prison.
Dale Robertson is the ex-marshal that finds himself behind bars for killing two men in self defense.
Virgina Mayo is the love interest and maybe best thing about the movie.
Also in the cast are: Stephen McNally, Robert Keith and Earl Holliman.
Typically predictable western..
Strange prison western.
I taped Devil's Canyon when TCM screened it in November 2009 b/c another western with a historical theme (Great Day in the Morning)was next and I had plenty of tape (I'm still an analogue guy).
Reasons for giving it a chance included Dale Robertson in his prime, Steve McInally who was a dependable western heavy, plus Virginia Mayo's OK, but esp.
b/c RKO in its decline often made uniquely flawed but curious products.What's strange about Devil's Canyon (besides the absence of a canyon) is the prison set, which appears only partially, but the walls appear to be enormous hewn stones that cast off strange pastel glows that change with the time of day.
As a complement to these eerie atmospherics, the script and scenario range from casually crude to bluntly stupid.
As a friend once said of a similar film, "It's just like a porn flick except everybody keeps their clothes on." The film's best passage--the attempted prison break--takes advantage of the set.
The escapees anticipate which doors the guards will open and ambush their entrances, eventually controlling the entire prison, which sets up Robertson's gatling gun throwdown.
Overall, the direction and editing of Devil's Canyon overall are unredeemable, but if you're not asking for much in those regards, the film's visuals have the quality of a meaningless dream..
Paint-by-numbers oater.
This routine oater sees eye-catching Virginia Mayo aiding a gang of outlaws in a small desert town by helping to arrange a massive jailbreak.
It's a strictly by-the-numbers affair, featuring characters segregated into either the good or bad, and a particular cheapness to the sets.
RKO Pictures were well known for churning out low budget programmer after low budget programmer and DEVIL'S CANYON is a good example of their 'shoot fast for a quick buck' mentality.The movie features a number of notable character actors from the era, including Whit Bissell, Morris Ankrum and Irving Bacon, but only Dale Robertson, as the upstanding hero, is given much of a character, while Mayo seems to be relegated to the role of clothes horse for much of the running time.Things do pick up with a couple of decent shoot-outs and an elaborate, large-scale climax which doesn't disappointment, but by the looks of it the gimmicky 3D fails to make much, if any, of an impact other than in the opening titles..
Drab genre mix.
Film noir, prison break drama or western?
It doesn't seem to know and you'll give up caring to figure it out about a third of the way in.
This is a lacklustre B movie in any genre.
Starts out a western shoot em up then takes on a Cagney in the big house edge.
A good scene at the end with a gatling gun though, if you don't mind fighting to stay awake to get that far.
Notable if spotting Earl Holliman in early bit parts is one of your favorite past-times, and Virginia Mayo is watchable if you like your western dames talking tough as nails and looking like they stepped out of a 50's LIFE ad for Lee Jeans.
Otherwise, skipping this would probably be more to your liking.And I agree with the other reviewer that the title refers to Ms. Mayo's *mm-hmm*.
If you can find an actual canyon anywhere in this picture you paid closer attention than I did..
Weak sagebrush tale about a prison break....
DALE ROBERTSON is a marshal unjustly prisoned in an Arizona jailhouse who hinders and then helps a prison break plan concocted by VIRGINIA MAYO.
This has the look of a low-budget movie that was put together hastily with a second-rate script and designed as a programmer to fill out a double bill.VIRGINIA MAYO looks absolutely beautiful but her hairdress and costuming is strictly from the 1950s--and so is her overall demeanor as a tough gal who thinks she's in love with the brutish STEPHEN McNALLY.Among the supporting cast, Whit Bissell, Arthur Hunnicutt, Robert Keith, Earl Holliman and Irving Bacon have all seen better days.It affords only minimal entertainment with a standard prison break climax not too convincingly staged.
Of the actors, only the handsome and stalwart DALE ROBERTSON looks as though he believes in his role, bringing strength and sincerity to his role as the marshal.You can afford to miss this one..
Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak, somewhere in this town.
Devil's Canyon is directed by Alfred Werker and collectively written by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Harry Essex, Bennett R.
Cohen and Norton S.
Parker.
It stars Dale Robertson, Stephen McNally, Virginia Mayo, Robert Keith, Arthur Hunnicutt, Jay C.
Flippen, Whit Bissell and Earl Holliman.
Music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca.Arizona 1897 and former marshal Billy Reynolds (Robertson) is forced to kill in self defence two brothers of outlaw Jesse Gorman (McNally), the man Billy had previously sent to prison.
With new people enforcing new laws in town, Billy doesn't get a fair trial and is sentenced to ten years at the tough Arizona Territorial Prison; home of one Jesse Gorman!
When lady outlaw Abby Dixon (Mayo), sweetheart of Gorman, is also sent to the prison, it stirs the already potent hornets nest still furtherOriginally a 3D production out of RKO, boasting Natural Vision 3 - Dimension no less, Devil's Canyon can now only be viewed in Technicolor flat mode.
Upon examination it's hard to believe that even in 3D this tardy Western had anything going for it, unless Mayo's pointy breasts were the selling point, or Robertson's Teddy Boy haircut?
(Yes, they must have had Teddy Boy's in Arizona circa 1897!).There's a bunch of reliable Western actors in it, director Werker was always competent and ace cinematographer Musuraca was also on board, yet the promising story is bogged down by a good hour of, well, nothingness, as the screenplay has a bunch of sweaty guys talking about stuff that doesn't advance the plot with any real distinction.Mayo looks gorgeous, but her character is victim of a preposterous set-up and in spite of the trailer (and some misguided reviews) promising a prison of 500 desperate men in a tizzy over one woman, this really isn't the case at all.
It should also be pointed out that Devil's Canyon is where the prison is, it's the unofficial name of the prison, it is not a metaphor for Mayo's private parts, as some have bizarrely suggested is the case!On the plus side the picture begins and ends with some decent action, with the Gatling Gun coming into play at the finale, which just about lifts the film out of its stupor.
Yet even here it's all very predictable and hard to feel lenient about since the previous hour has been so pointless.
The prison is suitably dank and moody, Musuraca doing his best to put a bleak sense of film noir foreboding on proceedings, while costuming for the boys is of a high standard.Utterly frustrating all told, a waste of idea and personnel, while the print shown on TV these days is scratchy and often washed out in colour.
Miracle gunmen of the 50's.
Another 50's style western.
Boring and very stereotypical of that decade.
My vote of 3 says it all.
My pet peeve?
Why are the gunfighters depicted as being so good with their Colt .45's that they can shoot them from the hip area with great accuracy?
And watch closely or you will miss what I call "bullet flinging".
This is where the barrel of the revolver is brought straight up between shots and the gunfighter flings the barrel in the direction of the target as he squeezes off that accurate round.
I shoot targets with a .357 magnum revolver, 9mm auto, and .40 auto, and I have yet to even hit the outer ring doing that.
But ignore all that I have said if you are bored and just need something to do.
I only watched because I have always liked Dale Robertson..
It's between Virginia Mayo's legs.
500 desperate men and only one woman .....as the trailer breathlessly tells us from the lusting voice over, panting away at that idea in this Howard Hughes tailored RKO prison scenario....the idea that there are 500 horny desperate convict loonies punching it out to be the..er......
rider up DEVIL'S CANYON' is just too obvious for me.
Arthur Hunnicut who must have been the representative for the 'dirty ol man hillbilly' section of this bumpkin intended audience jumped ship from THE FRENCH LINE to chew his face and mouth spittle led asides about anyone and everything in this possible combo of what would be PAPILLON and THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND.
No wonder poor RKO was on the skids....and if all else fails, there is always VIRGINIA MAYO-NOSE to make word jokes about..
Prison break movie in Western costume.
Another grim Western from Werker, notable for the realism of ist depiction of life in the Arizona State Penitentiary at the turn of the century.
McNally is the psychotic killer seeking revenge on Robertson, also imprisoned, while Mayo is the girl working in the prison dispensary to help McNally to escape, who switches sides at the last minute.
In all essentials a prison-break movie in Western costume, it survives the imposition of 3-D thanks to Musuraca's low-key lighting effects.
- Furthermore, this is an opportunity to watch Arthur Hunnicutt in another of his marvellous sketches of very special and likable sidekicks.Phil Hardy.
Lame.
Generally, a limp western.
I don't know where they get "Canyon" since this is about the least scenic western on record.
In fact, except for a few shots of LA's ugly Bronson Canyon, the story takes place almost entirely on studio sets.
It's more like a prison movie than anything western.
That might be okay if the story could work up suspense or intensity.
But except for a motivated McNally, the movie generally meanders along without generating much of anything.
Of course, there's Mayo as eye candy.
And since it's Marilyn Monroe 1953, Mayo sports a cantilevered chest and occasional cleavage.
And that sets the stage for maybe the biggest stretch of the year.
In short, we're supposed to believe she's the only woman imprisoned in the same prison with 500 horny guys.
Come on scripters, I'll accept the improbable, but not the nutzoid.
At least, the lengthy supporting cast features familiar faces from that era, including a folksy Hunnicutt for comedy relief and a bulldog-faced Flippen for general nastiness.
But please, couldn't someone wake Robertson from his general walk- through stupor.
Looking like a young Clark Gable is simply not enough.
At least the Technicolor makes the visuals somewhat watchable, but 3-D effects appear nowhere in evidence.
From the title, I was expecting at least a 3-D avalanche in my lap.Anyway, I get no pleasure from mocking this dud, but a 90-minute dud it unfortunately is..
"Mayo, trapped with 500 desperate men!" average western.
"Mayo, trapped with 500 desperate men!
Fighting like jungle beasts for her love!
In Natural Vision 3 Dimension!
Starring Virginia Mayo coming to you real as flesh!
In3D!
Every savage thrill!
Every scorching scene!" I just took those word above from the teaser of the film, which misleads you.
I did not see the trailer, but it must have been better than the film.(which they usually are) The film tells the story of a an ex marshal Billy Reynolds (Dale Robertson) who kills in self defense two men, who were out to get him.
He is sent to prison where he ends up meeting Abby Nixon (Virginia Mayo) and her boyfriend Jessie Gorman (Stephen McNally).
Gorman is the brother of one of the guys he shot and will try to kill him.
The film is slow moving, up to the end, where there are good action scenes.
The romantic part is poorly scripted, the relationships of Mayo with McNally and Robertson not making much sense.
The film (due probably to Hughes) makes a point of enhancing Virginia Mayo's bosom, after all "The Outlaw" was a huge moneymaker.