a5c7b9f00b In 1897 Arizona, an ex-marshal is sent to the territorial prison where many of his enemies, among guards and inmates alike, are eager for a chance at payback. Ex-marshal Billy Reynolds, sent to state prison for killing two men in self defense, learns that killer Jessie Gorman, brother of the two men Billy shot, is in the same prison and vows revenge. Complicating matters further is the incarceration of Gorman&#39;s girlfriend Abby who helps Gorman plan an escape while at the same time is unsuccessful hiding her feelings for Reynolds. 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&#39;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&#39;S CANYON is a good example of their &#39;shoot fast for a quick buck&#39; mentality.<br/><br/>The movie features a number of notable character actors from the era, including Whit Bissell, Morris Ankrum and Irving Bacon, but only Dale Robertson,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.<br/><br/>Things do pick up with a couple of decent shoot-outs and an elaborate, large-scale climax which doesn&#39;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. 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&#39;S CANYON&#39; is just too obvious for me. Arthur Hunnicut who must have been the representative for the &#39;dirty ol man hillbilly&#39; 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.
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