Copper Canyon (1950)

Excellent but underrated film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Hedy Lamarr never warmed me as a movie star. She's a beautiful block of ice, able to photograph beautifully and pose in outfits of dating back to the biblical era to modern times, but we're not talking about modeling here: we're talking about giving a performance. Her sultry stares as Tondelayo were unforgettable, and she did manage to be enticing as the seductive Delilah. But for the most part, she simply reads lines rather than creates a character and never allows the camera into her heart, a definite flaw in a movie actress. Yet, she managed to last past going to the Casbah for close to two decades, so something must have been there that I'm not seeing.This western is as dull as her performance, dealing with saboteurs of copper mine workers. They want help from alleged civil war hero Ray Milland who denies being whom they claim he is. But when he shows up anyway, it's obvious that he's hiding his identity for a reason, taking on the bullies with no stopping for a break.The bad guys are MacDonald Carey and Lamarr, who seems to have a secret agenda of her own. Is she really on Carey's side, or playing him in order to help the other side? That's where this film fails to convince and become anything less than a train wreck. A fine supporting cast including Mona Freeman, Percy Helton, Frank Faylen and as a fly swatting saloon keeper, a colorfully made up Hope Emerson. A few good action sequences along the way help keep this moving, but it's like many others I've seen which did it better with an interesting story, which this lacks.

Plot-- An ex-Confederate officer turned trick-shot artist is enlisted by townsfolk looking to get their copper ore past a crooked sheriff and his men. At the same time, he has to deal with a glamorous saloon girl whose allegiance sort of wobbles.When I think westerns, LaMarr and Milland don't come readily to mind. Here they're just okay, though I'm sure their names looked good on the marquee. Though Milland can project grit, he's too laid-back (unmotivated?) here to anchor an action movie. He's better when he's just a smooth trick-shot artist. Then too, LaMarr projects a lot more beauty than the emotion needed for her tricky role. Her part unfortunately calls for a stronger, more Stanwyck-type personality, as others point out. Nonetheless, the production does have two things going for it. First is the great red rock scenery of Sedona, AZ, familiar from a hundred other big budget oaters, but well- staged and photographed here. Second is Macdonald Carey who delivers much needed spark and energy as the conniving bad guy. Then too, no film that includes exotica like the gnomish Percy Helton (Scamper) or the amazonian Hope Emerson (Ma Tarbet) can afford to be overlooked.Anyway, the movie's a decent time-passer, but lacks the tightness and force needed to really register.

I am not going to say so much about the plot because other reviewers have. First, something I did not see in any other reviews and that is the scenery. Much of this was filmed around Sedona, Arizona. Great scenery. Ray Milland does a decent job as the lead. MacDonald Carey did a very good job as the bad guy. I saw him in the Streets of Loredo with William Holden and Carey was outstanding as the friend of the lead, Holden, and the bad guy. From these two performances I think he should have been cast in more movies and I think he could have done the lead. Frank Feylen, from the 60's "Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, play another of his many bad guy rolls. Not John Wayne, James Stewart, Randolph Scott or Joel Mccrea but an enjoyable movie. If you like westerns it is one to watch.

that's what Ray Milland and Hedy Lamarr are like in this film. I hate to be the fly in the ointment after reading all the other good reviews about this movie, but I found it very bland and somewhat boring. To be sure, the Technicolor is fantastic, the production values are high, and the scenery is gorgeous, however the two stars just don't fit well in this genre. Ray Milland looks like he's asking himself "how did my career come to this?" Hedy Lamarr in what has to be one of her final screen roles (maybe the last?) shows her age. While Hedy may have been "the most beautiful girl in the world" at one point (in the '30's), the close-ups of her show that she is middle aged and led a life that has left the years on her face. I like Ray Milland in other films, and ditto Hedy Lamarr in her earlier efforts (she didn't make many movies).The real problem is that neither is believable in a western setting. Ray is too urbane and sophisticated, Hedy is too glamorous and chic. As a result, it just doesn't feel like a western. It seems too 'manufactured' if you know what I mean. Too phony.The script and storyline is also not the best. I think even Stewart or Wayne would have had trouble breathing life into this one, but at least you'd have had their personality to fall back upon. Ray Milland can be a terrific 'actor' (Lost Weekend) but he does not have the personality that shines through bad or mediocre material.