Copper Canyon ** (1950, Ray Milland, Hedy Lamarr, Macdonald Carey, Mona Freeman, Harry Carey Jr) – Classic Movie Review 12,078

There’s Hedy stuff in the 1950 Technicolor Western film Copper Canyon. Ray Milland doesn’t seem at home on the range but he does have his moments courting the lovely Hedy Lamarr.

There’s Hedy stuff in the 1950 Technicolor Western film Copper Canyon. Ray Milland does have his moments courting the lovely Hedy Lamarr.

Director John Farrow’s 1950 Technicolor Western film Copper Canyon stars Ray Milland, Hedy Lamarr and Macdonald Carey.

Hedy Lamarr as gambler Lisa Roselle and Macdonald Carey as Deputy Lane Travis whip up US Civil War animosities to take over a copper mining empire, in this mostly unconvincing oater. Local men led by deputy Lane Travis are terrorising the copper miners, who ask stage sharpshooter Johnny Carter (Ray Milland) to help them.

Milland doesn’t seem home on the range (Monument Valley was never one of Milland’s home Welsh valleys!) as a dandy Confederate officer hiding as stage showman sharpshooter Johnny Carter, though he does have his moments courting the lovely Lamarr.

And the film can boast a few good action scenes, nice Technicolor photography by Charles B Lang Jr and a handsome Paramount Pictures production.

Jonathan Latimer’s screenplay is based on a story by Richard English.

It was shot from 14 April 1949 till early July 1949. It was released on 23 October 1950 in the US by Paramount Pictures, who postponed the film’s release date to synch with the release of the theme song ‘Copper Canyon’.

Some scenes were shot on location near Sedona, Arizona and at Vasquez Rocks in Chatsworth, Los Angeles.

The cast

The cast are Ray Milland as Johnny Carter, Hedy Lamarr as Lisa Roselle, Macdonald Carey as Deputy Lane Travis, Mona Freeman as Caroline Desmond, Harry Carey Jr as Lt. Ord, Frank Faylen, Hope Emerson, Taylor Holmes, Peggy Knudsen, James Burke, Percy Helton, Philip Van Zandt, Francis Pierlot, Paul Lees, Earl Hodgins, Nina Mae McKinney, Erno Verebes, Bobby Watson, Georgia Backus, Ian Wolfe, Bob Kortman, Joe Whitehead, Bob Stevenson, Buddy Roosevelt, Frank O’Connor, Rex Lease, Ethan Laidlaw, Russ Kaplan, Shep Houghton, Stuart Holmes, Earle Hodgins, Len Hendry, William Haade, Kit Guard, Maxine Gates, Julia Faye, Alan Dinehart III, Hank Bell, Trevor Bardette, Stanley Andrews, Richard Alexander, and Erville Alderson.

Copper Canyon is directed by John Farrow, runs 84 minutes, is made and released by Paramount Pictures, is written by Jonathan Latimer, based on a story by Richard English, is shot in Technicolor by Charles B Lang Jr, is produced by Mel Epstein, is scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof, is designed by Hans Dreier and Franz Bachelin, and is choreographed by Josephine Earl.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,078

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