Duel at Diablo
Encyclopedia
Duel at Diablo is a 1966 western film
starring James Garner
in his first Western since leaving Maverick
and Sidney Poitier
in his first Western. Based on Marvin H. Albert's 1957 novel Apache Rising, the film was written by Albert and Michael M. Grilikhes and directed by Ralph Nelson
who had directed Poitier in Lilies in the Field. The supporting cast includes Bibi Andersson
, Bill Travers
, Dennis Weaver
and John Hoyt
; Ralph Nelson has a cameo as an Army Major. The movie was shot on location amidst striking scenery in Utah
and the unique musical score was composed by Neal Hefti
.
, a frontier scout
, Jess Remsberg (James Garner), rescues Ellen Grange (Bibi Andersson) from a pursuing band of Apache
s, and returns her to her husband, Willard Grange (Dennis Weaver). The couple have been on the move since two years before Ellen Grange had been kidnapped
by Apaches and rescued. The townsfolk treated her as an outcast because, in captivity, she had a child by an Indian warrior.
Jess is searching for the murderers of his Comanche
wife. He travels to Fort Concho
to obtain information from the town marshal. On the way there, he is contracted to act as a scout for an Army
cavalry
unit of 25 inexperienced soldiers bringing horses, ammuniton and supplies to the fort. Willard, Ellen, and her infant son are along for the ride, as is horse breaker
Toller (Sidney Poitier), a veteran of the 10th Cavalry (the "Buffalo Soldier
s"). As Toller was contracted to provide broken horses suitable for riding, he is only paid for the horses already broken and will accompany the party breaking his horses on the way where the commander of the detachment Lt. "Scotty" McAllister, a highly experienced former sergeant, will give Toller receipts to paid at Fort Concho.
The party is trapped in a canyon
by Chata, an Apache chief and grandfather of Ellen's baby. Willard is captured and tortured mercilessly. Jess sneaks away and brings reinforcements from the fort just in time to save the day. At the fort, Jess had learned that the man he has been hunting is none other than Willard Grange, out for revenge for what was done to his wife. He finds Willard, tied to a wagon wheel and barely alive. When Willard begs him to put him out of his misery, Jess gives him his pistol and leaves.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
starring James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
in his first Western since leaving Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
and Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
in his first Western. Based on Marvin H. Albert's 1957 novel Apache Rising, the film was written by Albert and Michael M. Grilikhes and directed by Ralph Nelson
Ralph Nelson
Ralph Nelson was an American movie and television director, producer, writer, and actor.-Life and career:...
who had directed Poitier in Lilies in the Field. The supporting cast includes Bibi Andersson
Bibi Andersson
Bibi Andersson is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Bibi Andersson was born as Berit Elisabeth Andersson in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, the daughter of Karin , a social worker, and Josef Andersson, a businessman...
, Bill Travers
Bill Travers
William Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
, Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
and John Hoyt
John Hoyt
John Hoyt was an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life:Hoyt was born John McArthur Hoysradt. Before becoming an actor with Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre, the Yale University graduate worked as a history instructor, acting teacher and even a nightclub comedian...
; Ralph Nelson has a cameo as an Army Major. The movie was shot on location amidst striking scenery in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and the unique musical score was composed by Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
.
Plot
While crossing the desertDesert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
, a frontier scout
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, Jess Remsberg (James Garner), rescues Ellen Grange (Bibi Andersson) from a pursuing band of Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
s, and returns her to her husband, Willard Grange (Dennis Weaver). The couple have been on the move since two years before Ellen Grange had been kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
by Apaches and rescued. The townsfolk treated her as an outcast because, in captivity, she had a child by an Indian warrior.
Jess is searching for the murderers of his Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
wife. He travels to Fort Concho
Fort Concho
Fort Concho is a National Historic Landmark owned and operated since 1935 by the city of San Angelo, the seat of Tom Green County in West Texas...
to obtain information from the town marshal. On the way there, he is contracted to act as a scout for an Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
unit of 25 inexperienced soldiers bringing horses, ammuniton and supplies to the fort. Willard, Ellen, and her infant son are along for the ride, as is horse breaker
Horse training
Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when asked to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse racing to therapeutic horseback riding for people with...
Toller (Sidney Poitier), a veteran of the 10th Cavalry (the "Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas....
s"). As Toller was contracted to provide broken horses suitable for riding, he is only paid for the horses already broken and will accompany the party breaking his horses on the way where the commander of the detachment Lt. "Scotty" McAllister, a highly experienced former sergeant, will give Toller receipts to paid at Fort Concho.
The party is trapped in a canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
by Chata, an Apache chief and grandfather of Ellen's baby. Willard is captured and tortured mercilessly. Jess sneaks away and brings reinforcements from the fort just in time to save the day. At the fort, Jess had learned that the man he has been hunting is none other than Willard Grange, out for revenge for what was done to his wife. He finds Willard, tied to a wagon wheel and barely alive. When Willard begs him to put him out of his misery, Jess gives him his pistol and leaves.
Cast
- James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
as Jess Remsberg - Sidney PoitierSidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
as Toller - Bibi AnderssonBibi AnderssonBibi Andersson is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Bibi Andersson was born as Berit Elisabeth Andersson in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, the daughter of Karin , a social worker, and Josef Andersson, a businessman...
as Ellen Grange - Dennis WeaverDennis WeaverWilliam Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
as Willard Grange - Bill TraversBill TraversWilliam Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
as Lieutenant Scotty McAllister - Ralph NelsonRalph NelsonRalph Nelson was an American movie and television director, producer, writer, and actor.-Life and career:...
as Colonel Foster (billed as Alf Elson) - John HubbardJohn Hubbard (actor)John Hubbard was an American television and film actor.-Career:Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Hubbard took acting lessons as a teen at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where he attracted attention and movie offers. He was signed by Paramount in 1937, but his contract was sold to MGM a year later...
as Major Novak (Fort Creel's C.O.) - John HoytJohn HoytJohn Hoyt was an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life:Hoyt was born John McArthur Hoysradt. Before becoming an actor with Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre, the Yale University graduate worked as a history instructor, acting teacher and even a nightclub comedian...
as Chata - William RedfieldWilliam RedfieldWilliam Redfield may refer to:*William C. Redfield , American politician, first U.S. Secretary of Commerce*William Charles Redfield , founder and first President of American Association for the Advancement of Science...
as First SergeantFirst SergeantFirst sergeant is the name of a military rank used in many countries, typically a senior non-commissioned officer.-Singapore:First Sergeant is a Specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First Sergeants are the most senior of the junior Specialists, ranking above Second Sergeants, and below Staff... - Bill Hart ... Corporal Harrington
- Eddie Little Sky ... Alchise
- John CrawfordJohn Crawford (actor)John Crawford was an American actor.Crawford was born Cleve Allen Richardson in Colfax, Washington. In films from the 1940s, Crawford appeared in bit parts for many years before playing leads in several films in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
... Clay Dean