Customer Reviews
DEAD END CANYON -DEEP AND DEADLY - By: Dr. U. L. Khawaja, 17 Jul 2008 
This multi-layered ,violently staged,intelligent western about an Apache uprising which catches the army by surprise is memorable & an under-rated masterpiece .
Every moment is tense & every character is a real breathing human being whether Apache,black or white.
James garner is great as the avenging scout whose Comanche wife was scalped by a white man,while Poitier is even better as the ex-soldier horse wrangler who dreams of being an entrepreuner one day,together they have to escort the army detail of 30 green soldiers across Apache land where an uprising is in progress.
Bibi anderson is the estranged wife of the indian hater Dennis Weaver ,who was abducted by Apaches & lived as a squaw till being rescued a year ago,they are both struggling to cope as outcasts & she is detested by the community,they both are totallly natural in their parts .
The racial interaction is brilliantly played with the fight for survival in an immaculate action drama with great set pieces & the vast vistas of the Utah canyons with beautiful montages & great musical score.
The human drama though outweighs the technical perfection & makes this a must-see .
this is one of Garner-Poitier best ever & Travers as the army officer is memorable too ,but it is Bibi as the victim caught between two cultures & the old wizened indian chief Plata-John hoyt who bring both wisdom & sensitivity to this eternal theme of human strife .
Hugely entertaining & popular art at it's best this is Ralph Nelson at his peak ,
adapted from the Albert book~APACHE RISING,it is a scorching thriller in the heat of the Utah desert where water is more precious than blood & that defines the essential theme of human survival in this fascinating drama.
The dvd is excellent & a must buy for western & action movie fans with a liking for intelligent ,well crafted story telling .
Super! - By: "Smith" Reader, 13 Feb 2008 Duel At Diablo is an outstanding western. Full of excitment with a great story line.
This tough western a classic that moves right into the action with one James Garner's best performances as a cavalry scout who rescues a white woman kidnapped by the Apache, then finds out that she is then treated as an outcast by the whites. So she returns to the Apache & her child.
Add a wagon train, Apache on the war path & the great Sidney Poiter, we have a super film.
Classic Cowboys 'n' Injuns - By: Christopher Nelson, 28 May 2003 
This tough & dusty western is an instant classic that slams straight into the action & features one of under-rated James Garner's best performances as a cavalry scout who rescues a white woman kidnapped by the Apache, only to discover that she is then treated even worse by the whites to whom she returns.
A vital supply train of guns & ammo provides the catalyst for the violent skirmishes between inexperienced cavalry troopers & cunning redskins, while Garner tries to save the day & hunt down the man responsible for killing & scalping his Indian wife. Sidney Poitier unexpectedly comes up trumps as a former army sergeant pressed back into service, but Bill Travers as the stolid cavalry commander & the scout's best friend simply looks baffled in his tough guy role.
Director Ralph Nelson, who later found notoriety with the grisly excesses of Soldier Blue, pulls no punches in the fast-moving battle scenes or the tendancy of the Indians to torture & mutilate their captives. This is a truly wild west but buckskin-clad Garner strides through it with a style that leaves little memory of his jokey Maverick character. Garner's perfect, whether outwitting Indian pursuers, taking on a group of town thugs in a bone-crunching brawl or using his knife to persuade a gun-slinging sheriff to reveal his wife's killer.
They reallly don't make 'em like this any more!
Duel at Diablo - By: P Garside, 07 Mar 2003 This is a real 'cracker' of a western. Filmed on location in the deserts of Mexico, this is a story of a world weary cowboy
(Garner) who rescues a woman hostage from the Apache, & finds
both he & her ostracised by the local white community & hunted by the Apache who want her back.
Poitier is the soldier at the end of his service forced to become involved one more time in order to help his friends escape from the Apache.
If you like classic westerns, then you shouldnt miss this one.
