A group of ex-Confederates are hoping to start life anew in the rich copper fields out West. But they soon discover Civil War hostilities are slow to fade.
The owner of the local smelter, Moss Balfour, won’t buy their ore because his son fought for the Union and was killed at Gettysburg.
And Deputy Lane Travis (Macdonald Carey) and saloon owner Lisa Roselle (Hedy Lamarr) have struck a deal with an Eastern investor named Henderson to keep them from finding another buyer.
That investor hopes to scoop up their mining claims at bargain prices when they reach the desperation point.
The southerners are hoping for help from Col. Desmond, a former Rebel officer of some acclaim. They think Johnny Carter (Ray Milland), might just be that man, though for now he’s working as a trick-shot artist in a vaudeville show.
Even when Carter arrives in Coppertown, scene of all the trouble, he insists he isn’t Desmond. After all, he escaped from a Union prisoner of war camp with $20,000, and there’s a price on his head.
As he works behind the scene to help the Southerners, he’s sets out to charm the lovely Miss Roselle, who dreams of opening a dance hall in San Francisco.
She starts to fall for Carter; she also loathes the violent means Travis is willing to stoop to in order to satisfy Henderson’s goals.
Meanwhile, Travis pegs Carter as a trouble maker from the start.
Ray Milland as Johnny Carter, arousing suspicion because of his skill with a gun in Copper Canyon (1950)
Hedy Lamarr as Lisa Roselle, a woman in on a plot to drive Southern mine owners out of business in Copper Canyon (1950)
Review:
Ray Milland was never as convincing in Western duds as many of his contemporaries; he just comes across as too sophisticated. In that regard, he has a suitable match here in Hedy Lamarr, appearing in her only true Western.
Carey, meanwhile, turns in a fine performance as the villain of the piece. And, yep, that’s towering Hope Emerson in a big red wig and saloon girl attire as a bartender at Lisa Roselle’s saloon.
Milland and Lamarr aren’t the only romantic pairing in the film. As a subplot, Harry Carey Jr. plays the very young looking Lt. Ord, sent to Coppertown to be on the watch for Desmond.
He frequently knocks on the door of pretty Caroline Desmond, who was married to the Col. Desmond’s brother before she became a Civil War widow.
In one of the film’s stranger moments, Ord gives himself a 24-hour leave of absence so he can help Desmond lead “troops” in a final showdown with Travis and the northerners determined to deny the southerners access to an ore smelter.
Macdonald Carey as Deputy Lane Travis, butting heads with Johnny Carter yet again in Copper Canyon (1950)
Philip Van Zandt as Sheriff Wattling, a lawman who doesn’t carry a gun in Copper Canyon (1950)
Directed by:
John Farrow
Cast:
Ray Milland … Johnny Carter
Hedy Lamarr … Lisa Roselle
Macdonald Carey … Deputy Travis
Mona Freeman … Caroline Desmond
Harry Carey Jr. …. Lt. Ord
Frank Raylen … Mullins
Hope Emerson … Ma Tarbet
Taylor Holmes … Theodosius Roberts
Francis Pierlot … Moss Balfour
Peggy Knudson … Cora
James Burke … Jed Bassett
Percy Helton … “Scamper” Joad
Philip Van Zandt … Sheriff Wattling
Erno Verebes … Professor
Paul Less … Bat Laverne
Runtime: 82 min.
Mona Freeman as Caroline Desmond, issuing a warning to the man who might be her uncle in Copper Canyon (1950)
Frances Pierlot as Moss Balfour, the man who refuses to accept ore from mines run by ex-Confederates in Copper Canyon (1950)
Memorable lines:
Lisa Roselle, upon meeting Johnny Carter: “You do sing Italian, of course?”
Johnny Carter: “Only in the bath, ma’am.”
Lisa: “What is this?”
Show promoter: “Mr. Carter is a quick shot artist.”
Lisa: “Trick shot artist? Well the town is full of them.”
Travis: “Yes, it is. And so’s the cemetery.”
Carter: “I here you have quite an extensive one in Coppertown.”
Johnny Carter, about Lisa: “There’s a girl as smooth as a wet eel, but a lot nicer to look at.”
Carter to Travis, after shooting a gun from his hand, picks it back up and hands it to him: “Here, take it. I never liked them. Because when you kill a man, he dies just as bad or just as stupid as the moment you put the bullet in him. But if you let him live, he’s still got a chance to learn things.”
Ray Milland as Johnny Carter finds himself framed as a thief by Deputy Lane Travis (Macdonald Carey) in Copper Canyon (1950)
Former Confederates Bill Newton (Bob Kortman), Scamper Joad (Percy Helton) and Jed Bassett (James Burke) looking for Col. Desmond in Copper Canyon (1950)
Erno Verebes as the Professor, finding himself part of Johnny Carter’s trick-shooting act in Copper Canyon (1950)
Hedy Lamarr as Lisa Roselle and Macdonald Carey as Lane Travis, frigid partners for the moment in Copper Canyon (1950)
Hope Emerson as Ma Tarbet, madam for the saloon girls in Copper Canyon (1950)
Peggy Knudsen as Cora, the girl who’d love Lane Travis is he wasn’t so wrapped up with Lisa Roselle in Copper Canyon (1950)
Taylor Holmes as Theodosius Roberts, trying to find a way to save the Southern-owned mines in Copper Canyon (1950)
Ray Milland as Johnny Carter, about to spring into action in Copper Canyon (1950)
Hedy Lamarr as Lisa Roselle, realizing she’s been outsmarted by a man who doesn’t trust her in Copper Canyon (1950)
Ray Milland as Johnny Carter and Hedy Lamarr as Lisa Roselle, trying to work out their differences in Copper Canyon (1950)
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