Interesting casting is just one of the assets of this lightning paced, socially relevant Western that features some exhilarating action scenes certain to make the viewer sit up and pay attention.An unlikely bunch of protagonists band together as the Cavalry takes on a mission to deliver some new recruits to a far away fort, while Apache forces are growing very aggressive. James Garner is the scout determined to find out who violated and butchered his Apache wife, Sidney Poitier is the former officer turned gambler roped into coming along, and Bill Travers is the stoic Cavalry lieutenant supervising the mission.It's great fun to see Mr. Poitier in this kind of setting, and he handles his role with his standard dignity and smoothness, while Garner is likable and charismatic as always, and Travers does well as a basically good man who knows the odds are stacked against his men. The supporting cast is equally impressive: beautiful Bibi Andersson is Ellen, the wife of bigoted trader Willard Grange (Dennis Weaver), who has her own compelling subplot: she'd once been kidnapped by Apaches, and bore one of the tribe a son, to whom she tries to return, especially as Willard and other townspeople insist on giving her the cold shoulder. Also appearing are William Redfield as Sgt. Ferguson, Bill Hart as Cpl. Harrington, and John Crawford as Clay Dean. Director Ralph Nelson (who'd previously directed Poitier towards a Best Actor Oscar win for "Lilies of the Field") appears on screen as Col. Foster, using the pseudonym of "Alf Elson", and Richard Farnsworth has an uncredited bit as a wagon driver.Viewers can take note than even while these Indians are portrayed as the antagonists, we can still feel sympathy for the way they are treated, the same way we feel sympathy towards Ellen. Filmed in Southern Utah, this is an absolutely gorgeous film, extremely well shot by Charles F. Wheeler, and given a nicely rousing score by Neal Hefti. Smart and fun at the same time, "Duel at Diablo" does not have one dull moment to speak of, delivering one huge set piece around the midway point and two concurrent showdowns for the big finish. Highly recommended to action and Western fans.Eight out of 10.

What we have here is a b western whose messages are probably of more value than the film. This is not shot well, with a script that does not stand out and the action set pieces are obviously cheap, but well ahead of it's time we have no real good and evil here with flaws in both sides and it is here that the film excels. James Garner is the anti hero who is only persuaded to come along on the quest to see his ex-army colleagues through territory filled with hostile Apache because he is looking for revenge on the man who killed his Indian wife. Sidney Poiter is in the unusual position of an empowered black man who despite his statements has loyalty to his ex-army colleagues. In fact all the characters are multi faceted and I feel this movie could actually be remade extremely easily to great effect. Not a great film that I would not really go out of my way to view again but well ahead of it's time in terms of message.

James Garner leaves behind his usual likable rogue that he normally plays for a role in Duel at Diablo as a grim and vengeful scout for the Army who's been told by Lieutenant Bill Travers and graphically shown that his Apache wife has been killed. If he goes on a mission scouting for Travers delivering ammunition and green troops to another fort, he'll meet up with the man who had the scalp, the marshal there, John Crawford.Garner's not the only who's lived in both the white and Indian world. He rescues Bibi Andersson who's been held captive by the Indians and when he brings her back to her husband, Dennis Weaver, he's not exactly happy to see her. Decent white women were to do the honorable thing back in the day and commit suicide before being defiled by an Indian. Andersson's not welcome back in the white world.In the end nearly the whole cast is in a desperate battle for their lives against Apaches who have jumped the reservation. Also in the battle is former buffalo soldier Sidney Poitier. And with a whole lot of green troops in the battle, Poitier being around comes in mighty handy.Duel At Diablo is not a western for the squeamish, it gets pretty graphic at times. The themes that were explored in such films as The Searchers, Trooper Hook, and Two Rode Together are really explored far more here. There's also a little bit of Stagecoach in Duel At Diablo with Garner like John Wayne on a vengeance quest against the people who murdered his family.Sidney Poitier's part is interesting in that there really is no racial reference as far as his blackness is concerned. In fact Poitier having been in the army and fought the Apaches has just about the same attitudes towards them as the white characters do.This is a good western, maybe a great one, but not one for the faint hearted.

The problem with this picture is that so many of the costumes are over the top, and they change from scene to scene. I saw Sydney Portier's character wearing two different hats in the same battle scene (one brown and one whitish-gray). Gaudy things. Way too gaudy to be authentic. Plus, the flat characters are all exceptionally flat. It seemed like a very canned enterprise from the word go. I am in favor of the older westerns that are more realistic to the period. This one was not. This one was a metaphor for how westerns turn me off. The scenes were way too stagey. The players too clean and bright. During many of the fight scenes (for instance) all of the hats stay on even though they are infighting in intense battle. Plausibility is on the wane in this movie. Sorry, 4 stars (out of 10).