Dayton’s Devils ** (1968, Rory Calhoun, Leslie Nielsen, Lainie Kazan) – Classic Movie Review 11,055

‘7 MEN AND ONE WOMAN – their incredible plan – to steal a $2,500,000 military payroll!’

Director Jack Shea’s 1968 thriller Dayton’s Devils is written by Fred De Gorter, and stars Leslie Nielsen, Rory Calhoun and Lainie Kazan.

A gang of half-a-dirty-dozen misunderstood good-guy renegades attempt to pull off a $2,500,000 military payroll robbery on a US Air Force base, led by disillusioned retired officer Frank Dayton (Leslie Nielsen). So that’s actually SEVEN MEN plus ONE WOMAN, Leda Martell (Lainie Kazan).

A totally predictable and undistinguished action crime thriller tends to drag a lot through its over-familiarity and the heavy weight of its stock characters, but it finally sparks up towards the slap-bang action ending. In a professional job of work, the acting is dependable and the direction efficient.

Also in the cast are Eric Braeden, Barry Sadler, Georg Stanford Brown, Pat Renella, Rigg Kennedy, Bruce Glover, James Beck, Rodolfo Acosta, Mike Farrell, Richard Schuyler, Olga Kaya and Bo Hopkins.

German actor working in America Hans Gudegast was later renamed Eric Braeden. He began his career playing Nazis and became a daytime soap opera star: The Young and the Restless.

It is shot in the Mojave Desert, California.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,055

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