Only the Valiant (1951)

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Edmund H. North (screenplay) and
Harry Brown (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

13 April 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Western

Tagline:

THEY WERE SIX AND THEY FOUGHT LIKE SIX HUNDRED! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Capt. Richard Lance is unjustly held responsible, by his men and girlfriend, for an Indian massacre death of beloved Lt...

Plot Keywords:

Military | Massacre | Public Domain | Based On Novel

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Capt. Richard Lance
Barbara Payton	...	Cathy Eversham
Ward Bond	...	Cpl. Timothy Gilchrist
Gig Young	...	Lt. William Holloway
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Trooper Kebussyan (as Lon Chaney)
Neville Brand	...	Sgt. Ben Murdock
Jeff Corey	...	Joe Harmony
Warner Anderson	...	Trooper Rutledge
Steve Brodie	...	Trooper Onstot
Dan Riss	...	Lt. Jerry Winters
Terry Kilburn	...	Trooper Saxton
Herbert Heyes	...	Col. Drumm
Art Baker	...	Capt. Jennings
Hugh Sanders	...	Capt. Eversham
Michael Ansara	...	Tucsos
Nana Bryant	...	Mrs. Drumm
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Clarke	...	Guardhouse Sentry (uncredited)
John Doucette	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
John Halloran	...	Wall Sentry (uncredited)
Clark Howat	...	Lt. Underwood (uncredited)
Harlan Howe	...	Junior Sergeant (uncredited)
Claire James	...	Jenny (uncredited)
William Newell	...	Corporal of the Guard (uncredited)
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Sgt. Medical Assistant (uncredited)

Directed by
Gordon Douglas

Writing credits
Edmund H. North		(screenplay) and
Harry Brown		(screenplay)
Charles Marquis Warren		(novel)

Produced by
William Cagney	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Franz Waxman

Cinematography by
Lionel Lindon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Walter Hannemann
Robert Seiter		(as Robert S. Seiter)

Production Design by
Wiard Ihnen

Set Decoration by
Armor Marlowe		(as Armor E.Marlowe)

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Kissell	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Leslie G. Hewitt	....	sound

Stunts
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Yakima Canutt	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Leah Rhodes	....	wardrobe
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents)
• William Cagney Productions (as A William Cagney Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. (1952) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (VHS)
• Olive Films (2012) (Canada) (DVD) (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Olive Films (2012) (USA) (DVD) (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Republic Pictures (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• StudioCanal (2012) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #14746) | UK:PG (video rating) (1989) (1997) | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | West Germany:12 (nf) | Germany:12 (video rating) | UK:PG (tv rating)

Filming Locations:

Gallup, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

According to a biography Gregory Peck himself authorized, during filming he had an affair with Barbara Payton.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cpl. Gilchrist tells Trooper Saxton to go get him a new pick, Saxton places his shovel against the stone wall and leaves, you can plainly see the shovel start to fall. The next shot shows Saxton (below) and Gilchrist (above), but no shovel on the ground.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in That Most Important Thing: Love (1975)

Soundtrack:

Little Brown Jug

If you want to know why I selected you?

Capt. Richard Lance is a wronged man, he's being held responsible for the death of a much loved Lieutenant. When the chance arises for him to take a small band of men to the vanquished Fort Invincible, Lance readily takes up the challenge. Picking the men who despise him the most, and the ones he feels have major character flaws, Lance and the handful of soldiers must hold the fort from Apache attack until reinforcements arrive. Running out of water and at war with each other, it's becoming increasingly likely that this is a suicide mission from which none of them may return.

Some people say this is one of Gregory Peck's lesser efforts, that it be low on production values and stilted in its execution. Not so say I, in fact this to me is a far more engaging picture than the much revered Rio Bravo eight years later. Oh for sure the Howard Hawks film is far technically superior, but I'd argue that for cast efforts and sheer entertainment value Only The Valiant wins out in the duel every time. Gregory Peck, Ward Bond, Gig Young, Lon Chaney Jr, Neville Brand & Warner Anderson each contribute greatly to make this a dramatic and involving picture. It simmers along as a highly charged character piece as we have a group of men deeply in mistrust of each other, yet interestingly they are binded by a mutual dislike of their Captain. One special sequence sees Lance {Peck at his straight laced best} assassinate each soldier's character; one is a bully, another a deserter, a drunk, a black heart, a coward and on he goes, and it's here where the film really kicks on to be a crackerjack character driven piece. The violence is pretty strong as well, director Gordon Douglas is not shy to put blood on the bones of the writing, and I dare you not to feel a rush of adrenalin as the Apache's start to screech prior to their wave of attacks.

From watching these intriguing characters in a wonderfully tight situation, to the blood pumping Gatling Gun finale, this picture scores high on many entertaining levels. 8/10