Vengeance Valley (1951)

A cattle baron takes in an orphaned boy and raises him, causing his own son to resent the boy. As they get older the resentment festers into hatred, and eventually the real son frames his ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Luke Short (novel), Irving Ravetch (screenplay)

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Robert Walker, Joanne Dru

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Burt Lancaster	...	Owen Daybright
Robert Walker	...	Lee Strobie
Joanne Dru	...	Jen Strobie
Sally Forrest	...	Lily Fasken
John Ireland	...	Hub Fasken
Carleton Carpenter	...	Hewie
Ray Collins	...	Arch Strobie
Ted de Corsia	...	Herb Backett
Hugh O'Brian	...	Dick Fasken
Will Wright	...	Mr. Willoughby
Grayce Mills	...	Mrs. Burke (as Grace Mills)
Jim Hayward	...	Sheriff Con Alvis (as James Hayward)
James Harrison	...	Orv Esterly
Stanley Andrews	...	Mead Calhoun
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Margaret Bert	...	Mrs. Calhoun (scenes deleted)

Storyline

A cattle baron takes in an orphaned boy and raises him, causing his own son to resent the boy. As they get older the resentment festers into hatred, and eventually the real son frames his stepbrother for fathering an illegitimate child that is actually his, seeing it as an opportunity to get his half-brother out of the way so he can have his father's empire all to himself.

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Plot Keywords:

son | cattle | illegitimate child | widower | spoiled child | 

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Taglines:

Based on the Thrilling novel and Saturday Evening Post serial by Luke Short

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 1951 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

La vallée de la vengeance

Filming Locations:

Canon City, Colorado, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of a handful of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions of the 1950-1951 period whose original copyrights were never renewed and are now apparently in Public Domain; for this reason this title is now offered, often in very inferior copies, at bargain prices, by numerous VHS and DVD distributors who do not normally handle copyrighted or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer material.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hewie: I got a story to tell - a yarn about cow country, cow punchers and men. I was workin' for the Strobie Ranch, a trade of worn leather and saddle blisters and brandin' irons. A trade with some song, some fun and some luck. It was as good a job as a man could ask for. Lonely sometimes and cold - so much distance you'd have thought you'd never get back - but for me, a young kid, it was a fine time. Memories are mostly good. You're up on top of the world where the air is clean and thin ...

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Connections

Featured in The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951)

User Reviews

All for the love of a girl.

The prolific and dependable director Richard Thorpe directs Burt Lancaster in his first western. Not your typical sagebrush drama. This "adult" western deals with family dysfunction and illegitimate birth. An "up and up" ranch foreman(Lancaster) and his half-brother(Robert Walker)who both are in love with a cafe waitress(Sally Forrest)go gunning for the man who fathered her new born child. Well photographed on location outside Canyon City, Colorado. The interest in this film fades as the story progresses. Standout supporting cast features: Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Hugh O'Brian and Carleton Carpenter. Of note: One fourth of Lancaster's career would be westerns.