Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary.

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

Dalton Trumbo (screenplay), Edward Abbey (novel)

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kirk Douglas	...	John W. "Jack" Burns
Gena Rowlands	...	Jerry Bondi
Walter Matthau	...	Sheriff Morey Johnson
Michael Kane	...	Paul Bondi
Carroll O'Connor	...	Hinton
William Schallert	...	Harry
George Kennedy	...	Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
Karl Swenson	...	Rev. Hoskins
William Mims	...	First Deputy Arraigning Burns (as Bill Mims)
Martin Garralaga	...	Old Man
Lalo Rios	...	Prisoner

Storyline

In order to free his best friend Bondi, Jack Burns lets himself be imprisoned only to find out that Bondi does not want to escape. Thus Burns breaks out on his own and is afterwards being chased by sheriff Johnson with helicopters and jeeps.

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Plot Keywords:

cowboy | county jail | mexican border | jeep | horse | 

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Taglines:

Life can never cage a man like this!

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 May 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Hero

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When preparing a compilation of film clips for Kirk Douglas' life achievement award by the Shoah Foundation, Steven Spielberg couldn't locate footage from this film and asked Universal for a clip. Spielberg recommended to the studio that the film be green-lighted for preservation, which it was.

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Goofs

A common Hollywood mistake when radios are used is to end the transmission with the phrase "Over and out". "Over" is used when turning the channel to the other speaker and "Out" is used when the transmission is finished, but one wouldn't say "Over and out". In this movie, radio use is inconsistent. Sometimes "Over and out" is used incorrectly, sometimes "Out" is used correctly and sometimes speakers switch back and forth without indicating anything at all.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[to his horse, as he watches jets leave contrails across the sky]
Jack Burns: Time we took off, too.

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Connections

Featured in ... A Father... A Son... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2005)

User Reviews

How Rare Are The Brave

I just couldn't let the previous review stand as the only review of this film. Based upon The Brave Cowboy, by Edward Abbey, Lonely Are The Brave is a very good screen adaptation of that classic work. Ed Abbey excelled at demonstrating the loss of the West, either in the environmental impacts that devastate vast areas (The Monkey Wrench Gang, Hayduke Lives), or the loss of individuality and freedom (Fire on the Mountain, The Brave Cowboy). Ed Abbey understood that the character of America survived-until recent times-upon rugged individualism that could unite with others in times of trouble. Jack Burns is an individualist who wants to live his own way, yet he had fought in WWII, and was coming to the aid of a friend. Burns does not try to make others live as he does or make them believe as he does, he simply wants to be left alone in a rapidly shrinking world with his sense of frontier dignity intact. Walter Matthau plays the sheriff who understands his adversary too well; his is the character that has lost the faith and become a collaborator. Matthau's bumbling deputies represent the federal government who stumble over themselves in order to crush Burns' freedom. Kirk Douglas considers this one of his most important films. Ed Abbey approved of the film and even makes a walk-on appearance.