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 1 win & 1 nomination.

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 Paul Bondi from jail, cowboy Jack Burns gets himself imprisoned only to find out that Bondi does not want to escape. Thus Burns breaks out on his own and is afterwards being chased in the mountains by sheriff Johnson with a helicopter and jeeps.

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Plot Keywords:

modern western | new mexico territory | friend | jail | old friend | 

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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:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 May 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Last Cowboy

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

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

Not only does Kirk Douglas consider this his favorite picture, but his son Michael considers it his father's best work, too. Douglas also flouted convention, and caution, at the time, by performing his own stunts in the movie.

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Goofs

9 minutes into the movie when Jerry Bondi is putting ham into the frying pan, the bread bin next to her is shut. A couple of seconds later, it is open.

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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

Referenced in American Playhouse: True West (1984)

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Soundtracks

Oh! Susanna
Composed by Stephen Foster

User Reviews

The original "First Blood".

Lonely Are the Brave (1962) is a film about a man who's content with life on the open range. He's the last of his kind, the wandering cowboy. The problem is the open range is disappearing around him. A guy like that can't live off the land anymore because there's no land for him to live off of. Everywhere he goes the land is either owned or forbidden for him to enter. Kirk Douglas stars as the last cowboy who just can't get it into his head how much the times have changed. Especially when he tries to rescue his good friend from the local jail. This causes more trouble than he can comprehend.

What's so funny about this movie is how much of the story, scenes and situations were later used in it's quasi-remake "First Blood". The basic story line and his troubles with the law are quite similar. Walter Matthau and Gena Rowlands co-star in this awesome film about a dying way of life. I saw this film several years ago on Turner Classic Movies. It's a sad tribute to the old west.

Highly enjoyable and recommended.

P.S. Gena Rowlands looks pretty good in this picture!