Lonely Are the Brave (1962) User Reviews

Well made film built upon dubious premise

[adrian-43767 · 7/10 · 8 March 2018]

There are many things weighing in favor of this film: David Miller's direction is assured, honest, competent, and perceptive; Douglas, Matthau and Rowlands all post wonderful performances; photography is superlative; action sequences are of the highest order; and the script, especially the dialogue, by Donald Trumbo, is very good.

Unfortunately, it is built upon a questionable premise. Even the most idealistic of souls has to know that you do not commit crimes to be taken into jail to release your brother, but first you ask him if he is willing to go along with that project. Fortunately, Douglas' brother is much wiser than he and refuses to break out of jail.

Freedom-loving, idealistic Douglas has some strange quirks, not to mention a questionable military service record that includes a Purple Heart, and good civilian deeds besides beating up officers of the law. For somebody who apparently loves freedom so dearly, it is really strange that he has no idea how prison limits your freedom, especially because he had been in detention during his military service.

The film gathers momentum when Douglas is on the run and police after him, but you know that things are not going to go well. Best single aspect in the whole movie: Douglas' love for his mare, Whisky. Plaudits for the trainers who managed to get the animal to perform so convincingly in such a difficult environment, both on the mountains and in the streets.

I liked Matthau's understated performance and the way his character understands Douglas' motivations, but the law, even in 1962, did not allow cop offenders to get off so easy. Well deserved 7/10, a more credible premise would easily raise it to 9/10.

A Classic Finally Unearthed

[jpdoherty · 8/10 · 5 August 2009]

At Last! One of the most eagerly requested movies gets a Region 1 DVD release. For many years now collectors have been hollering for LONELY ARE THE BRAVE (1962) to be issued. So Universal have finally seen the folly of their ways and here it is in a splendid 2.35 sharp as a button Monochrome widescreen presentation that everyone will adore. Although there is in existence a reasonably good Region 2 version from Spain it cannot compare to this new release.

Kirk Douglas is terrific in the story we all know and love of the free- spirited latter day cowboy who resents the conventions and restrictions of the modern day west ("everywhere you go, keep out, stop, no entry, go away, get lost", drop dead"). The wire cutters he carries in his saddle-bags gets plenty of use! On the run from the law because of a misdemeanour he takes to the hills with his faithful horse Whiskey in an attempt to escape into Mexico. But the rough terrain and upward climb is not easy particularly for a man on horseback. In a wonderful scene where he realizes he would make it without the animal he leaves Whiskey and begins to climb a cliff. But looking back at her and with that soulful look in her eyes as she watches him climb he just can't do it. He comes back down to the horse mumbling..... "you're worse than a woman".

It is one of Douglas' best and most likable roles! Being alone for a good portion of the movie he dominates the screen. It is an admirable and engaging performance plus his expert handling of the horse is quite remarkable. Giving excellent support is Walter Matthau as the pursuing but compassionate sheriff Morey Johnson ("ye son of a gun - ye made it"!). John Schillart gives an amusing turn as the guileless deputy. "Judas priest Morey!" he exclaims as the sheriff bumps his way along the rough trail at speed in the jeep. The female lead is taken by a young and quite beautiful Gena Rowlands as the wife of Douglas' jailed best friend. However the relationship between her and the cowboy is kind of puzzling! The kisses and clinches to my mind appear a tad steamy for a pair who are supposed to be just good friends.Hmmm! Also in one of his early roles is George Kennedy as a sadistic guard and watch out for the late Bill Bixby as the helicopter pilot. The only drawbacks I found in the picture is the over emphasis on the Carroll O'Connor character as the truck driver. After all the horse could have been hit by a motor cycle and end up the same way. Also the great scene where the cowboy makes that dash for the trees under gunfire and in the ensuing shot rides into a indoor exterior. Wow! I thought they had stopped using indoor exteriors by 1962! Also I thought the downbeat ending somewhat severe for what is essentially a light hearted drama and we never do learn what becomes of our cowboy!

Sharply photographed in Panavision by Phil Lathrop the film based on the novel "The Brave Cowboy" by Edward Abbey had a fine screenplay fashioned by Dalton Trumbo. David Miller - who never really distinguished himself except maybe with "Sudden Fear" (1953) - does a nice job in the director's chair and composer Jerry Goldsmith provided a wistful score with one of his early efforts.

Surprisingly there is no trailer but the extras do have two interesting featurettes. One called "Lonely Are The Brave - A Tribute" has contributions from Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, Gena Rowlands and a very aged Kirk Douglas. The other, blandly presented by some record producer, shows Jerry Goldsmith at work scoring the picture.

AN EXCELLENT ISSUE OF AN OVERDUE AND MUCH VAUNTED CLASSIC!

One one of the warmest, most deeply felt characterizations in all Western movies

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 8/10 · 1 June 2005]

No Western could be more out of time-scale than "Lonely are the Brave," and yet, paradoxically, no central character was ever more truly Western than Jack Burns, the strange wanderer, played by Kirk Douglas…

Douglas in this film version of Edward Abbey's moving novel 'Brave Cowboy' is, among a number of other things, a man who hates barbed wire… He showed, a similar dislike for it in King Vidor's "Man Without a Star" (1955), which was a traditional cattle range movie, and in those circumstances that seemed reasonable enough… But "Lonely are the Brave" is a film set in the New Mexico of 1953 and such behavior now seems totally irrational…

But then he's an irrational, quite extraordinary man… He rides a horse called Whisky when the world flashes past him in Cadillacs… He carries a guitar and sings folksy ballads of the old West... Arriving in the concrete of Duke City he is quite confident that in order to free a pal he has only got to break into jail, fool a sheriff and make his getaway… After all, it's Western territory and this was always the way of it…

Who and what is he? The question bears examination for he is one of the most intriguing characters in the whole Western portrait gallery... He is never really explained in the book, nor indeed in the film… He is drawn and stated and the rest is left to the reader or audience… You watch the way he moves, you listen to what he says and the way he says it… You observe his strange actions and reactions… But most1y you are left to make your own conclusions…

Is it a case of a fantasist totally hooked on the Western legend? Has he seen too many Western movies (probably 'B' features)? Has he read too much Western pulp fiction? Is he so deep in thought by it all that he is incapable of realizing that the world has moved on, is running out of grass, or tolerance for oddballs with a preference for grass?

Is he making a protest about what the West has become, and is seeking, in his inarticulate way, after different values? Is he just pure throwback, a man belonging to another time? This figures, as he might say… He would belong so splendidly, with his simple values…

Whatever he is, he's a profoundly tragic conception....

The old friend he is there to aid (Michael Kane) has been jailed for giving shelter to over-the-border illegal immigrants… Douglas calls on his buddy's wife, sensitively played by Gena Rowlands, who seems as touched and dazed by him as anyone in the audience… In order to get Kane out of prison he decides that he first needs to get into it himself and so after a saloon bar fight, followed by more fisticuffs at the jail, he gets the cell he wants…

In jail, however, he finds himself once more knocking up against the twentieth century—its mores and inhibitions… The pal doesn't want to conform to the old Western pattern by making a break for it… Far better to serve out his two years and then return to his wife and child knowing that his 'debt to society' has been paid and they will have nothing else to worry about… This is not just pure self-interest… He honestly thinks it the right thing to do…

So having fought his way in, Douglas now has to fight his way out… This he does with the aid of files he brought with him to effect his friend's escape… And out with him go a couple of characters not inhibited by fears and scruples…

So he becomes a man on the run, but, since he still has his horse, an old-style outlaw on the run, heading for the mountains with—naturally—a posse after him…

But no ordinary posse… This is the 20th century version, supplied with all sorts of technological devices… If this very recent cowboy in his strange, ancient times way, is challenging the rule of technology, it is only logical that the long cold arm of science should reach out for him… It does so with walkie-talkie radios, jeeps and even a specially borrowed helicopter…

What chance has he? The sheriff seems puzzled by the situation—that a man on a horse should dare everything against such a formidable array of gadgetry… Since the enigmatic wanderer is determinedly playing out a Western drama he must inevitably come up against a compassionate sheriff…

The sheriff is a man doing a job, without any keen enjoyment for the job or, in fact, for anything particularly… He's bored, skeptical, laconic, and you feel that he would like nothing better than for Burns to get out of his territory…

But while the sheriff goes about his manhunting duties in a routine way he lets slip another implication—that deep, down in the lethargy and disillusion there's a soft spot for the man on a horse… Is the sheriff at heart—if you could ever find his heart—a bit of a rebel, too?

Kirk Douglas will be remembered most of all for his performance as the man out of step, out of his proper time… His Jack Burns in "Lonely are the Brave" is one of the warmest, most deeply felt characterizations in all Western movies… David Miller directed the film with simplicity and a similar warmth… No more was needed

a powerful portrayal of a man left behind and way out of step with the times

[bengleson · 27 September 2002]

I pity those who cannot, even in a small way, identify with Douglas' character, Jack Burns in this ageless work of art. This is a self described 'lonely man,' of no use to his true love( who has married his old friend) because he cannot share his life with anyone. He acknowledges that he is of no use to anyone. Rather he is a constant threat to whatever social order he encounters. The one time he makes a commitment, to his horse no less, he loses his edge. And probably his freedom. What a wonderful movie this is.It steeps itself in the fading of the West. While much of it is seemingly allegorical, there is also a truthfulness, and a tenderness in Burns search for escape over the mountains. Someone else has commented on the similarities between Burns and Bogart's rendition of Roy Earle in HIGH SIERRA. Surely any thoughtful movie goer has experienced that rush to the mountains, that sense that time has passed you by and you are not of this place.

The original "First Blood".

[Captain_Couth · 8/10 · 12 June 2004]

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!

"A westerner likes open country. That means he's got to hate fences"

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 23 December 2016]

Released in 1962 and directed by David Miller from a novel by Edward Abbey, "Lonely are the Brave" is a Western taking place in modern times (the early 60s, that is) starring Kirk Douglas as Jack Burns, an independent New Mexican cowhand who's a likable loner. He lands himself in jail in order to help his old friend, Paul (Michael Kane), who is doomed for the penitentiary for a couple of years; but Paul doesn't want to escape because it would add several years to his sentence if caught. So Burns breaks out on his own and is chased by Sheriff Johnson (Walter Matthau) and others (George Kennedy) with the aid of a military helicopter, etc. Will he get away? Gena Rowlands is on hand as Paul's wife.

This modern Western cogently conveys how civilization with its corresponding government and never-ending laws naturally squelches personal independence and freedom. The bigger the populace means the bigger the governing regulations, and the less the liberty. One starts to suffocate in a world of borders, fences and laws. These are human-made inventions that don't even exist. Fly over the USA and you'll see no state or county borders or city limits. They're all human-made inventions that don't exist, except in a legal sense. Burns hearkens back to an earlier era where one didn't even need an ID. He doesn't fit into the mold of the modern world. All he has is his mare, Whiskey, the clothes on his back and his basic necessities. They're all a real cowboy needs, but the cowboy was a vanishing breed circa 1961.

Director Miller wisely accentuates Gena's curvy beauty as Paul's wife, Jerri. The nature of her relationship with Burns is initially a mystery, but all is revealed before the final act and it's well done. Whether someone is married or not, it doesn't mean s/he can't love someone else who's single or married. But marriage itself is a border that cannot be lawfully crossed except by the person's spouse. The film acknowledges this and so do Burns and Jerri. They're people with feelings, but they're also wise and hence don't allow their passions to compel them to trespass marital fences.

All these items amongst others (like the quality score) make "Lonely are the Brave" a minor near-masterpiece. Unfortunately, it's flawed by some tedious stretches, like the overlong jail sequence, and unconvincing or dumb elements; for instance, the idea that Burns wouldn't know enough to make sure there weren't any cars before crossing a highway on horseback (Seriously?). It's also marred by B&W photography, which would've really come alive if shot in color. The basic plot and theme were done later by the superior "First Blood" (1982) and "The Electric Horseman" (1979) respectively.

The film runs 107 minutes and was shot in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area.

GRADE: B+

A memorable movie

[LACUES · 10/10 · 13 February 2005]

This is certainly Kirk Douglas' best movie and that is saying a lot! The loss of individuality and the valuesof the West, if anything, are more pronounced today than when the film was made. Kirk's performance is perfectly understated as fits the character he portrays. No false heroics, gore, or sensationalism which all too often ruin today's movies . One reviewer commented that there was not a satisfactory conclusion... no last words by Douglas, uncertainty about his fate, and the ambivalent response of the sheriff, Walter Matthau. This is no simple movie with clear cut heroes and villains. There are only people who contend with the compromises one accepts or, in the rare instance of Kirk's character, one attempts to overcome. The affinity between Kirk and his horse are central to the theme and end of this fine film. Everyone connected in the making of this classic. I rate it a 10.

The Last Cowboy

[RokurotaMakabe · 7/10 · 23 June 2011]

"Lonely Are the Brave" is a western from 1962, an era when this genre was suffering changes. If you are to judge the movie from the plot outline you might consider it to be an old fashioned western, but this is not the case here. This aspect can be noticed from the beginning, when the character of Jack Burns (Kirk Douglas) is introduced. He is a lone cowboy, traveling across the land on his horse, caring little about tomorrow. He seems to be out of place in the modern world and this modern world is hostile to him and his old ways.

One of the strengths of the movie is that it has a well developed central character. Kirk Douglas manages to create a believable cowboy, one that is stuck in the past refusing to acknowledge that the world has changed and he needs to adapt. Jack Burns is indeed a lonely cowboy because his way of seeing things is not shared by the others. The film also has the advantage of having a good screenplay, written by Dalton Trumbo ("Spartacus", "Papillon"), one of the best screenwriters of his time.

This was Kirk Douglas' favorite movie of his own and you can surely tell that because he gives here one of his best performances. The acting is generally good, the roles of Walter Matthau and Gena Rowlands being worth mentioning. You can also check out George Kennedy in one of his early roles, as the brutish deputy Guttierez.

The movie may have its flaws, but it is definitely worth seeing by everyone. Due to its style and content the film also marks a transition from classical westerns to modern ones, so fans of the genre should not miss it.

My rating: 7,5/10

"If it didn't take a man to make babies, I wouldn't have anything to do with any of you".

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 26 June 2016]

What a difference a half century makes. When Jeri Bondi (Gena Rowlands) laments her husband's incarceration for helping illegals cross the border, she mentions the consequences one might face for violating real borders, real fences, real laws, and consequently, getting mixed up in real trouble. No way anyone involved with the picture could have foreseen the day when all of the 'real borders' stuff is just a moot point, and authorities are told to stand down by a lawless administration. This film couldn't even be made today, it wouldn't have any relevance.

I'm reading some of the other reviews for this movie and scratching my head over the comments linking it to "First Blood". From the outset in that film, Rambo was the character who was being provoked; here it's Jack Burns (Kirk Douglas) doing the provoking all the way. I didn't find Burns to be a sympathetic character in that respect as he went looking for trouble and generally found it. With Stallone's Rambo, you want to root for the guy who's being pursued by a megalomaniac sheriff who has a distorted sense of right and wrong. Sure, you had Gutierrez (George Kennedy) here as the stand in for Brian Dennehy's Sheriff Teasle, but he was an ancillary character. The principal sheriff, Morey Johnson (Walter Matthau) appeared to have a more realistic approach to apprehending Burns. When he didn't 'recognize' him at the end of the story as the man he was chasing, it said a lot about the sympathy he had for a man defying the odds and coming up short.

There's an aura of the passing of the Old West that's quite pervasive with this story, and a lot more pronounced with the juxtaposition of Burns out in the wilderness and all of modern day technology (for 1962) brought to bear against him. Burns himself describes what it's like to be the last cowboy when he explains to Jeri why they never hooked up - "Cause I'm a loner clear down deep to my very guts. You know what a loner is? He's a born cripple. He's crippled because the only person he can live with is himself". I've spent a lot of time thinking about that because for this cowboy it strikes very close to home.

A Sad Story.

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 6 October 2013]

Kirk Douglas stars as an independent modern day cowboy named Jack Burns who laments the age he lives in, and all the restrictive laws it represents. When Burns finds out an old friend is in prison, he makes the extraordinary decision to get himself arrested, and sent into that prison so that he can help his friend escape! Unfortunately for him, his friend does not want to escape, so Burns leaves on his own, which causes the authorities to pursue him, though he is now on horseback, and they are in jeeps and helicopters, leading to a sad an inevitable outcome...

Interesting film is a well acted and directed(David Miller) story of a stubborn man who is worthy of sympathy for being born a century too late, but his stubbornness brings the problem on himself, so viewer can only relate to his plight to a point, and the sheriff in pursuit(played by Walter Matthau) is in the right. By the end, the character I really felt bad for was that horse.

Look for Bill Bixby in his film debut as a helicopter pilot.

How Rare Are The Brave

[highlandhome · 10/10 · 30 May 2004]

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.

Don't fence me in

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 28 September 2011]

***SPOILERS*** In what he considers to be the best movie role of his career better then "Paths of Glory" "Champion" and even that unforgettable as well as cheesy and overblown soap opera "Once is Not Enough" Kirk Douglas is modern day, circa 1962,cowboy John W-just call me Jack-Burns. A man who's time has long since passed but he just doesn't quite know it yet.

Riding into the one horse town of Duke City N.M to see a good friend of his convicted illegal Mexican immigrant smuggler Paul Bondi, Michael Kane, who's now serving two years behind bars in the local jail Jack somehow plans to crash him out of it. Stopping of to see Paul's old lady Mrs. Jerry Bondi Genda Rowlands, to get a home cooked meal Jack tells her that he'll go get Paul out of jail even if he has to commit a crime in having him ending up in it. It doesn't take long for Jack to get into trouble with the law which in this case was minding his own business. It was that dangerous and deranged one armed lunatic Lapatin played by Bill Raicsh who later would become known as the equally insane and homicidal One-Armed man in the "Fugitive" TV series who made Jack's wish of being thrown behind bars a dream come true. That's by Jack being beaten by Lapatin and his drinking buddies into a bloody pulp and him, the victim, being the only person arrested by the clueless police!

Getting into even more trouble by belting a deputy sheriff while being booked for vagrancy the by now out of control, as well as out of his head, Jack ends up in the holding pen at the county jail. It's there where Jack finally meets his good friend Paul Bondi writing his what he considers to be the next great, after "Gone With the wind", American novel. In no time at all Jack, who seems to be suffering from some kind of death wish, starts up with head jail-guard the hulking and brutal Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez, George Kennedy, by mouthing off to him. This ends up with Jack losing one of his teeth as well as a getting few bruised ribs.

You always knew that Jack was a bit nuts but his plan for him and Paul to break out of prison, and thus add five years on top of their already light sentences, was about as crazy,if not more so, then anything else that he did in the movie. With Paul refusing to participate in the break out Jack goes it alone and the what seems like brainless jerk, after telling Paul that he won't, implicates Paul's wife Jerry in his escape! That's by having her give aid and comfort to an escaped fugitive, Jack, by him dropping over to her place for a quick and free meal as well 40 winks.

It's now off to the hills or the High Sierra Mountains for Jack and his faithfully and long suffering mare or horse Whiskey, in her having to put up with him, as there's a five state manhunt out to get the crazy nut before he does any more damage to either himself or anyone else he comes that in contact with. Jack gets reunited with his tormentor from the holding pen Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez,who's part of the posse looking for him, whom he works over and leaves him his tooth,that Gutierrez knocked out, as a memento.***SPOILER ALERT*** There's also tractor trailer driver Hilton, Carroll O'Connor, whom we have no idea why he's in the movie until the last final moments. That's when Jack together with Whiskey meet up with Hilton on a rain slick highway with disastrous results.

Oddball of a western with Kirk Douglas having the time of his life as the free living John W-just call me Jack-Burns. In fact watching the film and realizing that it was made years before the 1960's nonconformist movement became popular and really got going with the mostly young and collage crowd it may very well in a backhanded kind of way have encouraged it without even knowing it at the time that it was released!

Sad, tense, and stark

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 8 January 2018]

Since it's a well-known tidbit of film history that Lonely Are the Brave is Kirk Douglas's favorite of his movies, I'll try not to be too critical. There are some nice elements to the film, and I'll focus on those, even though this is a movie I'll probably never want to watch again.

Kirk Douglas stars as a traditional cowboy: a wandering cowhand with no permanent address, a closer relationship to his horse than with most people, and a wealth of knowledge about his natural surroundings. He stops by normal civilization to check up on his old friends, Gena Rowlands and Michael Kane, and finds out that Michael has landed in a two-year jail stint. Determined to rescue his pal, Kirk gets himself arrested, thrown in jail, and then hopes to escape with Michael. Michael prefers to serve out the remainder of his sentence and return safely to his family, leaving Kirk to "brave" the escape alone.

The early scenes between Kirk and an extremely young and pretty Gena Rowlands are my favorite scenes. They have a fantastic chemistry together, and I found myself wishing the entire film consisted only of the scorching pair. Despite their differences, they truly understand each other, and there's a love that runs deeper than any of their written lines. While the audience wonders about the characters' history, when it's finally revealed, their performances are that much more layered. It makes you wonder why they weren't cast in Hud!

In the second half of the film, when Kirk and his horse are on the run from Sheriff Walter Matthau, whose addiction to gum and deadpan lines gets old fast, the film has a completely different feel to it. It's incredibly tense, and several times, I pressed pause and took a walk around the house just to shake off my worries. Animal lovers will be terribly affected by the movie, and non-animal lovers will still be on the edge of their seats, hoping that Kirk will be able to escape. The stunts are incredible, and in traditional old-Hollywood style, the long takes allow audiences to see Kirk's face as he wrangles his horse!

You know I never spoil any plot points in my reviews, but just ask yourself what you imagine when you hear the title Lonely Are the Brave. If you imagine a cutesy classic, you might want to put this back on the shelf and rent My Dear Secretary instead. If you imagine a sad, tense, stark drama, you're probably ready for it.

Kiddy warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to upsetting situations involving an animal, I wouldn't let my kids watch this movie.

Be A Cowboy Hero

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 13 April 2008]

Kirk Douglas has said often enough that Lonely Are The Brave is his favorite among the films he's done. I think of it the same way that Bette Davis says about Dark Victory that the role of Judith Traherne is 98% of me.

Like the film's Jack Burns Kirk Douglas has charted his own way through life in Hollywood the way Jack Burns does. Burns's problem is that he's a man born a century too late.

Run another of Kirk Douglas's classic westerns Man Without A Star side by side. Dempsey Rae in that film isn't too much different from Jack Burns, in fact they have opinions on certain subjects almost identical.

But the frontier that Dempsey dealt with in that film has changed, it just doesn't exist any more. But Burns won't recognize it. I'm also not so sure how much film and television have influenced 1962's Jack Burns in the way a cowboy should behave.

Kirk is returning to his home town from God knows what and meets up with Gena Rowlands who is married to his best friend Michael Kane. Kane's in jail for helping illegal immigrants cross the US/Mexican border. What to do but be a cowboy hero and bust him from jail. So Kirk gets himself in a nasty bar fight with one armed Bill Raisch and gets tossed in sheriff Walter Matthau's jail. While there Deputy George Kennedy works him over.

So when Kirk's ready to bust jail, Kane refuses to go to his surprise. But that doesn't stop Kirk who breaks loose and the chase is on.

The non-conformist part of Jack Burns certainly must have appealed to Kirk Douglas. He invests so much of himself in Burns it's hard to tell where Kirk leaves off and Burns begins. And he's one of the most appealing of all the roles Kirk Douglas has. You root for this law breaking maverick every step of the way.

Mention must also go to Walter Matthau as the wise and laconic sheriff who really does understand Douglas's mentality as no one else really does. In a lot of ways it's like the Charles Bronson classic Death Hunt where Mountie Lee Marvin truly is sorry he's on this particular job. Of course if Douglas had actually killed someone in eluding the law, Matthau's duty would have been clear.

The ending is truly an ironic one as the cowboy loses that part of him that makes him a unique American icon.

Absolutely don't miss Lonely Are The Brave when it is broadcast, especially fans of Kirk Douglas.

A moving, even poignant, film that deserves to be seen

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 9 July 2023]

Based on the novel "Brave Cowboy" by Edward Abbey, David Miller ably directs this Dalton Trumbo-scripted film about a modern day cowboy in New Mexico who gets himself thrown into jail when he finds that a friend is there. He plans on breaking the two of them out. The friend refuses to go, out of concerns for his family and not wanting to be on the run afterward, but the cowboy goes, heading on horseback to the mountains and, hopefully, Mexico, with the law on his tail using modern technology to try to track him down.

Director Miller and cinematographer Philip Tathrop splendidly capture the beauty, as well as ruggedness, of the American southwest in the scenes of pursuit with some truly striking black and white photography. The film's opening scene, in fact, with Douglas relaxing, his hat over his eyes, as he lies on the ground, a moment seen in so many other westerns, the peace suddenly shattered by the sonic sounds of jets flying overhead, is a wonderful metaphor for what is to follow. The film also features a remarkably well staged and intense bar fight between the cowboy and a mean spirited one armed veteran (played by an unbilled Bill Raisch, best known for television's The Fugitive series).

Douglas delivers one of his most relaxed and engaging performances as Jack Burns, a loner, as he calls himself, whose greatest love is for a horse, Whiskey, to whom he talks and gently scolds, at times, throughout the film. At the same time, though, the actor, has great chemistry with Gena Rowlands as the wife of his imprisoned friend. There's an unspoken special feeling between these two when they first sight one another in the film, and they afterwards share a few moments of great sensitivity. It's a shame that Douglas and Rowlands were never re-teamed on screen again.

Another highly effective performance in the film is that of Walter Matthau, as a gum chewing, laid back sheriff, in charge of pursuing Douglas in the wild countryside but who, for two cents, would probably just as soon like to see the cowboy get away. And, in contrast to Matthau, there is a mean spirited George Kennedy as a nasty prison guard who enjoys tormenting and beating up prisoners.

Lonely Are The Brave has a memorable,finale, one that will stay with you, as much as Douglas's quite extraordinary performance. This film is a little gem that is available on DVD and occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies. Do yourself a favor and watch it if you can. You won't be disappointed.

Pretty good

[Wizard-8 · 25 March 2013]

Kirk Douglas has said that "Lonely Are The Brave" is his absolute favorite of all the movies he has done. It doesn't take much thought to determine why he feels this way. The movie's central character, Jack Burns, is a non-conformist, someone who always does things his way no matter what society may tell him differently. There are few other movie protagonists like this one. Other merit found in the movie includes some tense moments while Jack is on the run, plus a gutsy and unconventional ending that you probably couldn't get away with today.

If there is a flaw to be found in this good movie, it may be that some modern day viewers may object to the pacing. It takes about half of the movie before Jack is on the run, and some scenes do seem to run a little longer than they should. While every scene DOES provide some purpose, I think the movie would have been improved had several scenes been cut down in length slightly. But even without this correction, the movie is never boring and is always interesting.

Not your standard western fare...more of a noir western...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 24 January 2007]

KIRK DOUGLAS finds trouble wherever he goes in LONELY ARE THE BRAVE--beaten up by a one-armed man in a bar fight, confronting police officers with his fists, landing in jail, escaping and finding himself taking a beating from tough jailer GEORGE KENNEDY.

He takes time out for some sweet talk with GENA ROWLANDS (her debut), before getting on horseback and evading his pursuers. That's where the brutal punishment continues--as he takes his horse into the high country among rugged hillsides and winding paths along cliffs to avoid the posse of police cars and helicopters looking for him.

The movie ends on a grim note when truck driver CARROLL O'CONNOR meets up with horse and rider on a dark rainy night. There's a turnabout at the end where WALTER MATTHAU, relentlessly hunting him up until that point, decides not to identify him for the authorities--figuring he's had punishment enough by this time.

So has the audience. But it's a fascinating glimpse at the troublesome life of a stubborn cowboy who railed against all the rules of life.

Trivia note: Understandably, KIRK DOUGLAS considers it one of his favorite films.

Lonely are the Brave

[Scarecrow-88 · 9/10 · 26 September 2006]

I believe David Miller's "Lonely are the Brave" is a confrontation between the modern era and the dying west. Despite helicopters, a wagon jeep, and police stationed everywhere, Kirk Douglas' Jack Burns is able to climb into the rugged mountains with his horse. This film is about Jack's escape from prison, after an attempt to persuade an old chum to break from the cell into "freedom". His wife, played by the always wonderful Gena Rowlands, was once Jack's love, but, as this film ultimately proves, he's a loner and admits that to her approving of marrying his best friend.

Walter Matthau is just sublime as Sheriff Morey Johnson, the man who must somehow figure out how to get jack out of those mountains and into jail. His radio operator is played by the very talented and underrated actor William Schallert. George Kennedy as a key role in the film as Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez..the man who viciously beat Jack while he was in prison one night(..though, he gets his comeuppance soon enough).

The film is about all the modern means at Johnson's disposal yet he can not seem to nab Jack in those mountains. There's a nifty scene where Bill Bixby(of "Incredible Hulk" fame), as a helicopter pilot, is cocksure he can get Jack once they spot him from the sky. Jack, however, is able to shoot their tail downing them without harm to anyone..except a few helicopter pilots'(..and police)pride. But, they keep after him nonetheless as we watch him struggle with that blame beloved horse as he scales those mountains.

Like I mentioned above, this film works best as an allegory of the dying west. It's clear Jack doesn't fit in this modern age and he's presented as a relic of sorts with no real place to go in the growing America he now resides. With an intent to go to Mexico, he works ever-so-hard up the mountains with this goal just in reach despite unsurmountable odds such as several men after him with rifles, all the radio equipment to contact each other, etc.

This film is wonderful, though, because of Kirk Douglas who just exudes such charm and likability in Jack. You know he's a rowdy, smiling' sort who loves to live, and you root for him despite knowing he deserves to be in jail. It's a loving ode to the cowboys of the old west..their spirit is in every frame of this picture.

The Times They Are A Changing

[damianphelps · 7/10 · 18 October 2020]

A man born too late to fully enjoy the lifestyle he chooses. Time has marched on but not for Jack Burns, a rough n tough cowboy living life with full engagement, work hard play hard.

However he has been left behind, isolated in a more contemporary and polite time where you can no longer just punch it out and shake hands later.

Douglas is great at fighting against the 'man' with a chip on his shoulder and a belief that his way is the best and only way.

Lonely Are the Brave? Lonely Are the Stubborn!

Modern Western That Hooks You Good

[Richie-67-485852 · 8/10 · 10 September 2011]

It never fails when a movie has a good story. It may not win awards every time, but every person who ever sees a movie with a good story has warm and fuzzies in that moment and somehow Karma rules the day. The Universe doesn't forget a good movie with a good story to it. Such is this movie. Kirk Douglas knew what he excelled in and what he did not. He instantly recognized himself in the lead role and he was right. You can identify with this cowboy of a man, the last of his kind for thinking the way he does to want to get away while being chased and you join him as he is being chased. Live and let live rules the day, but you cannot break laws while carrying or living that belief out..Kirk Douglas goes fine line on the subject. We are reminded that the Wild West consisted in a man, his horse and his gun for its beginnings. Here, we are treated to how the three got along and depended on each other. Great scene of a bar fight with twists and good discipline practiced by Jack Burns (Kirk). I am a big fan of food scenes in movies and this has one where Kirk goes at a plate of ham and eggs. I know sales hiccuped for both with this scene. A good meal to a cowboy is a gift and Kirk makes the scene speak just that. Highly recommended movie and I have seen this at least 5 times over the years always pleased and captured and held unto The End....enjoy all you pards out there

Remarkably Simple Western

[tjsdshpnd · 7/10 · 21 August 2010]

Kirk Douglas, in his memoirs, once said that this was his most favorite movie ever that he acted in. With the simplest of plots, this movie reassures the fact that simplicity is remarkable. It is even more difficult for a western to be simple and this movie has achieved that. Based on a cowboy's escapade from the police, the presentation of the story makes this movie good.

This movie is a one man show - Kirk Douglas - as the movie name suggests is lonely but accompanied by his eccentric horse named Whisky. In most westerns, horses are taken for granted and used as toys. In this movie, the horse is almost like a second lead. The protagonist eats, drinks, talks and fights with the horse all along the escapade. Walter Matthau's straight-faced comedy lightens up the mood as well. It is a very simple and warm western and will be no harm in seeing it at least once.

Rating : 7/10

Natural Man Sacrificed to Progress

[writerasfilmcritic · 10/10 · 2 June 2005]

Can you imagine a time when a man could mount his horse and ride across the country, camping wherever he pleased? It's the kind of life Kirk Douglas was still living as the cowboy in "Lonely Are The Brave," long after the horse had given way to the horseless carriage and most people were living in towns and cities working for someone else. His only accommodation to the modern world are a pair of snips he keeps in a saddle bag for getting through barbed wire fences. A man like that is just bound to run up against the System, and that is precisely what happens when the cowboy arrives at the house of an old friend, whose wife they both loved. She tells him that her husband has been jailed for smuggling illegals across the border and the cowboy resolves to get arrested and help him break out. However, married life has changed his friend's perspective and he is content to do his time. After taking a beating from the sadistic jailer, played by George Kennedy, the cowboy escapes alone. The rest of the movie is about his attempt to elude the authorities, led by Walter Matthau as the efficient sheriff in charge of lesser lights who admires Douglas enough to hope he makes good his escape and who pursues him skillfully but without enthusiasm. Much of the story is about the relationship between the cowboy and his inexperienced young horse, who symbolizes the wild and free life being lost bit by bit. As they surmount a rugged mountain range, the extent of their trust, affection, and ties to the land become clear, while so-called civilization, aptly represented by a truckload of new toilets, threatens to do what the police can't.

This is a very good movie, well-shot, well-acted, well-written, and with a very poignant theme. In it, Kirk Douglas delivers one of his best performances.

Lo, How the Mighty Have Fallen

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 3 February 2005]

Hadn't seen this movie in more than twenty years and so I was able to look at it from a more or less historical perspective. The story is simple. A middle-aged cowboy escapes from jail, rides his horse into the mountains towards Mexico, is pursued by agents of social control with modern technology, and is finally done in on a rain-slick highway by a truck full if ironic crappers.

The first time I saw it, it seemed full of impressively new ideas. The cowboy (Kirk Douglas) is napping in the desert near his horse and is waked up by an overhead jet airplane. Douglas has a fight with a one-armed man in a saloon, after he ties one of his own arms behind his back. The juxtaposition of the old ways (a man on horseback in the wilderness) and the new (sheriff Walter Mathau with his jeep, radios, and helicopters).

The chief impression it left me with this time is that it MUST have been a pretty good story because "Rambo" is practically a remake. The only thing is that if this were a McDonald's meal, "Rambo" would be extra-sized. Douglas is an ordinary but stubborn man whose alienation from society is never explained. Rambo is a superman who is deliberately mistreated by authorities despite his having won more medals in Viet Nam than anyone could imagine. Rambo whips everybody. Douglas is killed by a truckload of toilets. "Lonely Are the Brave" is a far more mature movie.

Douglas's horse, Whiskey, plays an important role in the movie. Douglas himself may have learned how to deal in his own quiet way with legitimated authorities, but Whiskey represents the Old West. He holds Douglas up. He's frightened by noisy helicopters and betrays Douglas's presence. He slips on a highway amidst the traffic and dooms them both. Whiskey is in a sense that part of Douglas that keeps getting him into trouble.

The movie, like most others of its period, strikes us as heavily orchestrated now -- booming dramatic drums and whatnot. But it's easy enough to see how a narrative dealing with alienation from modern life would have fit into the early 1960s, when this was released. The 1950s were in retrospect a period of bland and prosperous conformity. The lawns of the newly constructed and almost identical ranch houses were as neatly trimmed and manicured as the haircuts of the time. The late 1950s and early 1960s were a prelude to the last half of the 60s when all hell broke loose. Kirk Douglas seeking freedom on a horse isn't really that different from Peter Fonda doing the same thing on a motorcycle.

It's not a great movie, but it is far more complex and human than "Rambo." This movie is filmed without color but it's really "Rambo" that is black and white.

Weird mash up of anachronistic liberal ideals and the wild west

[brettalder · 3/10 · 12 December 2016]

I will say this is a gripping movie. Kirk Douglas is a fantastic actor and this is certainly one of his greatest performances, but that doesn't redeem this frustrating and contradictory portrayal of "an old-time cowboy supplanted by modernity".

When it comes to food, you don't criticize an Indian buffet for being lousy Chinese -- it's not trying to be Chinese. So when critiquing this work, it's important to separate out what the work is attempting from what it is not. It's NOT attempting to be a feel good story of redemption or good guy triumph. It IS trying to portray a rustic and cunning cowboy as he interacts with a modernizing world that can nary afford a glance backward on the society it is replacing.

The biggest problem with this work is the fact that they're pretending to, but not actually, portraying a cowboy, when they're actually showing a Hollywood liberal-idealized version that renders an absurdist plot line. Douglas plays Jack Burns, a man who survives by his wits and grim determination in an unsettled wilderness with his horse while occasionally hiring himself out. Burns should be an icon of wilderness practicality, but basically the whole plot line is based on him being an idealistic buffoon. Examples:

1) Jack knows nothing about jail, but gets himself condemned to a hear in prison just to see his friend (visitation hours won't do). He sneaks a hacksaw into his cell and starts sawing the first night without taking the lay-of-the-land, determining who might rat him out, the guard rotation, etc.

2) Upon escape, he knows the police will be after him, but takes an excruciating amount of time bidding adieu to his former lover (now wife of his friend) and wandering around pensively. Is this a cowboy or a romantic philosopher?

3) While escaping through the hills he takes a nice rest during the day without having first reached the ridge he needs to get to.

4) Along the way he meets up with the police officer/jail guard that a) he had previously threatened and b) had extra judicially beaten him while in jail -- knocking out a molar. Instead of killing this menace to society, Burns is content to knock him out. Is this a hard bitten cowboy or a wandering Buddhist monk we're dealing with? If he's a legit brave cowboy he shouldn't be making empty threats he doesn't plan on following through on or failing to mete out retribution for breaking the tacit laws of the West. That guard was previously taunting Burns' best friend Paul in jail. Sparing him will have consequences Burns' impracticality won't allow him to consider. "This one's for Paul, you SOB!"

5) All of Burns' impracticality and dawdling is required to set up a final break for the trees after he reaches the ridge where he is being fired at by not one, but three separate groups of officers simultaneously.

Overall this adds up to lousy and lazy story telling. Don't pretend to portray a cowboy and then not do it. I know it's hard to mesh realistic acting characters with a gripping plot line. I know it's hard to try to understand cowboy culture and portray it vividly, but at least try. As it is it's modern-vs-modern critique where 1960's romantic ideals in the form of Jack Burns go head to head with 1960's modern realities. Weird.

Kirk Was Right

[paige-anderson · 10/10 · 29 December 2003]

This is a wonderful movie that never fails to impress me whenever I view it. I'm amazed that it is not out on DVD yet.

As many have stated, Kirk felt that this was his favorite movie and I quite agree. As the existential drifter searching for something that has long passed him by, Kirk delivers a stunning performance. I felt that the character development in this film was outstanding. Each individual plays an important role in delivering the theme of the story.

I was amazed that no one wrote about the bar fight scene where Burns battles a bitter one-armed local. There is something disturbing about this encounter...the one-armed man's bitterness and Burns' attempt to avoid the confrontation. Handled in black and white, this scene is memorable.

This film easily makes my top ten list.

-Paige