Don't Believe the Hype

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Producer: William Cagney. A William Cagney Production. Copyright 30 March 1951 (in notice: 1950) by Cagney Productions, Inc. A Warner Bros Picture. New York opening at the Strand: 13 April 1951. U.S. release: 21 April 1951. U.K. release: 18 February 1952 (sic). Australian release: 13 March 1952. 105 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Cavalry captain leads a small group of misfits to hold back an impending Indian attack through a narrow mountain pass. COMMENT: Realized on a grand scale, Only the Valiant is a tensely suspenseful, actionful western with more explosive excitement than a jammed jackhammer. The intriguing central situation is cleverly and deftly grounded by a fast-moving introduction in which not only the plot groundwork is laid but the characters are forcefully introduced. Each character is skilfully rounded, providing some excellent opportunities for the fine cast of seasoned players. In one of his more interesting roles, Peck properly dominates the film. Peck is always at his best in less sympathetic parts and here he has a field day as a martinet captain in conflict with the likes of Neville Brand's bitter, bullying sergeant, Ward Bond's guzzling corporal whose surface charm so quickly turns to murderous hate, Lon Chaney's vengeful strongman, Terry Kilburn's cowardly bugler and Steve Brodie's victimised Southerner. Although she has been criticized in some quarters, I thought Barbara Payton didn't put a foot wrong in her poignantly effective study of the heroine. Whilst she plays no part in the main section of the film, her performance and sheer presence is memorable enough to more than retain our sympathy. All the actors deserve commendation, particularly Gig Young, Jeff Corey, Hebert Heyes, Dan Riss and those mentioned above. As stated, all have solid characterisations to work with. The only exception is Trooper Rutledge, who is deliberately painted along more shadowy lines. His motives are less obvious, more obscure. Anderson accordingly plays him in an appropriately enigmatic manner, as his actions have to come as a surprise - which they certainly do! For their obligatory Old Testament quotation, the writers have come up with something admirably fresh. I tracked it down to Job 14:7-12: "There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the roots wax old in the earth, and the stock die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it will bud and again bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail in a drought, and even a flood doth recede and dry up, so men lie down and rise not. Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep."OTHER VIEWS: Directed with considerable panache and vigor, Only the Valiant stakes a hard-to-beat claim as Gordon Douglas' most exciting and most accomplished film. Blessed with a taut script, an accomplished cast and a photographer with a fine eye for both location and studio compositions, Douglas has risen to the occasion with pace and style. Creating an atmosphere loaded with tension, the director has drawn engrossing portrayals from all his players and staged the action with passionate immediacy. Not a single second wasted in 105 edge-of-the-seat minutes. - John Howard Reid writing as Tom Howard,

Peck's perfect as the stiff-backed Capt. Lance. The question is can he and his gaggle of unmilitary types hold the fort against warpath Apaches. It looks like touch and go. But Lance has got extra incentive. The colonel's shapely blonde daughter (Payton) is waiting for him back at headquarters, maybe, that is. Now if he can just get Arab, the sergeant, and the lieutenant to aim their guns at Apaches instead of at him, Lance's got a chance.The movie's a little overlong, probably to accommodate the many performers; plus the sets for the tunnel through the mountains are, well, movie sets. Too bad, since the exteriors are shot at scenic Gallup, New Mexico. And catch that showdown battle filmed around Gallup with hundreds of extras. It's an unexpected doozy. The movie's also a chance for Hollywood gossips like me to catch tinseltown's most notorious party girl, the unfortunate Barbara Payton in her last major role. She's certainly a good enough actress. Now, if she could have just stayed away from all the big-time temptations.All in all, it's a decent cavalry movie, not directed with the verve or dispatch that I would expect from old pro Gordon Douglas. (Perhaps, he was constrained by the somewhat crowded screenplay.) Nonetheless, the acting is good, along with a number of colorful characters, topped off with a crowning action scene that features a dollop of the unexpected.

The Apache are roughly handled in this "lost patrol" cavalry movie. They're faceless savages -- "barbarians, if you like," remarks Captain Gregory Peck. Well, the Apache were generally pretty tough customers, given to intricate forms of torture such as deboning, beginning with the finger tips, but they never bothered with foolish Banzai charges of the sort we see here. They weren't stupid, and they usually fought dismounted. As it is -- this being 1951 -- the plot resembles a movie left over from World War II, only using Indians as the fanatic villains, rather than the Japanese.Gregory Peck picks out six or seven of the least desirable troopers in the small fort to man a deserted outpost guarding a pass through which the Apache must move before they can attack. The young bugler is a coward; as the crazed Arab Lon Chaney's uniform is padded until the is the size of Man Mountain Dean; Ward Bond is a drunk; Neville Brand is a sadistic bully, and so forth. Peck's cavalry captain is of course flawless in every respect. He radiates dignity the way the others glow with terpitude.They are picked off one by one until only three men are left to be rescued by the galloping cavalry at the climax. The rescue detail has brought with them a "Gatling gun" (with a round magazine), which which the good guys slaughter the bad guys by the hundreds.No one distinguishes himself in this film, but Peck and Bond are professionals and bring a kind of relaxed quality to their roles. A triangular romance with Barbara Payton is thrust into the narrative with a shoe horn and is almost entirely dispensable.Yet, for all its weaknesses, it's not a boring movie. The sheer cliff faces provide an impressive outdoor location. The abandoned fort is a maze of adobe passageways twisting this way and that, sometimes resembling a set left over from a movie about Algiers or someplace. The cavalry costumes with their black blouses and trousers are properly accented by canary yellow neckerchiefs and trouser stripes -- or they would be if this weren't in black and white -- and there is abundant action as the story proceeds. Its diverting and lively but it lacks any poetry whatever. The whole production gives the impression of having been over-engineered. I hate to raise the question of what Ford or Hawks would have done with this material but the voices tell me to do it.

On the whole one wishes this was a better film, but it has enough flashes of intense power to make it worth while. Peck made this film during the same period that he made The Gunfighter, before he apparently decided he was a monument rather than an actor. A pity! He was a fine actor, perfectly willing to tackle characters that were not very likable, and to do them extremely well. The character he plays here is driven and, when necessary, ruthless. Given the mission the character has been assigned, and the "men" with which to do it, those characteristics are essential.Without being a spoiler, think of this film as an early, grittier example of The Dirty Dozen genre. The dialog in this film is a bit ham handed but it is atmospheric and intense and definitely tells a story worth telling. It contains good work by all the character actors and even Barbara Payton turns in a credible performance.This one isn't often shown on television so your local video store may be the only place to find a copy. Go ahead! Devote an evening to it. It is worth your time!