La vallée de la vengeance

Burt Lancaster usually played parts with a lot of depth to them, especially after From Here to Eternity. In fact other than Vengeance Valley, the only other film where he played a totally upright hero is Gunfight at the OK Corral.

He's the orphan kid that gets taken in by rancher Ray Collins who grows up and becomes foreman and companion to Robert Walker, Collins's real son. Walker is a spoiled kid and Lancaster is constantly cleaning up after him. Some of the same plot elements were used later in Man From Laramie and The Big Country.

Walker is both coming home to his wife,Joanne Dru and another girl he's fathered a kid with, Sally Forrest. Lancaster is caught taking hush money over to Forrest by her no-account brothers, John Ireland and Hugh O'Brian. They come to the conclusion that Lancaster has done the deed. That's where the action starts.

Good western with some adult themes. Cattle drive scenes are tough and gritty, they don't have the epic quality of Red River, but are nicely done. The players all give a good account of themselves.

Lavish MGM was not a studio for Westerns. That king of studios excelled at big-budget, star-studded drawing-room dramas. On the other hand, Westerns tend to do better with small casts, tight stories, and good outdoor locations. Nonetheless, this MGM Western is generally underrated. On the plus side, is a fine male cast among the supporting players (Collins, Wright, Ireland, de Corsia, Carpenter {surprisingly},and Jim Hayward as the sheriff), some striking Colorado locations, and good attention to detail (note how injured persons do not quickly recover, and how the trail drive is treated in realistic detail). My guess is that the producers were following up on the success of Red River (1948), with another trail-drive Western, but without the latter's notable dramatic tensions.

Several factors work against Vengeance Valley. One is that critical lack of tension. The scenes don't really build to a dramatic conclusion, but simply follow one another in rather slack style. That results in a final showdown between Lancaster and Walker lacking the impact it should have given their family history together. Crucially, Director Thorpe adds nothing to the screenplay, and most importantly, adds nothing to Lancaster's performance which lacks the kind of shading that would normally build tension. I don't know whether to fault Thorpe or Lancaster for that one-note performance. But, unlike Wayne's character in Red River, Lancaster's Owen Daybright comes across as a rather dull and uninvolving character. He doesn't even seem angry or anguished during the showdown. Then there's Joanne Dru who appears unengaged with her part as Walker's wife. Many ambitious Hollywood actresses viewed the male-dominated Western as a come down, but whatever the reason, her scenes come across as emotionally flat, at best.

On the other hand, the screenplay is both well developed and unusual for its day. Wedlock babies simply didn't turn up in movies during that Production Code era. Here, Forrest's fatherless baby sets off the chain of events leading to the climax, and also provides unusual motivation for the bad guys. There's also the terrific Colorado locations and trail herds big enough to be believed. Clearly the studio put real money into the project. Too bad they didn't hire a more inspired director. With better guidance, Vengeance Valley had the potential to be a memorably epic Western. Even as things stand, the movie remains highly watchable and generally underrated.

"Vengeance Valley" (1951) is not just a great title for a western, but a well-made, intelligent feature that should please Burt Lancaster and Robert Walker fans. A cattle baron (Ray Collins) takes in an orphaned boy (Owen Daybright) and raises him. His own son (Lee Strobie) is about the same age. Although Lee resents Owen they generally get along and share a lot of coming of age adventures on the ranch. But as they mature Lee's (Robert Walker) resentment causes him to become a slacker and the classic prodigal son. After a long absence he returns with a wife, appears to have cleaned up his act, and reconciles with his father.

But Lee's past includes a girl named Lily that he got pregnant. Owen covers for him, but this causes Lee to resent his stepbrother even more. When he suspects that his father's ranch and his new wife are slipping away from him, he sets up Owen to be killed by Lily's two brothers. Although this prodigal son-Cain and Abel stuff is hardly original, the two stars are excellent in their respective parts. Lancaster reins in his excesses and gives a nice controlled performance, with his suppressed energy just visible enough to give Owen a nice dimensionality.

Walker in convincing as a two-faced villain, still motivated by childhood jealousy but able to conceal it from everyone but the audience. Walker is relatively forgotten today, but was the 1940's version of James Dean; although his looks and style are more like a young Robert Vaughn.

When not occupied with its melodramatic story, "Vengeance Valley" has the look of an extremely well-produced documentary, going into great detail about the process of a spring roundup and providing a lot of very scenic backgrounds. A ranch hand named Hewie (Carleton Carpenter) provides an informative voice-over. The film features some great cattle scenes, a lot of good riding sequences, and a couple well staged fights. Watch for an early appearance by young Hugh O'Brian-just a few years away from starring in television's "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

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.

Vengeance Valley is pretty good for a western starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Walker as brothers, one of whom adopted, whose rivalry leads to betrayal later on. Also liked the women played by Joanne Dru and Sally Forrest and Hugh O'Brian and John Ireland as the brothers of Forrest who want to kill the man who impregnated their sister. Lots of good scenes of cattle rustling and some exciting fight scenes come every now and then but there's plenty of good drama concerning the characters too. The Technicolor stands out in this location-shot picture. Loved the narration by Carleton Carpenter as Hewie. Worthy entry for any old movie western fan.