ONLY THE VALIANT is coming to DVD July 1, 2008. Single disc; it doesn't appear as if there are any extras, basically what you'd expect; being issued by Lion's Gate. The film's original releasing studio, WB, does not own the rights.
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YAY!!!! I LOVE THIS GODDAM MOVIE!
I watched it on tv as a little kid because it had Lon Chaney JR in it, and was mesmerized by the (now) poitically incorrect way the Indians were shown as almost Morlock-like monsters and the platoon of misfits...and...and....the dark cinematography..sharp editing style....
The Great Ward Bond...."Mighty thirsty work, Cap'n....mighty thirsty work..."
And the violence....fantastic!
I will certainly pick up the DVD and add it to my collection.
I'm so happy, I could shoot someone in the shoulder with a flaming arrow!
http://www.woodywelch.com
Yippee-kay-yay, obit!
shareJust saw it for the very first time, and I thought it was a great movie! I couldn't disagree more with Leonard Maltin's 2 star rating. Peck was quite good as well as the supporting cast of Lon Chaney, Neville Brand and Ward Bond playing the drunk (and really the only man of the misfit bunch who had a genuine respect for Peck’s character from beginning to end). Great scenery and beautiful black and white photography (which during the night scenes at the pass at Fort Invincible, really gave it a surreal quality to it all). And of course, some great action.
In reading the story structure beforehand of a ragtag team trying to protect a certain area against all odds, it reminded me of SEVEN SAMURAI, and of course this movie predates it. However, after watching it, I wasn't thinking of Kurosawa's movie or THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, but rather John Ford's THE LOST PATROL and even more so SAHARA with Humphrey Bogart. It was more of a theme of these men, trying to protect a strategic area (as well as themselves), in an isolated environment, rather defending a whole village.
Hi Big G -- I don't quite agree with you, I still think this is one of Peck's weaker films, though it isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. I've heard he didn't care for the movie himself. I think the presence of Barbara Payton hampers the proceedings, as she was a pretty poor actress. (I believe she and Greg had an affair while making this film, even though both were married. She of course came to a bad end, prostituting herself for booze, undergoing frequent arrests, dying at 39.)
But it is reminiscent of The Lost Patrol and Sahara, which were in turn remade in western guise in 1952 as Last of the Comanches with Broderick Crawford, a film which I rather enjoy as well.
Hey hobnob. Well, compared to MOCKINGBIRD, ON THE BEACH and SPELLBOUND, this Peck vehicle obliviously doesn't come close to those pictures. Still, because of Peck (and I was aware that this was his least favorite film he did), it succeeded for me.
I do agree with you about Barbara Payton. I thought she was the weakest link to this movie (and I am not aware of her and Peck having a relationship or not). The only other movie I've seen of Barbara's was BRIDE OF THE GORILLA with Raymond Burr and Lon Chaney, Jr, where she is much sexier in that one. But yeah, it is sad to hear of what would happen to her later on.
The main reason I think Peck disliked OTV is because Selznick, to whom he was under (partial) contract, forced him to do it, and of course collected a higher fee for providing Peck's services than Peck got for making the movie. (I think he was paid about $60,000, low for him then.) But he wasn't enamored with the script, that's for sure.
I'm a big Greg fan (he's my favorite actor) but I've often thought he had some poor ideas of what films were best for him. Amazing Grace and Chuck, for example, was a disappointingly dreadful movie that he thought would be great. MacKenna's Gold, despite its cast, was pretty ridiculous. Those two, with Beloved Infidel, rank as Peck's worst, IMO. He was always good but some of his vehicles weren't. And he made a big mistake agreeing to allow Nunnally Johnson to direct him in Night People and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. Good films, but they suffer due to Johnson's utter ineptitude with camera movement and overall ignorance of cinematic techniques. Greg had veto over the director in those films and should have nixed Johnson, a far better writer than director.
Besides OTV and Bride of the Gorilla, which isn't as terrible as it sounds, I have one other Barbara Payton movie in my collection, albeit unintentionally: the 1953 Hammer film Four Sided Triangle, a slow-moving and dumb film about two scientists who both love their assistant. She loves one, of course, so to salve the other's wounds they use their new duplicating machine to make a second Barbara Payton -- who, obviously, also loves the same guy. Very silly, barely-sci-fi film that came as one of two discs in a set with the superior X The Unknown. But I remembered it from when I was a kid and wondered if it was as bad as I thought even at 8. It is.
"Just saw it for the very first time, and I thought it was a great movie! I couldn't disagree more with Leonard Maltin's 2 star rating. Peck was quite good as well as the supporting cast of Lon Chaney, Neville Brand and Ward Bond playing the drunk (and really the only man of the misfit bunch who had a genuine respect for Peck’s character from beginning to end). Great scenery and beautiful black and white photography (which during the night scenes at the pass at Fort Invincible, really gave it a surreal quality to it all). And of course, some great action. "
I agree 100% with Big G-2....:D
http://www.woodywelch.com
Both you and I, obit. Now we just gotta convince hobnob!
And for all of it's goofiness, I actually enjoyed MACKENNA'S GOLD. No, it wasn't one of his stronger films, but Gregory Peck just seem to elevate things, and besides name me another movie where we get to see Julie Newmar skinny dipping!
Hey, guys -- I feel like the surrounded troopers! Without even a Barbara Payton to keep me company. Although she'd probably charge (and not in the cavalry sense).
I'll admit, the movie isn't as bad as I'd remembered it from when I'd last seen it, about 30 years ago. (Being a better print and commercial-free helped, I guess.) But it's still among Greg's lesser films. Making this, along with The Gunfighter, drained Peck's inclination to make another western and, as a consequence, he declined the role written for him -- High Noon. For that reason alone, OTV gets a demerit!
But leave it to you, Big G, to bring up Julie Newmar's skinny dipping scene in M's Gold. I almost mentioned it myself as the film's (basically only) redeeming feature. I even remember seeing the sequence of shots from that scene in a Playboy layout back in '69. That made my teenage day! She was something. But otherwise the movie was a hashed-up disappointment, a waste of so many great talents both in front of and behind the camera. Coming from many of the same people who gave us the superlative The Guns of Navarone, Gold was a great letdown...Hesh-ke's Native-American nudity notwithstanding!
Love this oater.Peck at his stoic best.Bond wonderful as the drunk corporal.Chaney
great as the scary Arab.Brand always a good heavy and Payton I thought was quite good as the love interest. Very beautiful of course. Apaches, good action and fist fights. What more can a Western fan want. Got this on my PVR library. Love it that much I can't delete it.
It's whiskey ....No I'll leave that to Ward.