Vengeance Valley (1951)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Luke Short (novel)
Irving Ravetch (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 February 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Based on the Thrilling novel and Saturday Evening Post serial by Luke Short

Plot:

A cattle baron takes in an orphaned boy and raises him, causing his own son to resent the boy. As they get older the resentment festers into hatred...

Plot Keywords:

Son | Illegitimate Child | Cattle | Ranch | Rancher

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Owen Daybright
Robert Walker	...	Lee Strobie
Joanne Dru	...	Jen Strobie
Sally Forrest	...	Lily Fasken
John Ireland	...	Hub Fasken
Carleton Carpenter	...	Hewie
Ray Collins	...	Arch Strobie
Ted de Corsia	...	Herb Backett
Hugh O'Brian	...	Dick Fasken
Will Wright	...	Mr. Willoughby
Grayce Mills	...	Mrs. Burke (as Grace Mills)
Jim Hayward	...	Sheriff Con Alvis (as James Hayward)
James Harrison	...	Orv Esterly
Stanley Andrews	...	Mead Calhoun
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Margaret Bert	...	Mrs. Calhoun (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1952) | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) | USA:Unrated | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Canon City, Colorado, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This is one of a handful of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions of the 1950-1951 period whose original copyrights were never renewed and are now apparently in Public Domain; for this reason this title is now offered, often in very inferior copies, at bargain prices, by numerous VHS and DVD distributors who do not normally handle copyrighted or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer material.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Hewie: I got a story to tell - a yarn about cow country, cow punchers and men. I was workin' for the Strobie Ranch, a trade of worn leather and saddle blisters and brandin' irons. A trade with some song, some fun and some luck. It was as good a job as a man could ask for...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Little Odessa (1994)

Fairly dull western that fortunately gets better toward the end.

This really isn't the most exciting or original western ever made. It's a fair enough attempt and the frame work for many other later '50's westerns is already slightly present in this movie.

Real problem with the movie is its story, though its concept definitely sounds intriguing and strong on paper, it just doesn't ever become so in the movie. The drama is almost soap-like, with uninteresting affairs and other personal drama's. It's a muddled mess, that above all is uninteresting to watch. Luckily toward the end the movie and its story gets better, when the more soap-like drama makes place for better developed and layered drama. The movie gets more solid and it doesn't allow any of the earlier weaker drama to distract from it. It makes this movie still a decent one to watch, though it's not one that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.

Despite the simple drama, characters and dialog, Burt Lancaster still shines in this movie. He gives away a great performance and also plays a likable main character. Good to see that he also did westerns in his career. The genre fits him well. None of the other characters or actors are really good enough to leave a lasting impression.

It takes awhile for the movie to take pace and from the beginning on it isn't clear were the movie is trying to head to. It takes too long for the movie to take form, which makes the movie drag at points and also make it rather dull, to be frank. Not even some good old fashioned fight sequences can change anything about this.

The settings on the other hand look fine and the nature suits the movie and its atmosphere. The cattle driving sequences are without doubt the best parts of the movie.

Not bad enough to consider it unwatchable but not really good enough to consider it a recommendable movie either.

6/10