Only the Valiant (1951)

Best movie ever!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Only the Valiant falls into the category of "typical western". I don't have anything against westerns, but the ones I like have more substance than just "Cowboys versus Indians". Unfortunately, even with an interesting premise, the movie doesn't really explore much more than the game played by millions of little boys.Gregory Peck is involved in a love triangle. He loves Barbara Peyton, but so does Gig Young, and while both men are in the army, Gig Young is much better liked by the other troops and officers. Greg is signed up for a dangerous assignment, but at the last minute, his superior officer orders him to tell Gig Young to take his place. Gig is killed, and everyone holds Greg responsible, thinking he made the switch on purpose. He's sent to another dangerous battle with Indians, a battle he has to win to prove himself to the town, and to Barbara Peyton.Sounds interesting, right? I thought so, but once Greg gets sent to battle, I got pretty bored pretty fast. If you find cowboys and Indians fights riveting, you might like the rest of the movie better than I did, but for a good Gregory Peck western, I'll watch The Big Country.

This is one gritty and tough film - right from the start. Capt. Richard Lance (Gregory Peck) is one hard-nosed cookie - almost dis-likable for most of the film but in the end he does show us another side of himself, a side that if came out earlier in the film it would be debatable as to if they would have survived. I think the tougher side of Capt. Lance is the side that did keep most of them alive. I get a claustrophobic feeling while watching this film because the group of men became stuck in old fort and surrounded by their foe for most of the film. Their water supply running out and time ticking away they are attacked randomly and it's in the end that Capt. Lance redeems himself to his soldiers and they are freed from their entrapment. A good film that is brutal for it's time era. 8/10

I would suggest that Only the Valiant is one of the most original and intriguing and in some ways weird movies that Peck ever did; daring , surprising and one of his few best westerns (--no, no, of course, not a western really, but a military chronicle, which sometimes is better--). It's quite low—budget, but, oh, very original and striking. It's one of those treats a true buff sometimes gets; movies that no one yet told you they exist. You say—'that sounds intriguing, or interesting'—and it surpasses your expectations.All in all, the script shows a level of maturity unusual for the westerns—and it somehow reminded me, obliquely, of ULZANA; it's also straight no—nonsense suspense.Peck looked dashing as a young and tough, somewhat gloomy and stoic officer; and there are many unexpected touches—like the blonde babe kissing and flirting with the one she's decided not to marry, perhaps a feeling of hers for justice and retribution ….Even genre—wise, ONLY … is so much more than a military tale—it is as well an action drama, a suspense movie, a commando/ action thriller—the weirdest combo imaginable; a bunch of soldiers in a special mission to counteract and stop a possible Native's attack …--the insane decision not to take all the available troops to the place where those Natives could be stopped—but only a handful of people …--and this plot never takes a crap route—as most would and did …. The interest for humans, for people and their reasons and actions never falters.A due word about Peck himself; he performs with brio, and though I usually find his famous movies to be rather insipid and boring, in such small outings I find intact all Peck's somber and even chilling glamor. He was an unusual star.I gladly recommend this extraordinary movie.

"Only the Valiant" is not a great western; in fact it is obvious that the director, cast and producers knew perfectly it was not going to be one. However the product is entertaining and has an interesting plot.In order to gain some time, Cpt. Lance (Gregory Peck) is sent to defend a small abandoned fort located right in the opening of a small passage between the mountains through which the Apaches will have to ride in their way to attack the army's main position. He has been accused by his girl of sending his friend Lt. Holloway (Gig Young) in a sure-death mission just to get rid of romantic competition; Peck is innocent of course, but he doesn't feel he has to explain (sort of a character like the one he played some years later in "The Big Country").Lance chooses his men for the mission among the worst in the regiment and those he knows have personal feelings against him. He occupies the fort and waits for the Apaches to come while watching his back at he same time.The picture, totally unpretentious, was shot in black and white by director Gordon Douglas and you could say this was a correct decision for it adds to the grey and dark atmosphere that reigns in the fort. It is also interesting when Lance forms the men and tells each one clearly why he has chosen them for the deadly task.The cast is adequate. Peck is good as the righteous Captain as also is Gig Young in his small part. Among the troopers you'll find such classical tough guys of the 40's and 50' as Lon Chaney, Ward Bond and Neville Brand. Michael Ansara is the Indian chief.But what really demerits the film are some indoor settings representing the rocky passage and the fort itself that look clearly fake and cheap. Michael Ansara's outfit looks more like one for a costume party than that of the chief of an Indian war party. The point is that producers didn't want to spend much money on this film and it shows.However it turns out to be a rather enjoyable army against Indians western and its worth one look at least.