Western Wednesdays: Lonely are the Brave (1962)

     Lonely are the Brave was released on May 24th, 1962. Based on the novel The Brave Cowboy, by Edward Abbey, it is adapted for the screen by Dalton Trumbo and directed by David Miller. In it Kirk Douglas plays John W. Burns ("Jack for short"), a drifting ranch hand who gets himself busted in order to break his old friend Paul Bondi (Michael Kane) out of prison.

     Lonely are the Brave is a neo-western. This genre, rather then dealing with the passing of the west as so many classic westerns do, is concerned with the exploring the conventions of the genre but is set in a period after "the west" has passed on and civilization has set in. Jack Burns is a westerner. He is a independent rugged individual who'd prefer to live in a world without fences, without borders and away from the long arm of the law. But, in the words of Paul's wife Jerry (Gena Rowlands), this world doesn't exist anymore, "maybe it never did."

     The film is critical of Jack's lifestyle. When he offers to break Paul out his old friend turns him down. He has a wife and child to support and can not afford to live on the run from the law. "You grew up on me didn't you?" says Jack, acknowledging the immaturity of the life he has chosen to lead. Just as the wilderness must eventually give way to civilization, so the rugged westerner must eventually become civilized, or else perish. Jack comes face-to-face with this reality after escaping prison, when he is hounded by the police in his attempt to cross the mountains into Mexico. Against all odds he outfoxes them again and again, yet his situation becomes more and more hopeless. In some ways it anticipates First Blood, another film about a man who cannot come to terms with society. The film's ending is both unexpected and touchingly ironic. 

     The cast all put in sensitive performances. Kirk Douglas towers over the film as Jack Burns. Only someone of his stature and talent could have brought this living anachronism to life. Walter Matthau is very restrained as the Sheriff tasked with hunting Burns down. Though the audience would usually hate such a character by default, Matthau earns our sympathy as a simple man who is just doing his job, and one who comes to respect the man he's chasing. Gena Rowlands is great as the struggling wife and mother Jerry Bondi, whose feelings for Burns mirror her affection for her husband. Michael Kane convinces as the faithful husband, Paul, though its hard to imagine that he was ever as independently minded as Jack. Western regular George Kennedy plays a small but memorable role as a sadistic prison guard while a young Bill Bixby is featured in an uncredited role as a helicopter pilot. 

     After reading Edward Abbey's novel, Douglas went to Universal with a proposal for an adaptation in which he would star. He picked the cast and crew himself, bringing back Dalton Trumbo, who had penned Spartacus a few years before. Trumbo's screenplay, though it insists on itself at times, does a good job exploring the film's themes. Director David Miller really captures the unforgiving New Mexico locations. Burns is not only beset by society but by nature and Miller captures both elegantly. Philip H. Lathrop's cinematography is stark and evokes film noir at times with its use of shadows and harsh lighting. The score by Jerry Goldsmith, who was virtually an unknown when hired for this film, is restrained and melancholy, anticipating, at times, his later work on First Blood.

     Lonely are the Brave is an excellent neo-western featuring solid direction, distinguished performances and a stirring score all at the service of a complex and thought provoking screenplay. 

Score: 9/10