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Only the Valiant

Only the Valiant

Western · 1951

Only the Valiant, a classic western adventure, based on a novel by Charles Marquis Warren, the film tells the story of a Cavalry officer who volunteers for a suicidal mission to fight the hostile Apaches in an effort to prove his loyalty to his men and the woman he loves.

Movie details

Only the Valiant

“GREGORY PECK, AS CAPTAIN LANCE, WHO GAVE FORT INVINCIBLE ITS NAME!”

1951 Western 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Only the Valiant, a classic western adventure, based on a novel by Charles Marquis Warren, the film tells the story of a Cavalry officer who volunteers for a suicidal mission to fight the hostile Apaches in an effort to prove his loyalty to his men and the woman he loves.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Only the Valiant?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Ramrod

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The Undefeated

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After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are leading two disparate groups of people through strife-torn Mexico. John Henry and company are bringing horses to the unpopular Mexican government for $35 a head while Langdon is leading a contingent of displaced southerners, who are looking for a new life in Mexico after losing their property to carpetbaggers. The two men are eventually forced to mend their differences in order to fight off both bandits and revolutionaries, as they try to lead their friends and kin to safety.

The Naked Spur

The Naked Spur

Western · 1953

A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.

Return of the Gunfighter

Return of the Gunfighter

Western · 1967

A gunfighter and a cowboy help a Mexican girl avenge the land-related murder of her parents.

True Grit

True Grit

Western · 1969

The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.

Invitation to a Gunfighter

Invitation to a Gunfighter

Western · 1964

In New Mexico, a Confederate veteran returns home to find his fiancée married to a Union soldier, his Yankee neighbors rallied against him and his property sold by the local banker who then hires a gunman to kill him.

Major Dundee

Major Dundee

Western · 1965

During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.

The Horse Soldiers

The Horse Soldiers

Western · 1959

A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail supply center. Along with them is sent a doctor who causes instant antipathy between him and the commander. The secret plan for the mission is overheard by a southern belle who must be taken along to assure her silence.

The Alamo

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Geronimo: An American Legend

Geronimo: An American Legend

Western · 1993

The Apache Indians have reluctantly agreed to settle on a US Government approved reservation. Not all the Apaches are able to adapt to the life of corn farmers. One in particular, Geronimo, is restless. Pushed over the edge by broken promises and necessary actions by the government, Geronimo and thirty or so other warriors form an attack team which humiliates the government by evading capture, while reclaiming what is rightfully theirs.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Gordon Douglas

Written by

Harry Brown · Edmund H. North

Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck

Capt. Richard Lance

Barbara Payton

Barbara Payton

Cathy Eversham

Ward Bond

Ward Bond

Cpl. Timothy Gilchrist

Gig Young

Gig Young

Lt. William Holloway

Neville Brand

Neville Brand

Sgt. Ben Murdock

Lon Chaney Jr.

Lon Chaney Jr.

Trooper Kebussyan

Jeff Corey

Jeff Corey

Joe Harmony

Court is in session

Put Only the Valiant on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.