Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.

Victor Jordan A cattle baron has as son Lee Strobie (Robert Walker) and an adopted son Owen Daybright (Burt Lancaster). Lee who is married fathers his mistress's child, and the blame falls on Owen to save grace because Lee is married. Lee and Owen lead a cattle drive when Owen learns that Lee has double-crossed all of his family members. The final showdown is rather uneventful, which is surprising since it stars Burt Lancaster. Lancaster was solid, but not powerful as usual. When you have Burt Lancaster and Robert Walker in it I just expected more. The name Vengeance Valley is rather confusing because there wasn't any revenge, but instead it is about hostile sibling relations that eventually boil over. It is worth a watch but overall disappointing.

JLRVancouver "Vengeance Valley" is a great title squandered on a not so great movie (and, oddly, one in which there isn't really much 'vengeance'). Burt Lancaster plays the up-right, honourable foster-son of a crippled cattleman at odds with his brother (and blood-son of the rancher), a conniving ne'er-do-well with a quick gun-hand. Complicating matters, the married brother has fathered a child on a local lass and her two ornery brothers have shown up to hunt down the scoundrel who dishonored their sister. Lots of shots of Lancaster's legendary grin and tousled good-looks, generic cow-poking, and mountain scenery but other than some fisticuffs and the inevitable showdown at the end, there's not a lot of action. Most of the characters are typical Hollywood western-types and the script/acting is on par with a good episode of Bonanza (although the unwed mother story line might be a bit to risqué for the Cartwrights). IMO, Lancaster is one of the all-time great "Hollywood leading-men" but even his undeniable charisma can't raise "Vengeance Valley" above the great raft of mediocre westerns to tumble out of the sagebrush in the '50s.

whitec-3 I didn't read many westerns growing up, but more devoted readers of the genre spoke well of writer Luke Short, on whose novel this film is based (screenplay by Irving Ravetch). Another reviewer points out that Short was a city boy who didn't know the west, but the movie is full of cattle ranching and driving lore (more than the otherwise superior Red River).Above all the story has an impressively complicated plot--lots of moving pieces, with a large cast of characters variously related. A nice surprise was the voice-over narration by a somewhat marginal character who is nonetheless present at many crucial scenes. Add an outstanding cast: Burt's always a convincing action stalwart; Robert Walker plays just the kind of attractive weasel that people fool themselves into believing; John Ireland brings an air of implacable menace to the heavy; Joanne Dru and Sally Forrest make you want them to be on screen more often.The limits of the film's running time squeeze the women out from fuller development especially at the end, but their issues drive the plot with surprisingly adult themes: Dru's character raises questions about what the Old West did about divorce, and Forrest's character Lily finds a way to raise her illegitimate child even while her no-good brothers make trouble.The direction of the cattle drives against spectacular outdoor scenery and some good riding scenes are the film's best testimony for director Richard Thorpe. Otherwise the direction seems by-the-book, and the story concludes in a gun showdown that violates what we've learned of the characters involved. Other reviewers are correct that MGM's bland production values prevail. But within those limits, the various parts of the plot worked together well, and the excellent acting added depth and urgency.

Boba_Fett1138 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.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/