The Bravados (1958)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Philip Yordan (screenplay)
Frank O'Rourke (novel)

Release Date:

1 August 1958 (West Germany)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

A Powerful Western Tale of Revenge and Redemption

Plot:

Jim Douglas has been relentlessly pursuing the four outlaws who murdered his wife, but finds them in jail about to be hanged...

Plot Keywords:

Outlaw Gang | Father Daughter Relationship | Gunshot Wound | Praying | Moral Transformation

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Jim Douglass
Joan Collins	...	Josefa Velarde
Stephen Boyd	...	Bill Zachary
Albert Salmi	...	Ed Taylor
Henry Silva	...	Lujan
Kathleen Gallant	...	Emma Steimmetz
Barry Coe	...	Tom
George Voskovec	...	Gus Steimmetz
Herbert Rudley	...	Sheriff Sanchez
Lee Van Cleef	...	Alfonso Parral
Andrew Duggan	...	Padre
Ken Scott	...	Primo, Deputy Sheriff
Gene Evans	...	John Butler
Ninos Cantores de Morelia Choral Group	...	Themselves (as The Niños Cantores De Morelia Choral Group)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (as De Luxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (certificate #19005) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1989)

Filming Locations:

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Gregory Peck stated that the movie was written as an attack on McCarthyism, which he strongly opposed.

Quotes:

Jim Douglass: You're wasting a lot of good lumber. A tree does just as well.
Sheriff Sanchez: They were sentenced to be hanged - not lynched!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in C'era una volta il West (1968)

A dour Western with a downbeat ending...

"The Bravados" exposed a tragic violation of justice, and a confession of an error from a severe threatening widower (Gregory Peck) entirely blind in chasing four killers who, he believes, raped and murdered his wife... Peck is seen at one time the ruthless judge, jury and executioner...

The entertaining thing about the film is probably the manhunt of the accused men who escape from jail taking with them a female hostage Kathleen Gallant...

Gregory Peck's character as the blind seeker of justice is fit to be despised... With a downbeat climax this sour revenge Western remembered me the persistent Captain Ahab with his determination to finish with the killer whale, performed also by Peck...

Peck has continued to refine the identity of the avenging hero keeping his character alive through the good intervention of his heroic persona...

The four outlaws create a false impression in pretending indifference to misfortune...

"The Bravados" is a dour Western with a downbeat ending... The production is good, but the entertainment uneasy...