Customer Reviews

Vengeance Valley [VHS]

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"Vengeance Valley" (1951) is not just a great title for a western, but a well-made, intelligent feature that should please Burt Lancaster and Robert Walker fans. A cattle baron (Ray Collins) takes in an orphaned boy (Owen Daybright) and raises him. His own son (Lee Strobie) is about the same age. Although Lee resents Owen they generally get along and share a lot of coming of age adventures on the ranch. But as they mature Lee's (Robert Walker) resentment causes him to become a slacker and the classic prodigal son. After a long absence he returns with a wife, appears to have cleaned up his act, and reconciles with his father.

But Lee's past includes a girl named Lily that he got pregnant. Owen covers for him, but this causes Lee to resent his stepbrother even more. When he suspects that his father's ranch and his new wife are slipping away from him, he sets up Owen to be killed by Lily's two brothers. Although this prodigal son-Cain and Abel stuff is hardly original, the two stars are excellent in their respective parts. Lancaster reins in his excesses and gives a nice controlled performance, with his suppressed energy just visible enough to give Owen a nice dimensionality.

Walker in convincing as a two-faced villain, still motivated by childhood jealousy but able to conceal it from everyone but the audience. Walker is relatively forgotten today, but was the 1940's version of James Dean; although his looks and style are more like a young Robert Vaughn.

When not occupied with its melodramatic story, "Vengeance Valley" has the look of an extremely well-produced documentary, going into great detail about the process of a spring roundup and providing a lot of very scenic backgrounds. A ranch hand named Hewie (Carleton Carpenter) provides an informative voice-over. The film features some great cattle scenes, a lot of good riding sequences, and a couple well staged fights. Watch for an early appearance by young Hugh O'Brian-just a few years away from starring in television's "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Vengeance Valley is an average Western. Its best feature is a remarkably strong cast. This alone means that it ought not to be classified as a B film, for second features could not afford so many familiar faces, nor could they afford the fine location shooting which is to be found in Vengeance Valley. The cast perform quite well. Robert Walker always makes a better villain than a good guy. He portrays both weakness and malevolence in a performance which bears comparison with his more celebrated role in Strangers on a Train. It is always a pleasure to watch Burt Lancaster, but his acting lacks the authority which would be present in his later films. I always look out for Joanne Dru films, but this is not one of her best. The feisty and beautiful heroine of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Red River seems to have faded somewhat and it is possible to see in this film the seeds of her decline as a star. She would make no more important films after this.

The story is interesting without being original. Walker and his foster brother Lancaster fight it out over Dru and Cattle. Strangely the `vengeance' of the film's title does not refer to this aspect of the plot, but to a sub-plot in which two cowboys seek vengeance on the man who made their sister pregnant. Still Vengeance Valley makes a more snappy title than Battling Brothers.

This is by no means a classic Western, but it is perfectly competent. It may not linger long in the memory, but fans of the genre will certainly enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Western lovers..kick off your boots and set a spell..here's one from the 50's that should satisfy your hankerin for some good ole fashion western adventure.

"Vengeance Valley" from 1951, stars Burt Lancaster as Owen Daybright, the "good brother"(how could you not be good with a name like that?), and Robert Walker as Lee Strobel his evil brother. Owen has spent his life covering up for Lee's mistakes. When Lee gets one of the local girls "in trouble",Lee puts the blame on Owen, and her brothers come after him with a vengeance. He has to fight them off and take care of their vast cattle empire all in 83 minutes! Who else but Burt Lancaster can handle all this? The film was directed by Richard Thorpe(Jailhouse Rock) and also look for such notables as John Ireland, Hugh O'Brien, Joanne Dru and Sally Forrest .

I think this particular DVD(westlake Entertainment) is a little overpriced for this oldie, but you can find several other editions out that are more reasonable, including 2 packs. Vengeance Valley/Rage at Dawnis a nice little deal for oater lovers. Check also the "other versions' on detail page, or just search Vengeance Valley for more options. I also saw it available on used VHS.

Saddle up and Happy trails western lovers....Laurie

I purchased Front Row Entertainment's VHS version of "Vengeance Valley" and was bitterly disappointed. The video quality is poor and the sound track is no better. The story, from what I could make of it, is humdrum. If you're a Lancaster fan, however, the movie is worth having in your collection. And if you're a fan of wasting 20 bucks on a poor quality video, this is a tape for you!

This is a sturdy western featuring beautiful color photography, and an interesting character study. Burt Lancaster plays a stolid, depedable foster son who reluctantly has to face down his reckless foster brother played by Robert Walker. Walker and Lancaster play off each other well, their naturally opposing acting styles heightning the conflict between these two. Unfortunately, Robert Walker, who made quite an impression in his short film career -- especially in Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" -- would be dead shortly after this film was released. A sad footnote to an overlooked but interesting film.

Robert Walker is a filthy villain, cast as a cattle baron's worthless son... Despite the presence of an attractive wife, the young boy favors an illegitimate son by a local waitress, then changes the blame upon his step-brother...

As the ranch foreman who rallies to Walker's aid, Lancaster makes a strongly convincing hero...

Joanne Dru played leads in a variety of films of the 40s and 50s but is best remembered as the feminine touch in Western Classics as Howard Hawks's "Red River," John Ford's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," and "Wagon Master."

Set in the range country of the Rockies, Richard Thorpe balances the 'scandalous secret' with fast riding, shooting and cattle round-ups...

Maybe its just bad luck on my part, but I ordered this dvd twice and approximately at the 46 minute mark, both dvd had the picture break up for approximately 2 minutes.
I'm talking about the one produced by Roan.

OK, not the most gripping plot for a western, but it stands on its own with solid performances from a great cast. A typical afternoon-on-the-couch western. I found no issues with the DVD, but the film's rating shouldn't suffer for production quality.

The Roan DVD of Vengeance Valley has no problems of note. They used a very good print with no issues I noticed.