''Vengeance Valley'' is a 1951 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his ...

and starring

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

, with a supporting cast featuring Robert Walker, Joanne Dru, Sally Forrest,

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

and Ray Collins. It is based on the novel by Luke Short. In 1979, the film entered the

public domain in the United States Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. All works first published or released in the United States b ...

because

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

did not renew its

copyright registration The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...

in the 28th year after publication.

Plot

Fifteen years ago, wealthy but crippled Colorado cattleman Arch Strobie, whose own son Lee was wild, took in young Owen Daybright as a foster son to help raise and control Lee. Now Owen is ranch foreman, but Lee, despite being married to Jen, is wilder than ever. Unmarried Lily Fasken gives birth but refuses to identify the father. After Owen gives Lily $500 to help care for the baby, her brothers Hub and Dick believe it must be he, but they are unaware Owen did it on Lee's behalf. The brothers try to beat up Owen, after a fight he lodges a complaint against them. Sentenced to a week in jail, they vow to get even as soon as they get out. When Arch chides Lee for overdrawing his bank account by withdrawing $500 in gold, Jen realizes that Lee fathered Lily's baby. When she confronts him, Lee tries to lie his way out. She decides to leave him, but Owen and Arch persuade her to stay. Lee inveigles Arch to make him a partner in the ranch by saying that he will strike out on his own unless he gets a half-interest; he gets what he wants and learns that the other half will go to Owen, once Arch retires or dies. Jen locks Lee out of their bedroom. He gets drunk, mistakenly believing she and Owen are carrying on behind his back. He schemes to get rid of Owen and make a fortune at the same time by conspiring with Hub and Dick to ambush Owen during the spring cattle roundup. On the trail, Lee secretly sells 3,000 head of the cattle, intending to run off with the proceeds. However, Owen learns of the plan. Lee pretends to have changed his mind. He persuades Owen to ride in with him to cancel the sale, but in fact he lures Owen into a trap. Hub and Dick, waiting in ambush, wound Owen as Lee flees the scene. In the ensuing gunfight, Owen kills Dick. Hearing shots, a group of trailhands ride to Owen's rescue. They chase down and shoot Hub. Owen catches up with Lee and tells him they are both going back to tell everything to Arch. Lee refuses, confident he can outshoot Owen. He draws his gun, forcing Owen to kill him. Owen breaks the news to Arch and Jen.

Cast

as Owen Daybright * Robert Walker as Lee Strobie * Joanne Dru as Jen Strobie * Sally Forrest as Lily Fasken *

as Hub Fasken *

Carleton Carpenter Carleton Upham Carpenter Jr. (July 10, 1926 – January 31, 2022) was an American film, television and stage actor, magician, songwriter, and novelist. Early and personal life Carpenter was born in Bennington, Vermont, where he attended Benni ...

as Hewie, a loyal young ranch hand in love with Lily. Hewie is also the storyteller for the audience and Carpenter's voice is heard sporadically in a quiet tone during the movie. * Ray Collins as Arch Strobie * Ted de Corsia as Herb Backett, a cattle rustler Owen beats up *

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–1 ...

as Dick Fasken * Will Wright as Mr. Willoughby, the ranch cook * Grayce Mills as Mrs. Burke * Tom Fadden as Obie Rune * Jim Hayward as Sheriff Con Alvis * James Harrison as Orv Esterly *

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

as Mead Calhoun *

Glenn Strange George Glenn Strange (August 16, 1899 – September 20, 1973) was an American actor who mostly appeared in Western films and was billed as Glenn Strange. He is best remembered for playing Frankenstein's monster in three Universal films d ...

as Dave Allard (uncredited)

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $1,997,000 in the US and Canada and $1,149,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $3,138,000.

References

External links

* * * * * *
The Round-up. From Vengeance valley. Music: Rudolph George Kopp.
- example 1979 copyright renewal for the music: V2581 P215-416
copyright document V3549D483
- titles 019 to 021 from document V3549 D479-483 P1-66 {{Richard Thorpe 1951 films 1951 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels Films directed by Richard Thorpe Films shot in Colorado Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1951 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links