One of the drawbacks of signing a studio contract in Hollywood's heyday was that even top stars were obligated to perform in vehicles they knew were second rate. After he'd starred in two excellent and mature Westerns like "Yellow Sky" and "The Gunfighter," 20th Century Fox put Gregory Peck into this cliche-ridden, badly mounted, and poorly directed cavalry picture. Although Peck had a good supporting cast, they were unable to make anything memorable or even sensible out of a miserable, ineptly plotted script. Virtually every scene is riddled with logical inconsistencies, and the characters spend so much time sniping and snarling at each other that one can't help but root for the Apaches, who were introduced here yet again as the movie industry's all-purpose Injun villains. As a genuine Peck fan, I prefer to forget this particular outing.
Review of Only the Valiant
