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Waste of time

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

A 1951 MGM color western, lapsed into public domain. Several copies available at YouTube: all with frequent washed out colors and slightly fuzzy image. Nonetheless, they are good enough for the determined viewer. Also available in "The Great American Western" DVD pack.The screenplay focuses on an unwed mother(Sally Forrest as Lily),and the question of who is the father. Lily won't tell and neither will the father, who doesn't want to suffer retribution at the hands of her 2 big brothers Hub(John Ireland) and Dick(Hugh O'Brien), or his wife or father. Although neighbor Hewie, a young ranch hand, has long had a crush on Lily, suspicion falls on Owen(Burt Lancaster): one of two brothers who run a neighboring ranch for their ailing father(Arch). Owen's guilt is assumed by some after he visits Lily, staying at a neighbor's house, and leaves her $500. Later, it's discovered that Owen's brother Lee(Robert Walker) withdrew $500. from their account, making his wife, Jen(Joanne Dru) assume that he is the likely father. She tells Owen she wants to leave, but Owen talks her into staying, although she locks Lee out of the bedroom. Owen has also figured out that Lee is the father but, like Jen, won't tell anyone. Lily's brothers still believe Owen is the father, and stick him up when he again visits Lily. Owen has a fist fight with one, until Lily appears with a rifle to end it, and send her brothers to jail for a week. I should explain that Owen was adopted as an orphan, while Lee is Arch's(father) natural son. Amazingly, the narrator in the introduction gets this backwards! Owen appears to be a little older and definitely taller and bigger. He's the foreman, and certainly more responsible than Lee. One wonders why Jen married Lee rather than Owen. Owen suggests to Lee that if he values his life, he best leave for other parts before Lily's brothers get out of jail. Lee sends mixed messages as to whether he is leaving. He asks for and receives a half ownership share of the father's ranch. Yet, he sells 3000 head of cattle, supposedly to get him started in parts unknown. Arch says that Owen will inherent the other half interest in the ranch when he(Arch)dies. Lee arranges for Lily's brothers to join the cattle herding, arranging with them to ambush Owen when Lee leads him to the place. Well, you can more or less guess what actually happens. Unfortunately, there is no hint whether Owen and Jen are likely to marry, or whether Owen or Hewie will likely marry Lily. Lily seems a pretty independent person, but my guess is she will eventually marry Hewie, as someone who will not try to be too dominating over her.

Brashly handsome Burt Lancaster (as Owen Daybright) and little brother Robert Walker (as Lee Strobie) return from a cattle round-up as their western town celebrates the arrival of a newborn baby. The kid is illegitimate, and sexy Sally Forrest (as Lily Fasken) isn't identifying the papa. You can bet it's either Mr. Lancaster or Mr. Walker, though (it's not much of a secret). Walker, by the way, is married to neglected Joanne Dru (as Jen); and, both women seem to be in competition for both men.It's also important to know that Lancaster is supposed to be the older "foster brother" of Walker, and helped their disabled father Ray Collins (as Arch Strobie) "raise" the little guy. Moving the plot along is the arrival of new mother Forrest's angry brothers John Ireland (as Hub) and Hugh O'Brian (as Dick); naturally, they want to kill the father of their new nephew. Though done well, this all comes across as dull. Lancaster and Walker are fine actors, but do not fit the story; Ms. Dru is underused.Also ill-served by the story is young ranch-hand Carleton Carpenter (as Hewie). He serves as the film's "narrator" and guide. Coincidently, Mr. Carpenter had a surprise multi-million-selling hit during this film's original release, as his "Aba Daba Honeymoon" recording with Debbie Reynolds outdistanced its introduction in "Three Little Words (1950). "Vengeance Valley" doesn't serve its personnel well, but Lancaster rode on to successfully mix western genre films in with his impressive repertoire.***** Vengeance Valley (2/6/51) Richard Thorpe ~ Burt Lancaster, Robert Walker, Carleton Carpenter, Sally Forrest

From the film's title you would think the story in the film has something to do with revenge, yet it's really more to do with opportunism. The idea that the son of a self made wealthy rancher would grow up spoiled has been explored in other westerns, while the adopted son would truly appreciate the values of hard work and sacrifice and thus earn more of the respect of the father than his own true son ever could. This of course drives the true son to want to get rid of the adopted one, even if they grew up the together and the adopted one always tried to cover for the numerous deficiencies of the true son. In this case wayward Sally Forrest has a child which is fathered by true son Robert Walker, while adopted son Burt Lancaster voluntarily takes the so-called blame. Walker is married to attractive Joanne Dru, who seems to instinctively know who the real father is, and after witnessing Walker take a whip to a horse, decides to dump him. Forrest's two brothers (Hugh O'Brien and John Ireland) are mistakenly after Lancaster's character instead of Walker's. Maybe it's their revenge that is at the heart of the film's title, though why they should want to kill the father of their sister's illegitimate child is not clear, other than being a typical Hollywood plot utilized in order to move things along. In any event, Walker does decide to take advantage of the two brothers' misplaced hatred for Lancaster and the plot actually isn't half bad once it gets going, when everyone is out on the range rounding up the cattle. Dru looks especially good, Lancaster is solid in his part, but Walker's character is the most interesting, with whatever vengeance he may feel towards Lancaster well concealed beneath a cool exterior.

Burt Lancaster's first Western is worth watching.Here's what I liked:Burt is at his charming best. Very likable character played with a lot of heart. Maybe the first in a long line of "cattle baron's adopted son foremen". See Arthur Kennedy in "the Man From Laramie" and Charlton Heston in "The Big Country".Robert Walker is excellent as the sniveling bounder.The movie abounds in heavies. John Ireland and Hugh O'Brian do a nice job playing a couple of mean brothers bent on revenge.Very unusual for its time to have an unwed mother at the center of the plot.Nice location shooting in the high Rockies. A lot of effort went into portraying a realistic cattle drive.Here's what wasn't so great:Plot and characterizations are a little too simplistic and melodramatic.Joann Dru took a step back for me in this one. Was it her hairdo? Can I be that superficial?Very little comic reliefA few plot holes, the worst of which is Burt Lancaster outdrawing Robert Walker in the end when is has been conclusively demonstrated previously that Walker is a faster draw. Also, the unwed mother was at the center of the plot, then disappears."Cattle baron" Westerns leave little room for Indian, Civil War and Mexican themes.