ONLY THE VALIANT (1951) ***1/2 OUT OF ****

 "Only the Valiant" qualifies as a pretty gritty western. This straightforward U.S. Cavalry versus Apaches saga is a solemn suicide mission with minimal humor. “Them” director Gordon Douglas stages this grim, harrowing, outdoors epic with gusto, and a brawny cast of hard-bitten hellions sweating bullets when they aren’t shooting them surrounds leading man Gregory Peck. Lon Chaney, Jr., Neville Brand, Ward Bond, Jeff Corey, and Steve Brodie constitute some of the cast. Ostensibly, "Colorado Territory" scenarist Edmund H. North and "A Place in the Sun" scribe Harry Brown adapted western filmmaker Charles Marquis Warren's taut novel. Basically, a squad of die-hard cavalrymen receive orders to prevent bloodthirsty Apaches from massacring defenseless white settlers. The chief dramatic complication is these cavalrymen don’t stand a chance in Hades. North and Brown adhere to Warren's novel for the most part. The last-minute revelation--when it seems our heroes are doom—is a corker! This frontier tale drums up a palatable aura of claustrophobia in the latter half of its 105-minute runtime. The stark black & white cinematography of "Going My Way" lenser Lionel Linden endows this adventure with a grim look that enhances its tension. Actor Michael Ansara, who later played the antagonist in "Guns of the Magnificent Seven," is extremely effective in a small role as the hated Apache leader Tucsos.

"Only the Valiant" opens with Army Scout Joe Harmony (Jeff Corey of “True Grit”) providing expository voice-over narration. "This is my stamping ground. I'm a scout for the Army. Had my work cut out for me for a long time. Behind that pass there is the whole 'Pache nation. (There is a map of the territory with the Flinthead Mountains stretching across the screen with a bottleneck pass.) They used to come swarming out of the pass killing everything in sight. Then we built a fort—Fort Invincible. It plugged up the pass, just like a cork in a bottle. Things was fine for a while. But them 'Paches is pretty smart. One day the bottle blew the cork plum apart." We are shown the burning remains of Fort Invincible with a dead man pinned to a stockade wall and a lance sticking out of his belly. Hidebound Captain Richard Lance (Gregory Peck of "12 O’Clock High") and his troopers charge in on horseback and capture Tucsos, and Joe Harmony (Jeff Corey of "True Grit") wants to shoot him on the spot. Harmony points out Tucsos is "the fella that started this whole business." Lance intervenes, "The Army doesn't shoot prisoners, Joe." Predictably, Harmony is aghast. "He's no common injun. He's just as near to a god as a fella can get. If you shoot him now, things will quiet down. Without Tucsos stirring them up, the rest of those Indians will get reasonable, just as fast as they can. You take him in alive, you'll have every 'Pache in the territory coming after him. We have had three years of this, you can stop it now." Just as predictably, Captain Lance refuses to kill Tucsos, and his decision to take the Apache back sets things into action.

Colonel Drum (Herbert Heyes of "Union Station") surprises Lance when he tells him Tucsos should have killed. As it is, they need to get Tucsos to another post. Everybody from the troopers to Joe Harmony know taking Tucsos to Fort Grant is asking him to die. The Apaches are poised like predators in the mountains, and the fort is blatantly under strength. Meantime, Douglas introduces us to Captain Eversham's daughter, Cathy (Barbara Payton of "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye") and young Lieutenant William Holloway (Gig Young of "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"). They play a peripheral part in the conflict. Lance and Holloway both want to wed Cathy. Clearly, Cathy prefers Lance. Meantime, Colonel Drum refuses to let Lance escort Tucsos to Fort Grant. Instead, Drum orders Lance to send Holloway in his place, shocking everybody. Lance has never changed an order. Furthermore, Lance saw Cathy and Holloway kissing in public. Everybody thinks Lance has reassigned Holloway out of sheer jealousy. Indeed, one officer observes that rewriting orders is about as sacrilegious as rewriting the Bible. Predictably, Tucsos escapes, and the surviving troopers accompanied by Harmony bring back  Holloway’s mutilated body.

Although Drum anticipates the arrival of a relief column of 400 troopers in ten days, Harmony explains Tucsos will launch an attack before they arrive. Since Tucsos was held captive in the fort, the wily Apache knows about the shortage of manpower. Lance wants to take six or seven men of his choosing to maintain Fort Invincible and thwart Tucsos from assembling a war party. A defile in the mountain pass keeps the Indians from riding through in full strength. Instead, they must pass through one-at-a-time. Lance believes his men can hold Invincible until the relief column shows up. Drum gives him permission, and Lance recruits the worst men. All of them hate him with a passion and crave the chance to kill him.

"Only the Valiant" exemplifies the new breed of military western emerging after World War II. This is not a gung-ho John Ford cavalry western with troopers serenading their commanders. Again, Lance's own men want to kill him. This foreshadows the attitude of troops during the Vietnam War when they fragged their officers. Lance bears the onus of Holloway’s death—except those few privy to the circumstances that prompted the change of orders sending Holloway in charge of the escort. The black & white photography enhances the grim nature of this western. "Only the Valiant" amounts to a last stand western until the last-minute reprieve. Reportedly, Peck hated this movie, but then it is not “The Gunfighter” with its anti-violence message. If anything, "Only the Valiant" lives up to its Warner Brothers origins. Small but significant, it bristles with melodramatic twists and turns and features lots of unsavory characters, virtually a "Dirty Dozen" western.

FILM REVIEW OF ''THE HOUR OF 13" (1952)

Although "The Hour of 13" (**1/2 out of ****)doesn't top its predecessor, this polished but minor MGM item still qualifies as an entertaining, above-average, mystery thriller with a good cast, atmospheric studio settings, and competent direction. Arguably, "The Hour of 13" ranks as one of Peter Lawford's better starring roles in his extremely uneven and spotty career as a leading man.

Released in 1952, during the notorious McCarthy era, this Harold ("Rob Roy, The Highland Rogue") French directed film looks as if it were subjected to harsher censorship than its 1934 original. Nevertheless, scenarists Howard Emit Rodgers & Leon Gordon integrate the approved social propaganda seamlessly into their screenplay about what happens when a vindictive serial killer who ices British Bobbies on the beat in cold blood crosses paths with a handsome gentlemen jewel thief in London sometime during the 1890s. The Terror, the name by which the killer is known, murders a policeman near a house where a dinner party is in progress. As it turns out, the Lawford character has just filched a valuable jewel from around a lady's neck and is in the process of making good his escape when he stumbles onto the dead bobby. Mistakenly, the police suspect that the serial killer and the jewel thief are one in the same. As Connor, a high-ranking Scotland Yard inspector, actor Roland ("Thunderball") Culver makes a tenacious adversary. When Lawford comes forward to testify that the British officer that the police have arrested could not have been the murderer, Connor suspects that the Lawford character may be the killer himself in this cat & mouse Victorian mystery-thriller. The Rodgers and Gordon dialogue is very British and wonder to listen to.

Between 1935 and 1968, the Catholic Church forced Hollywood filmmakers to alter their movies to accommodate the Legion of Decency or weather a boycott. This pressure advocacy group demanded that Hollywood show the police in a positive light and that criminals must be punished for their crimes. "The Hour of 13" does a splendid job of observing the Production Code while allowing us to sympathize with Peter Lawford's urbane jewel thief Nicholas Revel. No, I won't divulge the surprise ending, since it needs to be experienced first-hand to be enjoyed, but "The Hour of 13" should leave you satisfied. Incredibly, the police are smart for a change, though they make an occasional mistake (check out the 'switch the liquor glass' scene), and the Peter Lawford anti-hero (he does steal for a living) often finds himself in several suspenseful tight spots. When he isn't tangling with the serial killer, he is dodging the nimble-witted Connor and a number of undercover London policemen assigned to shadow his every move. Dawn Addams provides the romantic interest as the daughter of a London cop who is engaged to marry an Army officer. Initially, Scotland Yard suspected the Army officer because he was found with the dead policeman's helmet in his hands. It is interesting that the Lawford character has no love interest and that the Dawn Addams character remains devoted to her husband-to-be. Of course, when the suitor discovers that Revel and his intended have dined together often he is disturbed. The revelation of the serial killer's motives is a nice touch. The Connors character poses more of a threat to Revel than the serial killer.

Anybody who has perused any books about Frank Sinatra and the infamous Rat Pack, of which Lawford was a member until Frankie gave him the boot) or books about MGM stars will really enjoy "The Hour of 13." According to books like The Rat Pack and The Men of M-G-M, Lawford severely damaged his right arm during his youth. Reportedly, he smashed it through a French door and did more damage to it when he extracted it. Consequently, his right arm remained virtually useless, except for minor things such as shaking hands, opening & shutting doors, and holding books. He relied visibly on her left hand and often anchored his right in his pants pocket. Armed with that knowledge, you'll be able to fully savor Lawford's performance. In the long shots, in a scene set in a darkly-lit warehouse, our heroic jewel thief fights with the villain and uses his right arm. Clearly, this was a double, because Lawford could not have done this on-screen fracas because of his physical impairment. If you like inside production information, background stuff like this will elevate your appreciation of all things Lawford.

FILM REVIEW OF ''MASTER AND COMMANDER" (2003)

Watching the Russell Crowe Age of Sail epic "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" is enough to make anybody sea-sick. In other words, you'll get sick of seeing this formulaic flotsam of cliches long before its interminable 138 minutes has washed over you. Unlike those popular Errol Flynn swashbucklers from the 1930s, Gregory Peck's "Captain Horatio Hornblower" (1951), or the Johnny Depp "Pirates of the Caribbean" epics, "Master and Commander" takes itself far too seriously and features a predominantly male cast, with no damsels-in-distress awaiting rescue from depicable villains. The fleeting moments when women do appear on screen seem designed to reassure any doubting spectators about the heterosexual orientation of the entire HMS Surprise crew. Worse, "Master and Commander" lacks a hardcore villain in either character or physical stature. This lack of villainy undercuts director Peter Weir's film and its overall dramatic impact. The earliest glimpse that we catch of the villainous French captain is after Russell Crowe and crew have stormed their adversary's ship. Oops, did you ever doubt Russell wouldn't feast on frog legs at fadeout?

Nevetheless, this literate, authentic looking, tactical game of cat and mouse on the high seas set in the year 1805 between an under-gunned English vessel and a well-armed Napoleonic man-of-war excels in visual and narrative storytelling. Athough writer & director Peter Weir of "Gallipoli," "The Mosquito Coast," and "The Truman Show" fame and co-scenarist former physician John Collee have written well-thought out characters with clearly delineated motivations, they have failed miserably at making any of them charismatic, much less memorable. You won't find yourself cheering on Russell Crowe here as you might have in "Gladiator" because his character behaves like a good-two shoes.

Some will applaud the documentary verisimilitude that Aussie helmer Peter Weir brings to "Master and Commander" without exposing either the unsavory homoerotic or sadomasochistic undertones persasive in the British Navy during the 19th century. Weir and his collaborators must have poured considerable time and research into "Master and Commander" because each scene appears thoroughly credible, especially with regard to loading and firing cannon. Weir lensed this turbulent ocean-going voyage in the huge aquatic tank in Baja, Mexico, built for "Titanic." Meawnhile, others less enamored of historical detail may keep glancing at theircell phone clocks, chafing in eager anticipation for the inevitable comeuppance that ultimately takes too long to materialize. The battle scenes are the best that "Master and Commander" has to offer. Indeed, the ships appear genuine enough, whether either life-sized or miniature, and teh atmospheric cinematography always provides viewers with the most intereseting perspectives. Sadly, the drawn-out scenes on the Galapogos Islands amount to nothing more than malingering. Bloody without being sanguinary, Weir stages gritty action scenes, such as a broading party assault during a ship-to-ship battle, well enough. No, the violence in "Master and Commander" won't make you flinch like the graphic bloodshed in Mel Gibson's superior but bloody colonial epic "The Patriot." In a model of restraint, Weir has characters talk about the gore that occurs off screen and only shows its consequences on-screen. Okay, one guy does take a bullet between the eyes, but he doesn't stand around and talk about it. Unfortunately, if you dread closed confines, you'll find yourself sweating like a claustrophobic. Eighty per cent of "Master and Commander" transpires within the cramped confines fo the HMS Surprise. Meaning, time drags its sea legs between the first encounter with the French and the final showdown. No, "Master and Commander" dispenses with the rip-snorting escapades of the gender-bending Geena Davis swashbuckler "Cutthroat Island" and avoids the harsh rivalry between the skipper and subordinates of the 1962 Alec Guinness effort "Damn the Defiant." Suffice to say, were any 19th century British marines alive, they'd consider life aboard HMS Surprise more akin to a pleasure cruise than a British warship, but then that's Hollywood for you.

Four Hollywood studios banded together (Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films, and Samuel Goldwyn Films) to produce this colossal $150 million dollaryarn. "Writer & director Peter Weir and John Collee combined two of the late Patrick O'Brien's historical novels, "Master and Commander" and "The Far Side of the World," to serve as the basis for their above-average but predictable screenplay. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, "Master and Commander" opens with the Acheron, a mysterious but appropriately named French battleship, sneaking up on HMS Surprise and giving Captain 'Lucky' Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his crew the surprise of their lives. Not only does the rest of teh plot chart how Aubrey cleverly evades the French, but also his egoistical refusal to tuck his rudder between his sails. Half-way through the story, this phantom French ship reappears without warning and sends our heroes scurrying again, though they do cobble together a skillful ruse to mislead the enemy.

Once again, the British are cast as underdogs! Eventually, 'Lucky' Jack turns to his right-hand man, the ship's surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany, Crowe's co-star in "A Beautiful Mind") who shows his life-long friend how the study of biology can bail him out of tough straits. The biggest problem with this sumptuously produced reinactment of early 19th century naval warfare is its PG-13 realism about life on a British warship. Weir and his scenarist appear more committed to lecturing audiences about good citizenship than depicting events with nominal realism. Torn between the needs of his crew versus the demands of command, Crowe's Captain Aubrey emerges as hopelessly sentimental. Yes, one scene features a flogging, but Weir and company bring PG-13 restraint to the fore with a little blood in sight as possible when a crew member takes his lashes. Perhaps the worst misstep is a subplot about a wounded lad who lost his right arm to a French cannon ball. During the climactic fight, this fearless midshipman plunges into the battered Acheron with a single-shot musket pistol. Come on, give me a break, one-armed kids to the rescue! The other misstep occurs with the relationship between Aubrey and Maturin. They behave like clones of Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy from the "Star Trek" movies. Furthermore, their solitary interludes when they indulge their musical urges with violin and cello respectively seem wholly out-of-place in a briny, sea-faring saga.

Altogether, despite its top-drawer production values, gorgeous cinematography, and inspired staging of its sea battles, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" fall far short of those entertaining swashbucklers of yesteryear. Furthermore, its obsession with gratuitous good citizenship propaganda, its abysmal lack of a villain, and a shortage of charismatic heroes nearly sinks this ambitious yarn.