LONELY ARE THE BRAVE (1962)

Kirk Douglas cited this 1962 Western as his favorite among his own work. In addition to starring, Douglas produced the feature after reading Edward Albey’s 1956 novel The Brave Cowboy, and reteaming with his Spartacus screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to pen the script. Douglas plays John W. “Jack” Burns, a cowboy drifter who bristles against the confines of modern life and goes on the run after attempting to break an old friend out of prison. “I love the theme that if you try to be an individual, society will crush you,” said Douglas of the film. The movie, which co-stars Gena Rowlands and Walter Matthau, made a good fit for the formerly blacklisted Trumbo, whose scripts often contained bristling critiques of oppressive systems. Although Universal treated the movie as just another oater, LONELY ARE THE BRAVE went onto earn a devoted following with Roger Ebert hailing the film as an “unrecognized masterpiece.” 

d. David Miller, 107m, 35mm

35mm print courtesy of Universal Pictures.