This is a decent film though there's really nothing about it that makes it especially memorable. I think this is made worse by the fact that the film stars Gregory Peck and he went on to make MANY better westerns. This one just seems pretty pedestrian.

The movie is a combination of a B-style western about the cavalry and THE DIRTY DOZEN, as Peck is in charge of a small detail of misfit soldiers who are trying to stem off a major Indian attack. The problem is that despite SOME similarities to THE DIRTY DOZEN, the writing just isn't that good at times and the reasoning why Peck took this group of degenerates on the mission seems really stupid--I mean putting the safety of everyone back home in the hands of people who only cared about saving their sorry butts. In reality, such a group would have either deserted or shot their C.O. and then deserted.

Only the Valiant isn't a great movie, but it is a good one. It is sluggishly paced however, with some parts that feel drawn out, and there were times when the direction was lacking. That said, Only the Valiant is very well shot, the black and white cinematography looks good, and the scenery is authentic. Also good is the score, which is suitably rousing, the script is decently structured and the story is interesting while taking inspiration from Fort Apache and Red River. The acting ranges from decent to very good; I am not a huge Gregory Peck fan(I sometimes find him dull) but he does a good job as the ruthless and tight-lipped martinet officer, and Barbara Payton is luminous and pretty as Cathy. Ward Bond, Gig Young and Jeff Corey are much more impressive though. Overall, not perfect, but worth the look. 7/10 Bethany Cox

When Captain Richard Lance arrives are Fort Invincible he discovers the site of a massacre; every man stationed there is dead. There are still some of the Apaches who attacked present ransacking the site; one of them is Chief Tucsos. He captures the chief but his man want him killed believing that if he is dead his men will move on but if he is alive they will do whatever they can to rescue him. Lance accepts that this might be so but his orders are clear; he won't kill a man once he has been taken prisoner. The return to their own fort and Lance is ordered to arrange for the prisoner to be sent to another fort further away; he takes the mission himself but is ordered to stand down as the colonel thinks he is needed there. The man sent instead is his friend and rival for the affections of a woman at the fort; it is assumed he organised the replacement himself to get rid of a rival and when the detail is ambushed everybody blames him for the death of his friend. Now Tucsos is free it is only a matter of days before he attacks; in order to protect the fort Lance volunteers to take a small group of men back to Invincible to keep the Apaches pinned down as they try to come through a narrow pass that is the only way through the mountains. The men he selects to go with him aren't the best in the fort; they are the worst; they weren't selected because he thought they had hidden courage but because they would be the least missed when the Apaches broke through and attacked the main fort!

This western isn't a classic but it is entertaining. Rather than the wide open expanses of the open plains the action mostly takes place within the confines of the wrecked fort and in the narrow pass the men seek to block; this gives the film a rather claustrophobic feel. This is increased by the fact that the band of malcontents Lance selected are potentially as dangerous to him as the Apaches they are meant to be fighting. The group includes a drunken corporal, a bullying sergeant bitter that he never received a commission, a coward, a deserter and an Arab trooper who has already attacked Lance once before! I rather liked the fact that these men didn't all turn out to be heroes after all; some of them did but others remained true to their base character throughout. Gregory Peck puts in a solid performance as the by-the-book Captain Lance and the rest of the cast are entertaining; especially Ward Bond who played the drunken Cpl. Gilchrist. The only character I was unsure about was Trooper Kebussyan; this portrayal as a somewhat crazed Arab, always referred to as Ay-rab, would be considered racist in a more modern film. The conclusion features one of the oldest clichés in the genre but it can be forgiven as it was fairly exciting. Overall this was a decent western and while it is not a must see it is worth watching if you get the chance.