Lonely Are the Brave

Albuquerqueans in particular might enjoy Lonely Are the Brave, a modern-day western filmed largely in the Sandia Mountains. Kirk Douglas is a throw-back cowboy who breaks out of jail and heads for the crest on horseback to escape the sheriff’s posse (in jeeps and helicopters). It’s in black and white and difficult to see anything in the distant shots of Albuquerque — except that there wasn’t anything anywhere close to the mountains in those days (the film was released in 1962).

Walter Matthau is the ambivalent sheriff, George Kennedy a sadistic deputy. Look for future television stars Carroll O’Connor, WIlliam Schallert and Bill Bixby. Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo from a novel by Edward Abbey.

NewMexiKen once read that Douglas thought this was his best performance.

The film has been making the rounds on cable a lot lately.