1962·Western·1h 47m
7.1
★
A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary.
Directed by David Miller
helicopter
sheriff
based on novel or book
escape
independence
loyalty
horse
modern society
male friendship
prison escape
jail
fugitive
on the run
black and white
modern-day western
jailbreak
smart horse
prison drama
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Kirk Douglas
John W. "Jack" Burns
Gena Rowlands
Jerry Bondi
Walter Matthau
Sheriff Morey Johnson
Michael Kane
Paul Bondi
Carroll O'Connor
Hinton
William Schallert
Harry
George Kennedy
Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
Karl Swenson
Rev. Hoskins
Martín Garralaga
Old Man
Lalo Rios
Prisoner
Audrey Betz
Bar Patron (uncredited)
Bill Bixby
Airman in Helicopter (uncredited)
Crew
David Miller
Director
Dalton Trumbo
Screenplay
Jerry Goldsmith
Original Music Composer
Philip H. Lathrop
Director of Photography
Kirk Douglas
Executive Producer
Bud Westmore
Makeup Artist
Edward Abbey
Novel
Bob Herron
Stunts
Michael Douglas
Assistant Editor
Jerry Goldsmith
Orchestrator
Popular Reviews
17 reviews
Bryce
8.0★ · 09/16/25
Lonely are the brave presents great cinematography and an amazing lead from Kirk Douglas. What I thought this was originally was a wild west modernization movie instead we get a cowboy lost in modern times struggling to adjust to a world that doesn't need his kind of people any more.
Burns holds nothing that connects him to the world no address, no ID no anything. Which makes this even more gutwrenching his friend Paul is the incitor of this movie, but he can't live Burns' type of life he can't run and run when he has a family to look after burns can because he has absolutely nothing.
So burns escapes the prison which in turn breaks him out of societal norms and any chance he had of an innocent life.
The final half is amazing Douglas treks up the mountains with his horse warring with the modern world shooting down helicopters and he makes it.
But one thing this movie does amazingly is setting plot points up a truck we saw 25 minutes into a movie appears once again and then it clicks what is about to happen similar to the start Douglas is in the middle of the road waiting to pass and then he gets hit.
What an amazing way to callback and structure your story a very good and emotional film about a man who had nothing at all to live for, but a past ideal from another time well before him.
Burns holds nothing that connects him to the world no address, no ID no anything. Which makes this even more gutwrenching his friend Paul is the incitor of this movie, but he can't live Burns' type of life he can't run and run when he has a family to look after burns can because he has absolutely nothing.
So burns escapes the prison which in turn breaks him out of societal norms and any chance he had of an innocent life.
The final half is amazing Douglas treks up the mountains with his horse warring with the modern world shooting down helicopters and he makes it.
But one thing this movie does amazingly is setting plot points up a truck we saw 25 minutes into a movie appears once again and then it clicks what is about to happen similar to the start Douglas is in the middle of the road waiting to pass and then he gets hit.
What an amazing way to callback and structure your story a very good and emotional film about a man who had nothing at all to live for, but a past ideal from another time well before him.
Lonely are the brave presents great cinematography and an amazing lead from Kirk Douglas. What I thought this was originally was a wild west modernization movie instead we get a cowboy lost in modern times struggling to adjust to a world that doesn't need his kind of people any more.
Burns holds nothing that connects him to the world no address, no ID no anything. Which makes this even more gutwrenching his friend Paul is the incitor of this movie, but he can't live Burns' type of life he can't run and run when he has a family to look after burns can because he has absolutely nothing.
So burns escapes the prison which in turn breaks him out of societal norms and any chance he had of an innocent life.
The final half is amazing Douglas treks up the mountains with his horse warring with the modern world shooting down helicopters and he makes it.
But one thing this movie does amazingly is setting plot points up a truck we saw 25 minutes into a movie appears once again and then it clicks what is about to happen similar to the start Douglas is in the middle of the road waiting to pass and then he gets hit.
What an amazing way to callback and structure your story a very good and emotional film about a man who had nothing at all to live for, but a past ideal from another time well before him.
Burns holds nothing that connects him to the world no address, no ID no anything. Which makes this even more gutwrenching his friend Paul is the incitor of this movie, but he can't live Burns' type of life he can't run and run when he has a family to look after burns can because he has absolutely nothing.
So burns escapes the prison which in turn breaks him out of societal norms and any chance he had of an innocent life.
The final half is amazing Douglas treks up the mountains with his horse warring with the modern world shooting down helicopters and he makes it.
But one thing this movie does amazingly is setting plot points up a truck we saw 25 minutes into a movie appears once again and then it clicks what is about to happen similar to the start Douglas is in the middle of the road waiting to pass and then he gets hit.
What an amazing way to callback and structure your story a very good and emotional film about a man who had nothing at all to live for, but a past ideal from another time well before him.
Elijah
6.5★ · 06/26/26
maga
10.0★ · 04/19/26
Gabriele
8.0★ · 04/06/26
Lucas
8.0★ · 11/25/25