Lonely Are The Brave

Lonely Are The Brave is based upon the novel, Brave Cowboy by Edward Abbey about a modern-day cowboy still living by the code of the Old West. Kirk Douglas stars (and Executive Produces) in this modern-day western saga as Jack Burns, a daring cowboy who gives a valiant attempt to free his friend from jail only to end up on the run alone. Walter Matthau plays the tough and wise sheriff who, despite his personal sympathy for the renegade, must bring him to justice. This is one of Douglas’ own personal favorites. The script by Delton Trumbo, who had at the time just emerged from Hollywood’s blacklist, develops various antiestablishment themes. The film was shot in New Mexico with a cast of then-unknowns (Walter Matthau, Gena Rowlands and in his screen debut, Carroll O’Connor).