John W. 'Jack' Burns (Kirk Douglas) is an old fashion cowboy who rails against the modern world. He visits his friend's wife Jerry (Gena Rowlands). Jerry's husband Paul Bondi has been put in prison. Jack works to get into prison to break Bondi out. He gets into a bar fight. The cops are unwilling to put him in prison until he starts fighting them. He gets a year in prison. Inside, he finds Bondi unwilling to escape. Jack breaks out by himself. Sheriff Morey Johnson (Walter Matthau) leads the hunt for the decorated Korean vet fugitive as he heads for the hills.

Kirk Douglas is magnificent. The story is a little thin. Fugitive Jack reminds me of Rambo in First Blood. His journey is compelling. His relationship with his horse starts to grow on me and that ending got to me. The ending raises the movie an extra point.

Kirk Douglas has said often enough that Lonely Are The Brave is his favorite among the films he's done. I think of it the same way that Bette Davis says about Dark Victory that the role of Judith Traherne is 98% of me.

Like the film's Jack Burns Kirk Douglas has charted his own way through life in Hollywood the way Jack Burns does. Burns's problem is that he's a man born a century too late.

Run another of Kirk Douglas's classic westerns Man Without A Star side by side. Dempsey Rae in that film isn't too much different from Jack Burns, in fact they have opinions on certain subjects almost identical.

But the frontier that Dempsey dealt with in that film has changed, it just doesn't exist any more. But Burns won't recognize it. I'm also not so sure how much film and television have influenced 1962's Jack Burns in the way a cowboy should behave.

Kirk is returning to his home town from God knows what and meets up with Gena Rowlands who is married to his best friend Michael Kane. Kane's in jail for helping illegal immigrants cross the US/Mexican border. What to do but be a cowboy hero and bust him from jail. So Kirk gets himself in a nasty bar fight with one armed Bill Raisch and gets tossed in sheriff Walter Matthau's jail. While there Deputy George Kennedy works him over.

So when Kirk's ready to bust jail, Kane refuses to go to his surprise. But that doesn't stop Kirk who breaks loose and the chase is on.

The non-conformist part of Jack Burns certainly must have appealed to Kirk Douglas. He invests so much of himself in Burns it's hard to tell where Kirk leaves off and Burns begins. And he's one of the most appealing of all the roles Kirk Douglas has. You root for this law breaking maverick every step of the way.

Mention must also go to Walter Matthau as the wise and laconic sheriff who really does understand Douglas's mentality as no one else really does. In a lot of ways it's like the Charles Bronson classic Death Hunt where Mountie Lee Marvin truly is sorry he's on this particular job. Of course if Douglas had actually killed someone in eluding the law, Matthau's duty would have been clear.

The ending is truly an ironic one as the cowboy loses that part of him that makes him a unique American icon.

Absolutely don't miss Lonely Are The Brave when it is broadcast, especially fans of Kirk Douglas.

Supposedly this is one of Kirk Douglas' favorite films--probably because of his excellent performance. However, despite enjoying the film, it was not among my very favorite Douglas films--though I did enjoy seeing him play a gentler and more realistic character in this film. Overall, I just can't see LONELY ARE THE BRAVE in the same league as CHAMPION, SPARTACUS, SEVEN DAYS IN MAY or LUST FOR LIFE--these are truly great films. However, performance-wise, LONELY ARE THE BRAVE did probably feature the best performance by Douglas--just not the very best overall film.

So why did I like Douglas' performance? Well, though I have loved most of his films, Douglas is generally NOT a subtle actor and most of his performances are bigger than life (mush like most of Burt Lancaster's). You don't have the emotional outbursts like you'll see at the end of CHAMPION or LUST FOR LIFE. His character (Jack Burns) is so much more realistic and underplayed--making this a memorable film.

Burns is a rugged individualist who refuses to accept the 20th century. In his mind, his is a cowboy and the modern world is a joke. He lives by his rules and refuses to try to fit in with society. Generally this isn't a major issue, but when he rides his horse into town and gets himself arrested for no logical reason (other than to him),he accidentally sets off a chain of events that were unforeseen--making him the subject of a massive manhunt! How all this ends was pretty exciting, as there was a bit of vagueness to it that allowed for a variety of interpretations--which I really appreciated.

In addition to an excellent Douglas performance and a very good script, the film is improved by decent supporting performances--particularly that of Walter Matthau. While Matthau, like Douglas, often over-emotes (neither is the king of subtle),here he is very restrained and he fits the role very nicely.

Overall, a lovely and quiet sort of film. It lacks the intensity, scope and impact of many of Douglas' "great films" but is nevertheless a film well worth finding.