Valerie

Valerie is directed by Gerd Oswald and written by Leonard Heiderman and Emmett Murphy. It stars Sterling Hayden, Anita Ekberg and Anthony Steel. Music is by Albert Glasser and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo.

John Garth (Hayden) is arrested and put on trial for the wounding of his wife Valerie (Ekberg) and murder of her parents. The trial hinges on three testimonies, each telling in flashback what actually unfolded to lead up to the bloodshed. But who is telling the truth?

Set in the West, a murder mystery with a noirish edge, with crisp black and white photography keeping things in the ream of sombre, Valerie is a mixed bag. Yet it works as entertainment, the screenplay has some surprises in store, where it's not afraid to paint a world of wanton desires, seedy suspicions, violent mistreatment and possible war tainted masochistic tendencies. The court case at the centre of tale throws up the sometimes fragility of the law, with some biased spice and hurtful hearsay added into the mix, and it all builds nicely to a dramatically bleak finale.

Hayden delivers one for his fans, all straight backed machismo and menacing drawl, and Ekberg scores well as a scenic beauty who deftly pulls off a dual portrayal that calls for seduction or victim credibility. Steel, Ekberg's real life beau, is a bit lightweight but doesn't harm the drama, while there's not much airy landscapes to enjoy (filmed on location at Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth). Still, this is very much one for fans of the stars to seek out, whilst noir and Western fans will find pleasures too. 7/10

We get 82 minutes to appraise the character of beautiful Anita Ekberg, daughter of immigrants, who married her off to prominent land baron/cattleman Sterling Hayden, driven a bit crazy by his Civil War experiences. Her one friend is the mild-mannered Minister, Anthony Steel, Ekberg's real life husband at the time. Can her marriage survive Hayden's Jekyll and Hyde cruelties? Director Gerd Oswald excelled at directing low budget films, often on a short schedule, like five days. His staging is brilliant. His best work may have driven the early '60s TV hit, "The Outer Limits" to ratings glory, in 14 episodes. "Valerie" is a nuanced, unsettling story of domestic terror.

Sterling Hayden is the biggest rancher around. He's also on trial for killing his in-laws and critically wounding his wife, Anita Ekberg. On the witness stand he tells a tale of betrayal by Miss Ekberg with handsome pastor Anthony Steel and unremitting carping by the older people. But when his wife gives testimony on her sickbed, a different version may emerge.

There's a bit of RASHOMON impulse her,e an attempt to use a subjective camera from several several viewpoints. It ultimately gives way to the objective standard; there can be only one truth. It is, however, the playing around with that uncertainty that lends this movie its initial interest. In the end, alas, it becomes a peculiarly squeamish piece of brutality, with scars from burns neatly blackened circles of smooth skin. It was the odd screen persona that Hayden cultivated in the 1950s: low-affect anger that Huston used so effectively in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE became his stock in trade, a character who couldn't feel like a human being. Unfortunately it hangs too apparently over this movie, removing all ambiguity.

I've seen another movie entitled "Valerie" but it was a bit different from movie I saw last with same actors, and actress! The story was similar in that the husband thought his wife was cheating on him with his brother and with their church pastor. I remember events being different how Sterling Hayden told Valerie that he paid her parents for her hand, not they paid him. Her parents didn't have a lot of money. True that she didn't love him cause she was courting both his brother outright, and the pastor on the sneak. I'm NOT understanding why if he had lots of valuable land then why would he accept money from her parents selling Valerie to him?!? He wasn't a poor man! I know this is weird but I know I watched two different versions of this movie at different times. The first time I watched movie I DIDN'T catch it from the beginning but saw enough to remember movie. The second one I saw last night was a bit different. The same storyline and characters but the details were a but different.😒🤔

Like in "the iron sheriff" ,which also features Hayden as the lead,the movie begins when many important events happened .

In this whodunit disguised as western, the hero wanted to piece together the past ,meeting several suspects ,during his son' s trial .We watched the story through different eyes .

The same goes for "Valerie" which is nothing but a long flashback;whereas the scenes are told by the hero or his lawyer or by the showdown's victim,the story takes an entirely new meaning .The main inspiration is not the traditional western,but rather Japanese Kurosawa's "Rashomon"(1950) -which was remade by Martin Ritt as ""the outrage" (1964) The story sustains interest throughout ,except for the final scenes which are botched.Anita Ekberg possesses enough ambiguity to pass for an angel or a demon.Sterling Hayden is ,as usual,an imposing individual,even in the scenes of his trial when he is supposed to keep a low profile.