Valley of the Sun

This film was a surprise to me with it's surprisingly sassy and witty dialogue bantered about in what is essentially a western.

Army Scout turned fugitive Jonathan Ware runs into Jim Sawyer on a stage coach and they get off on a bad foot. Then while trying to take a bath he happens to run into Jim Sawyer's cook turned fiancé Christine Larson. This begins a humorous romp trying to foil Jim Sawyer and Christine's wedding which ends up with the three of them plus the minister being caught and held hostage by a tribe of native Americans. Jim Sawyer is apparently the Native Agent and he has been stealing from them for which they want retribution via his death. Against his better judgment m, Johnathan Ware, vouches for Jim and guarantees not only the return of their property but more. Later Jim double crosses both the Natives and Jonathan...eventually allowing Christine to see him for who he truly is and to see Jonathan in a better light. The film eventually comes full circle in another stage coach.

There are some great brawls and some really good Native American hoop dancing...but the best part of this film is the hate to love romance between Lucille Ball and James Craig. (For once she plays it completely straight!)

This was more fun that I expected and was quite enjoyable for a western. Not high on my must see list...more of a sleeper that maybe you should check out.

A fine cast and solid production values make this RKO Radio Pictures big-budget Western a success, ably directed by George Marshall, whose "Destry Rides Again" was an all-time classic.

The sympathetic treatment of the Indians in this picture is not surprising given the humanistic approach Marshall and his talented screenwriter Horace McCoy adopted. Even the bad guys, notably a corrupt Government Agent (Dean Jagger)who's been cheating the Indians, are treated with sympathy when not made foolish by our happy-go-lucky hero James Craig. And Lucille Ball is terrific as the feisty heroine.

Not being a particular fan of westerns, I watched this primarily because I wanted to see Lucille Ball in something other than an "I Love Lucy" or "Lucy Show" type of role. Here she plays Christine Larson, owner of a saloon in the Arizona Territory in 1868 who's about to be married to the unscrupulous local Indian agent (Dean Jagger.) Ball's performance was OK - nothing really more than that; she didn't blow me away. It succeeded for me in that the role was very different from what I'm accustomed to seeing her in - there was very little of the outrageous physical comedy she later became famous for, although the movie tried to maintain a gently amusing feel throughout. (A typical funny line - "there's two ways to deal with women - and no one knows either one of them!") I didn't find the story all that compelling, although I appreciated that the Indians were shown as the victims of the Indian agent. There's typical shootout action and a lot of horses - your typical western in other words. As to Christine - we pretty much can guess from the beginning how her planned marriage is going to end up; it's just a question of how she's going to get there. If you like westerns, this would be a pretty typical one with a bit of humour thrown in. If you're not big on the genre, this will be lacking. I'm not big on the genre. 3/10

RKO obviously made this 78 minute film as the extra attraction for double features. This Western is better made than a lot of RKO's second B pictures.

James Craig and Lucy have some spark as a couple. The plot makes sense. There is even some humor. The script writers do pretty well.

There are some action moments between the humor and the romance. This is worth watching just because it is Lucy doing something different. This is still quite a few years before Lucy and Desi would buy the RKO studios in the 1950's and make it into a television juggernaut.

Lucy gets to stretch her comic acting here, long before her blossuming into a full fledged comedian. There are some silent folks like Billy Gilbert who appear in this one. This is 3 years prior to Lucy and Buster Keaton giving her comedy lessons at MGM in 1945. Still, you see the basis of her talent in this one.

Once again George Marshall, who directed DESTRY RIDES AGAIN, brings wit and sass to the old west. James Craig, who was a hit in the previous year's ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY for RKO, does a fine job as the amiable hero. Lucille Ball displays a large amount of her comic abilities, both physical and character with some wonderful double takes. Even Dean Jagger, usually a very dour character indeed, has fun in VALLEY OF THE SUN. The story is slight, friend of the Indians tries to prevent the wedding of a girl he's met with the man who turns out to be the crooked Indian agent. More important than the actual plot are the progressive set pieces that evoke laughs and thrills. Billy Gilbert is a riot as the stuttering, sneezing (only one) judge; Cedric Hardwicke is an enigmatic immigrant; Antonio Moreno wears a false beak as the Indian chief; and western star Tom Tyler appears as Geronimo in a terrific scene where he challenges Craig. Seeing this movie puts the lie to all that hogwash that's been printed about Tyler having to play crippled Kharis in THE MUMMY'S HAND two years earlier because he himself was crippled with arthritis. Excellent musical score by Paul Sawtell is the icing on the cake.

I highly recommend this spirited horse opera.