Valley of the Sun (1942)

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Though officially based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Clarence Buddington Kelland, RKO Radio's Valley of the Sun was obviously inspired by the blockbuster comedy western Destry Rides Again (indeed, both films were directed by George Marshall). James Craig stars as Indian scout Jonathan, whose… More Though officially based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Clarence Buddington Kelland, RKO Radio's Valley of the Sun was obviously inspired by the blockbuster comedy western Destry Rides Again (indeed, both films were directed by George Marshall). James Craig stars as Indian scout Jonathan, whose pro-Native American sentiments do not rest well with crooked civilian Indian agent Jim Sawyer (Dean Jagger), who intends to benefit from an impending tribal uprising. Court-martialed on a trumped-up charge fomented by Sawyer, Jonathan escapes the stockade with the help of a friendly sergeant and rides off to Washington DC, hoping to forestall an all-out Indian war. En route, he makes the acquaintance of Sawyer's snooty fiancee Christine (Lucille Ball), forcing her into a marriage for plot reasons too complicated to go into here. After juggling comedy and melodrama for nearly eight reels, the film turns serious towards the climax, when the fate of the protagonists falls into the hands of level-headed Indian chieftan Cochise (Antonio Moreno) and his hotheaded rival Geronimo (Tom Tyler). RKO's first big-budget western in several years, Valley of the Sun lost $158,000 at the box office, temporarily discouraging any followups. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.
Directed By: George Marshall
Written By: Horace McCoy
Genres: Western, Comedy

On DVD: Sep 27, 1989

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Cast

            Lucille Ball as Christine Larson

            James Craig as Jonathan Ware

            Cedric Hardwicke as Warrick

            Dean Jagger as Jim Sawyer

            Peter Whitney as Willie

            Billy Gilbert as Judge Homer Burnaby

            Tom Tyler as Geronimo

            Antonio Moreno as Chief Cochise

            George Cleveland as Bill Yard

            Hank Bell as Shotgun

            Richard Fiske as Lieutenant

            Stanley Andrews as Major

            Steve Clemente as Knife Thrower

            Chester Clute as Wilbur

            Iron Eyes Cody as Indian

            Frank J. Coleman as Men on Street

            Chester Conklin
            
            Fern Emmett as Spinster

            Al Ferguson
            
            Harry Hayden as Governor

            Harry Lamont
            
            Ethan Laidlaw as Johnson

            George Lloyd as Sergeant

            Tom London as Parker

            Francis McDonald as Interpreter

            Pat Moriarity as Mickey Maguire

            Bud Osborne as Rose

            Carl Sepulveda as Pickett

            Jay Silverheels as Indian

            Al St. John
            
            Don Terry as Lieutenant

            Carleton Young as Nolte

            Lloyd Ingraham
            
            George Melford as Dr. Thomas

            Ed Brady
            
            Chris Willow Bird as Apache Indian
See full cast

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