If you don’t go by the rules you lose…you lose everything.”. Douglas breaks out of jail, and rides off into the hills on his horse. By 1962 the end of the West was becoming a more frequent theme in generic Westerns like Ride the High Country, but Lonely Are the Brave argues that the West was still ending in that very year. Get moving. My complements in finding the scenes and presenting them on this web site as I had always been curious as well. An hour later, as we studied images from the film that I’d printed before we left, we finally came within inches of the spot. In the end. Once again it became a staple of my TV viewing, this time sharing it with my wife and small daughter, to whom it was just “Jack”. Lonely Are the Brave was a staple on the channel 13 noon movie during my childhood in central Iowa. Why are Shaggy and Scooby always chosen to lead the monster to the trap? jack Burns was not fictional, According to Dr. mark Simmons NM historian Ed Abby based the Brave Cowboy on the exploites of a Jim Humphries. How long was a sea journey from England to East Africa 1868-1877? In fact, the small adobe home was near the Tramway Road. It has become one of my favorites. I also mountain bike and hike out along the volcanoes and just two days ago almost stepped on a rattlesnake! I recorded it off Tcm there is a great intro with Ben mancovitz and Robert Wagner. I know that obsessed feeling, Jim, of trying to track down exact old places. I hike all of the trails in the Sandias on a regular basis, but I was surprised that Jim neglected to mention the “Movie Trail” in the article. Nick — Lonely are the Brave Daryl Powell — The Apartment jprichard — Persona Ally Shina — The Jungle Book Mike Sweeney — Planet of the Apes Mark Twain — The Loved One Liz Warner — The Manchurian Candidate Michael Waters — Dr. No. I just recently bought The Brave Cowboy when I learned Lonely are the Brave was based on a book. He's the last of his kind, the wandering cowboy. ‘Lonely are the Brave’ was finally released on DVD in 2009, in its original wide-screen format. I feel, unwittingly, a bond with Kirk in that regard. Some of those elements were present (shootouts) in Lonely Are the Brave, but they were greatly subdued in comparison. That opened the floodgates to further development. Lonely The Brave "Trick Of The Light (Alternative Ending)": Head is spinning like it’s never done before, And I don’t think I’ll be sleeping anymore. Log In. A late afternoon dust storm that reduced visibility almost to zero and shorter days cut our time short. Finally, this story will only have meaning to you if you’ve seen the film. Part "Western," part family drama, part prison film, part chase, "Lonely are the Brave" is a low-key epic simply but boldly depicting the age-old conflict of … I also wonder about the rock slide area where Jack is leading Whisky up the slope with small boulders tumbling down. It seemed like such a quiet place in 1962. This is where things really got depressing. Does anyone know? Once I could watch the film on demand, the landscape of that film became as familiar to me as my own backyard. In his memoir Conversations with Kennedy, Ben Bradlee wrote, "Jackie read off the list of what was available, and the President selected the one [film] we had all unanimously voted against, a brutal, sadistic little Western called Lonely Are the Brave.". When we ducked under the fence on the park boundary we realized we’d been in a ‘CLOSED AREA,’ and that entering the monument at this point was restricted by the National Park Service. That’s Abbey and ‘Brave Cowboy’ in 1956. Is oxygen really the most abundant element on the surface of the Moon? I don’t think many of Sandia Height’s residents would look at Jack Burns as anything more than riff raff…a saddle tramp trespassing on their property. Pulling stills from the film, we could identify a busy four lane highway, the Sandias in the background and a truck stop in the middle distance. At a point a quarter mile west of the pavement, we found a junk yard of sorts. The trail clung to the bottom of a rocky talus slope and seemed determined to keep us from getting on top of the mesa where we needed to be. Other than tectonic activity, what can reshape a world's surface? Both authors clearly mean it to show Kennedy as a selfish potentate. Thus Burns breaks out on his own and is afterwards being chased by sheriff Johnson with helicopters and jeeps. I look forward to a continuation of your research. Jim – your introduction to the West sounds similar to mine. The Magazine Basic Theme by bavotasan.com. See more of Lonely The Brave on Facebook. Thank you for finding some of the landscapes seen in Lonely Are the Brave. But we could not find the cemetery. But as we looked more closely at the business that resides there now, we incredibly found a remnant of the original sign. In the years following that first viewing of ‘Lonely are the Brave,’ the only way to see it again was to keep a close eye on the tv movie listings; there was no chance then, that the film would re-appear in theaters. And a road sign warned each approaching vehicle: PARKED VEHICLES MUST DISPLAY It was perfect. And despite signs that the law is getting closer, there is comfort in being back in the wilderness, as it was meant to be. I rented the movie on DVD after seeing it mentioned at the Hollywood Southwest exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum early in 2017. Forgot account? Within two years I realized my dream of moving west, relocating to Wyoming. The ending is truly an ironic one as the cowboy loses that part of him that makes him a unique American icon. I had learned years earlier that the setting of the film, in and around Duke City, New Mexico, was and always has been, in fact, a moniker for Albuquerque and environs. I also heard tell of a radio tracked lion that was tracked through Albuquerque, with no sightings reported. 4th street just to the west was highway 85 and it was busy as well. All Rights Reserved. He rejects much of modern technology, not even carrying any identification such as a driver's license or draft card. Kirk Douglas purchased the film rights and had Dalton Trumo do the script. Hearing the news, Sheriff Bondi stares east to the Sandias and speculates, “Cowboy, I bet you’re above the foothills already.” And that’s exactly where Burns rides to make his escape–up the foothills to the top of Sandia peak, where “a carpet of pine needles, all the way to Mexico,” awaits him. Someone once told me that the tram was under construction during the filming and the crew was able to gain access to several film locations that would have previously been impossible to reach. The cavalier motel sign you found is much further south a few miles on 4th st. The basic plot line as I recall was Douglas goes to visit a friend. Lonely Are The Brave hail from Cambridge, England and consist of singer David Jakes, guitarists Mark Trotter and Joel Mason, bassist Andrew Bushen and drummer Gavin 'Mo' Edgeley. thanks, Andres. Hence, Duke City. As Jack saddles his horse, he sees a cougar perched on a boulder above him. Absolutely don't miss Lonely Are The Brave when it is broadcast, especially fans of Kirk Douglas. I think it was great that Kirk Douglas filmed the movie at the actual locations in the book. He eyes the mountain lion with respect and appreciation. If you know the Albuquerque area and can offer additional information, or corrections, I welcome your observations. Another factor could be that Kirk Douglas in his own words tended to play villains, so maybe people were reacting to him as the lead and making assumptions. More revelations lay ahead…. President John F. Kennedy watched the movie in the White House in November 1962. Or to find old photographs, or to find old records like construction or demolition permits. What is a common failure rate in postal voting? In the film, Burns escapes from jail, after breaking in to it and is unable to convince his pal Bondi to escape with him. Is it more helpful in any way to worship multiple deities. The author, Alex Cox, argues that Ben Bradlee purposely mischaracterized the movie because he was trying to paint President Kennedy as the type of person who would choose the movie that his companions least wanted to watch: Bradlee's story is quoted by Gary Wills in The Kennedy Imprisonment. Duke City has changed since 1956, when Abbey wrote the novel, or 1962 when the story came to the screen. You ever notice how many fences there are getting to be? Along the way,  I discovered the author Edward Abbey, and I read ‘Desert Solitaire’ again and again. However that doesn't seem to fit either if the person being quoted above (I assume this is Jackie Kennedy) saw the movie and is remembering it as "brutal" and "sadistic.". Trapped for the time being in Kentucky, I still kept my watch on mountain time. 43,980 people follow this. A guy like that can't live off the land anymore because there's no land for him to live off of. So, basically I wanted to tip you off about the Movie Trail, and secondly, I wondered if you know anything else about the actual filming on the slopes and how they were able to work with that horse on such rugged terrain. I’ve been posting about this on FB. This movie came to mind just yesterday, Kirk Douglas’ 100th birthday. Perhaps he was. If Jack Burns found the city uninhabitable then, what would he think of Albuquerque and the American Southwest now? He finds out that her husband is in jail for giving aid to illegal Mexican immigrants. About See All. All the News That Causes Fits… Since 1989, Lonely are the Brave: Revisited…by Jim Stiles. I have been in Albuquerque for decades and spend a lot of time in the Sandias, running, hiking, biking and actually live on the boundary line of the Petroglyph National Monument. My best candidate for the location that’s consistent with shots from all angles in the film is the NE corner of the intersection of Edith Blvd and Tyler Rod NE, where there is a sign for the Salida del Sol subdivision. The 2014 article does not go into that in very much detail.. So many times Hollywood will mutilate a book when they make a film of it. To comment, scroll to the bottom of the page. Speaking of which, where did Gina Rowlands put the money she sneaks inside Jack’s Storm Rider when he’s getting ready to head for the hills? Lonely The Brave Lyrics "Trick Of The Light" My head is ringing like it’s never done before And I don’t think I’ll be sleeping anymore Your legs are twisted and your fingernails are claws You stood there with your face turned to the door I said “Am I doomed forever, will this ending never come, I introduced some of my neighbors to the film a few years ago, and we thought at the time that the filming location was at the mouth of Dominga Baca Canyon, where there is a stone cabin similar to the one in the film. Lonely Are the Brave and the Millennials: Friendships and Sociality. The members include Jack Bennett (vocals), Mark Trotter (lead guitar), Gavin Edgeley (drums), Andrew Bushnen (bass), and Ross Smithwick (rhythm guitar) who joined the band in 2014. This seems especially strange since most Westerns generally involved killing scores of Native Americans and/or big shootouts. To find the location of the Bondi home, we realized it was far closer to the Sandias than we’d first imagined. There was a pair of nesting peregrine falcon, so the blocked it and it never reopened. 43,986 people like this. I could go on and on but I’ll stop here and say thank you for your appreciation of West that matches mine. However, I am proud of the ones I will tell you about, especially those I made through my own production company Bryna. We parked at the Monument parking lot and followed a heavily marked designated trail that, in fact, was edged by a steel barrier. We came to visit Albuquerque in ’69, before i-40, so i saw Tijeras Canyon before it all got changed by the interstate but i have never figured out where they were! Great job with the photos and notes. it was filmed in Corales, the Sandias including the highway final scene in Tijeras Canyon. or. Even though ScreenPix is a free movie channel for most packages (replacing Starz Encore) it’s found through ‘Premium Channels’. The Big Chief Truck stop. FYI: the movie is now showing on Screen Pix Westerns on Xfinity On Demand until 12/31/20. Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest performances as an out-of-place cowboy in the modern west--almost like a time traveller. It sort of dead ends near the “Prow” a huge rock formation that is prominent in the movie. Soon jack Burns’ campsite will be lost to suburbia…. The Japanese 7th and 1st divisions were now Fall advancing on the western main line; the soul of the Part, defence, the brave and capable General Kondratenko, Arthur had been killed on the 15th of December, and though the Japanese seem to have anticipated a further stand,' Stessel surrendered on the 2nd of January 1905, with 24,000 effective and slightly wounded and 15,000 wounded and sick … Impeccably directed, written, acted, paced and with a Jerry Goldsmith music score that should be on CD, this film is a moving must-see. It was similar to Sam Peckinpah's "Ride the High Country" and other films meditating on cowboy as beloved anachronism. Regarding the comment about mountain lions, the Journal had a story just the other day about a mountain lion in a back yard at Eubank and Menaul. The locals viewed the west mesa as a convenient place to dump old appliances or shoot up the rock art. Our Google street view map, in fact, failed to show some of the new paved roads that have been added in just the past couple of years. Like Kirk Douglas himself, I chose this as my favorite movie. SCENE 3…The Mystery Highway – is 2nd street and the truck stop in the background is the “Big Chief” . Out there is the real world and it has real borders and real fences, real laws and real trouble. The 1962 classic is about a 20th-century cowboy at mortal odds with modern life — a roaming spirit who won’t be stopped by wire fences, prison bars, search helicopters or sadistic lawmen. A bulletin board listed those pesky rules and regulations that Burns despised. I was as broke as I’ve ever been but somehow found the $23 I needed to buy Abbey and Hyde’s ‘Slickrock.’ I opened the large format book to the end piece, to the author biographies. When Burns escapes jail, I see a Clark’s Department store in the scene. I have forgotten most of them, and so has the public. We could find no trace of the little Bondi home as it appeared in the film, but we did spot one adobe home, very near the “Bondi place,” that bears some resemblance to the original, though it has been greatly expanded and ‘improved.’. The SP didn’t go to Albuquerque or Bernalillo and in the areas of New Mexico that it did operate, I don’t think the scenery fits. VALID RECREATIONAL PASS. SCENE 2…the Volcanoes. Later, after we were home, I may have found it after all, via a Google street view. thanks so much for your research on one of the best movies ever——. Many of the places in the Sandia mountains shown during Burns’ escape are familiar to hikers. Now I own the DVD, but limit my viewing to avoid finally tiring of it. In 2014, a mountain lion wouldn’t stand a chance here. the scenery looks more like the SP lines around LA, Chattsworth and towards Tehachapi. I could tell it was painful for Jack to come to this realization that those vistas will soon be gone. So I turned my focus to finding the Bondi Hacienda location. My first trip west out of North Florida was as a 14 yr old boy scout headed for Philmont scout ranch in northern New Mexico in 1960. We had no choice but to duck under the railing and pick our way through the rocks to the mesa above. Where do they go to escape the world today?….”. The opening scene of the film unfolds on the scrub desert below The Volcanoes, or the Three Sisters, on the far west edge of town. At any rate I have just begun to go through your back articles and wondered if there is a follow-up article to the original about the trip to Albuquerque and your efforts to locate specific filming sites for the movie. Still, just east of The Volcanoes, this film location lies within the boundaries of Petroglyph National Monument, a 12,000 acre federally protected area on the west side of Albuquerque and south of the opening scene by a couple of miles. He can't provide an address because he just sleeps wherever he finds a place. Don’t forget the Zephyr ads! I hope this turns out to be the location, because there’s a little park where the house would have been. I’d turned the channel to NBC to catch that week’s presentation of “Saturday Night at the Movies.” It was a western, a film I’d never heard of, ‘Lonely Are The Brave,’ starring Kirk Douglas and Walter Mattheau. Did we actually have a Clark’s here in Albuquerque? If you haven’t…stop. As Burns crosses a highway into a town in New Mexico, his horse Whiskey has a difficult time crossing the road, confused and scared by the traffic.