‘Only the Valiant’: The movie Gregory Peck called “the worst film I ever made”
There are some names that have been truly written into the very history of Hollywood and the legendary Gregory Peck is certainly considered such a name. After all, Peck was one of the most popular stars of Classic Hollywood and gave some of the most memorable performances in cinema from the 1940s to the 1970s.
After an early period acting on the stage, including three efforts on Broadway, Peck began to establish himself as a star of the big screen, particularly beginning with his turn in The Keys of the Kingdom. Before long, Peck was a Hollywood hit and proceeded to give some of the most memorable acting moments of all time.
His remarkable performances in the likes of Roman Holiday, Spellbound, Moby Dick, The Omen, and To Kill a Mockingbird made Peck one of the most recognisable faces on the big screen. Still, even someone with the cultural pull and sheer talent of Peck could occasionally deliver a bit of a stinker movie, as he found well in 1951.
In an interview with Bill DeYoung in 1995, Peck admitted that Only the Valiant was the “worst film I ever made”, one that was certainly on the “negative side” of his career. Produced by James Cagney’s younger brother William and directed by Gordon Douglas, Only the Valiant saw Peck play Captain Richard Lance, a graduate of the West Point military academy who loses popularity from the men under his command.
Even though Peck indeed considers the film to be the low point of his career, he admitted that there is also a “funny” side to the story of his involvement. Around the time of the film, Peck had been a freelance actor, although he had a “commitment” to David O. Selznick, who himself had a commitment to make a picture and when the two came together, Peck was set to be paid $65,000, which “sounds like small potatoes today, but those were different times”.
Before long, Peck was summoned to Warner Bros for “fittings for a western”, but the actor was taken by surprise, having not read the script, telling Selznick’s aide, “What do you mean, I haven’t read it. I have to read this. This is very sudden.” Selznick’s aide responded by telling Peck that Selznick had “sold” him to Warner Bros. for $150,000 because he was “a little short on cash”.
“Everybody was surprised,” Peck explained. “David avoided me. And I went and made the damn thing. And the crowning insult was, when I went to the wardrobe fittings, I was a cavalryman. It was an Indian-fighting picture. They had pants and a shirt and a hat, boots, ready for me.” Not only did Peck have to make a film that he would rather not have, but he also had another surprise coming for him when it came to the movie’s wardrobe.
The actor continued, “And as I was pulling on the pants, I saw somebody’s name inside. And it was ‘Rod Cameron’. He was an old-time leading man, sort of a western type. Big tall guy. Mostly, he played tough guys, and he played in westerns. So I wore a second-hand wardrobe.” The moment was one of embarrassment for Peck, and the truth was that things concerning Only the Valiant pretty much got worse from there. Still, at least he was able to see the funny side of things.
