Born on December 9, 1916, Kirk Douglas lived a long and fruitful life until his death in 2020 at the age of 103. Over the decades, the Amsterdam, New York native starred in more than 90 films, in what is widely considered one of Hollywood’s most distinguished careers.
Douglas starred in dozens of epics, dramas, and war films, making his mark in the industry. This includes movies like spartacus (1960), Gaurav Path (1957), Ace in the hole (1951), to name a few examples.
Douglas is known for playing rebellious anti-heroes who challenged the typical cowboy ideal. His most memorable films include ok corral shooting (1957), war wagon (1967) and the man without a star (1955)
One particular Westerner, however, stands out. In 1962, Douglas starred opposite Michael Caine in the David Miller-directed film alone are brave.
Douglas played Jack Burns, a non-conformist cowboy who deliberately gets himself arrested to help his friend get out of jail. His friend, Paul (played by Caine), refuses, and Jack runs away on his own. This led to a massive search operation in the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico.
Kirk Douglas’ performance alone are brave hailed as one of his best
Irish Times Did a great job of selecting Douglas’s best performances from throughout his career. His portrayal of Jack alone are brave Was one of his “10 greatest performances”.
The Irish Times wrote, “A very brilliant latter-day Western features Kirk as an old-school cowboy on the run from the laconic – and largely sympathetic – Sheriff Walter Matthau. Brilliantly timed, the picture lamented frontier values as the movie Western was falling out of fashion. Feels like an influence on the first Rambo film.”
Critics have continued to embrace the film. Rotten Tomatoes gave it Tomatometer score 93%making it one of Douglas’ highest-rated films on the site.
alone are brave His picks as well as his best rankings on famous film review portals path to glory (96%), spartacus (93%) and A letter to three wives (100%).
As Douglass himself once expressed alone are brave Stands up for him on a personal level.
“Like I said, it’s my favorite movie,” He said. “I like the theme that if you try to be an individual, society will crush you.”
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