Owen Daybright is the adopted son of cattleman Arch Strobie; his loyalty extends to trying to protect Arch's son Lee. Lee has fathered a child and has Owen give the mother, Lily, five hundred dollars; her brother is determined to find the identity of the father and have his vengeance against the man who brought dishonour on his family; neither Lily nor Owen is going to name the father. It soon becomes apparent that Lee has no intention of repaying this loyalty; he sees Owen as a rival for his father's affections and his future inheritance. It would suit him nicely if Lily's brothers were to think Owen was the baby's father and kill him.This is a solid western; it might not be full of action but it has a good story. Having a story which features an unmarried mother who isn't a 'terrible person who must suffer' is rather surprising for a film of this era… of course ultimately the man responsible will have to pay but even this is because he betrayed his adopted brother rather than fathering the child. There are a few action scenes but only one of them is a traditional shootout. I liked how this showed a fair amount of the cowboy's work; we see them breaking horses and rounding up the cattle after they are allowed to roam during the winter… I might have learnt something about nineteenth century cattle farming in the United States! The cast does a fine job; Burt Lancaster is most notable as protagonist Owen; Robert Walker is also solid as the cowardly antagonist Lee Strobie. Overall this isn't a must see but it is still worth watching if you are a fan of Westerns.

"Vengeance Valley" is a great title squandered on a not so great movie (and, oddly, one in which there isn't really much 'vengeance'). Burt Lancaster plays the up-right, honourable foster-son of a crippled cattleman at odds with his brother (and blood-son of the rancher), a conniving ne'er-do-well with a quick gun-hand. Complicating matters, the married brother has fathered a child on a local lass and her two ornery brothers have shown up to hunt down the scoundrel who dishonored their sister. Lots of shots of Lancaster's legendary grin and tousled good-looks, generic cow-poking, and mountain scenery but other than some fisticuffs and the inevitable showdown at the end, there's not a lot of action. Most of the characters are typical Hollywood western-types and the script/acting is on par with a good episode of Bonanza (although the unwed mother story line might be a bit to risqué for the Cartwrights). IMO, Lancaster is one of the all-time great "Hollywood leading-men" but even his undeniable charisma can't raise "Vengeance Valley" above the great raft of mediocre westerns to tumble out of the sagebrush in the '50s.

Brashly handsome Burt Lancaster (as Owen Daybright) and little brother Robert Walker (as Lee Strobie) return from a cattle round-up as their western town celebrates the arrival of a newborn baby. The kid is illegitimate, and sexy Sally Forrest (as Lily Fasken) isn't identifying the papa. You can bet it's either Mr. Lancaster or Mr. Walker, though (it's not much of a secret). Walker, by the way, is married to neglected Joanne Dru (as Jen); and, both women seem to be in competition for both men.It's also important to know that Lancaster is supposed to be the older "foster brother" of Walker, and helped their disabled father Ray Collins (as Arch Strobie) "raise" the little guy. Moving the plot along is the arrival of new mother Forrest's angry brothers John Ireland (as Hub) and Hugh O'Brian (as Dick); naturally, they want to kill the father of their new nephew. Though done well, this all comes across as dull. Lancaster and Walker are fine actors, but do not fit the story; Ms. Dru is underused.Also ill-served by the story is young ranch-hand Carleton Carpenter (as Hewie). He serves as the film's "narrator" and guide. Coincidently, Mr. Carpenter had a surprise multi-million-selling hit during this film's original release, as his "Aba Daba Honeymoon" recording with Debbie Reynolds outdistanced its introduction in "Three Little Words (1950). "Vengeance Valley" doesn't serve its personnel well, but Lancaster rode on to successfully mix western genre films in with his impressive repertoire.***** Vengeance Valley (2/6/51) Richard Thorpe ~ Burt Lancaster, Robert Walker, Carleton Carpenter, Sally Forrest

Vengeance Valley is pretty good for a western starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Walker as brothers, one of whom adopted, whose rivalry leads to betrayal later on. Also liked the women played by Joanne Dru and Sally Forrest and Hugh O'Brian and John Ireland as the brothers of Forrest who want to kill the man who impregnated their sister. Lots of good scenes of cattle rustling and some exciting fight scenes come every now and then but there's plenty of good drama concerning the characters too. The Technicolor stands out in this location-shot picture. Loved the narration by Carleton Carpenter as Hewie. Worthy entry for any old movie western fan.