Film Snail

5.8

The Valiant

NR·1929·66m

Drama

Summary

A man condemned to execution tries to convince two women that he is not their son and brother, and that they must get on with their lives.

Cast

Paul Muni

James Dyke

Marguerite Churchill

Mary Douglas

Johnny Mack Brown

Robert Ward

DeWitt Jennings

Warden Holt

Edith Yorke

Mrs. Douglas

Clifford Dempsey

Police Lieutenant

Richard Carlyle

Father Daly

Henry Kolker

Judge

Sherwood Bailey

Little Boy (uncredited)

George Chesebro

Liberty Bondsman (uncredited)

Sidney D'Albrook

Prison Guard (uncredited)

Dannie Mac Grant

Little Boy (uncredited)

Henry Hall

Harold Everett Porter (uncredited)

Barton Hepburn

Joe Douglas as a Youth (uncredited)

Robert Homans

Newspaper Printer (uncredited)

Lillian Lawrence

Spinster on Train (uncredited)

Billy O'Brien

Boy (uncredited)

Helen Parrish

Little Child on Train (uncredited)

George C. Pearce

Dr. Edmondson (uncredited)

Bob Perry

Bill the Guard (uncredited)

Buster Slaven

Little Boy (uncredited)

Don Terry

Policeman (uncredited)

Delmar Watson

Little Boy Who Falls Down (uncredited)

Tom Wilson

Tom the Printer (uncredited)

Crew

Director

William K. Howard

Adaptation, Dialogue

Tom Barry

Dialogue

John Hunter Booth

Theatre Play

Robert Middlemass

Theatre Play

Holworthy Hall

Reviews

Geronimo1967

June 6, 2022

Paul Muni stands out here as the anonymous young man who walks into a police station and confess to a murder. Adopting a name ("Dyke") from a calendar hung on the wall, he is tried, convicted and sentenced to death. When his fate is published, as well as his photo, in the press a young girl and her mother wonder that he might be their long lost brother/son and set out to try establish the truth. The story is curious - it gives us surprisingly little to go on until the last fifteen minutes when we are treated to a wonderfully poignant denouement with the Oscar nominated Muni and "Mary" (Marguerite Churchill). It's more a film to appreciate because of it's cinematic significance - a very early and well made - if simple - talkie, but as a story it is really rather under-cooked for the most part and the supporting efforts add little to the intrigue.