Valerie (film)

Valerie is a 1957 American Western film directed by Gerd Oswald and starring Sterling Hayden, Anita Ekberg and Anthony Steel.[1][2] The film was apparently inspired by Akira Kurosawa's 1950 classic Rashomon.[1]

Valerie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGerd Oswald
Produced byHal R. Makelim
Screenplay byLeonard Heideman
Emmett Murphy
StarringSterling Hayden
Anita Ekberg
Anthony Steel
Music byAlbert Glasser
CinematographyErnest Laszlo
Edited byDavid Bretherton
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Hal R. Makelim Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • August 1, 1957 (1957-08-01) (United States)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Rancher John Garth is arrested for critically wounding his wife Valerie and killing her parents. During Garth's trial, contradictory flashback sequences are depicted.[1]

Cast
  • Sterling Hayden as John Garth
  • Anita Ekberg as Valerie Horvat
  • Anthony Steel as Reverend Steven Blake
  • Peter Walker as Herb Garth
  • Jerry Barclay as Jim Mingo
  • Iphigenie Castiglioni as Mrs. Horvat
  • John Wengraf as Mr. Louis Horvat
  • Gage Clarke as Jonathan Griggs
  • Tom McKee as Dave Carlin
  • Sydney Smith as Judge Frisbee
  • Bob Adler as Lundy
  • Stanley Adams as Dr. Jackson
  • Malcolm Atterbury as Sheriff
  • Juney Ellis as Nurse Linsey
  • John Dierkes as Bartender
  • Norman Leavitt as Linsey
  • Darryl Duran as Earl Davis

Production

Filming for Valerie started in December 1956.[3] It was the only film that Anthony Steel and Anita Ekberg made during their marriage.[4]

Reception

Variety called the film "a challenging experiment."[5]

In a contemporary review in Baltimore's The Evening Sun, reviewer Hope Pantell wrote: "This opus opens with an assortment of bodies, then proceeds to show, sometimes in painfully long-winded fashion, how they got to be so stiff."[6]

Writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, reviewer Samuel L. Singer assessed the lead actors' performances: "Lovely Anita Ekberg, Swedish beauty, displays her charms and engages in a limited amount of histrionics. Sterling Hayden is grimly nonsmiling as her husband, and Anthony Steel, her real-life husband, is convincing as the minister."[7]

DVD

Valerie was released on DVD by MGM Home Video on September 26, 2011 via MGM's MOD (manufacture-on-demand) program through Amazon.com.

See also

References
  1. http://www.allmovie.com/movie/valerie-v130103
  2. VALERIE Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 24, Iss. 276, (Jan 1, 1957): 91.
  3. Paris Night-Club Singer Signed; Wengraff Acts Anita Ekberg's Father Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 4 Dec 1956: A11.
  4. Vagg, Stephen (September 23, 2020). "The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga". Filmink.
  5. Review of film at Variety
  6. Pantell, Hope (1957-10-25). "On the Screen". The Evening Sun. p. 22.
  7. Singer, Samuel L. (1957-10-03). "'Valerie' Stars Anita Ekberg". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 8.
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