User Reviews

Mostly really good things here. It gets a little slow and repetitive in places.

The authenticity of the settings and the beautiful photography make it stand out from other pet stories. It does not feel like a Hollywood product

The story is not fresh, but to have the pet be a bull is. The era in which the story is told is different from today giving the film a lot of flavor (the priest blessing the animals).

The movie starts with a funeral procession for the main character's mother. It is understandable how Gitano became so important to me.

Lovely experience.

This is the story of a young Mexican peasant boy who comes across a cow that is dying beneath a fallen tree branch and saves the calf she is birthing; a strong bond is established between the boy and the calf, a bond that persists as the calf turns into an aggressive bull that is being groomed for the the bullring. This bellicose beast is referred to as being "brave" in this film.

Ownership of the bull is a subject of debate throughout the film and at one point the boy gains an audience with the Mexican President to try to resolve the issue. Outside of the story being utterly preposterous, I had no problem with it.

This was filmed in Mexico in CinemaScope using highly saturated colors. There are some beautiful scenes of rural Mexico as well as a tour of Mexico City. The sweeping score by Victor Young invites grand emotion, but it stuck me as too exuberant, in the style of many scores of 1950s movies. The acting is uniformly wooden.

The highlights of the film are the captivating, and extended, bull fighting scenes. No matter what your opinion is of this controversial sport, it will be hard for you not to recognize its appeal based on these scenes. When an American visitor to Mexico expresses her dismay about the sport, her Mexican host notes that boxing and fox hunting are accepted, so why not bullfighting? He goes on to say that Mexicans know that death is never very far away, but that Americans are outraged by pain and, as for death, they may pass a law against it at any time.

What attracted me to this movie was seeing that it is based on an Oscar-winning story by Dalton Trumbo. The movie credits the story to one "Robert Rich," who was a front for Trumbo during the period of his being blacklisted during the McCarthy era (when Trumbo appeared before a Congressional committee and was threatened with a Contempt of Congress citation for not answering questions, he told the committee that that would be appropriate, since he had nothing but contempt for them). After having seen other movies with strong themes based on Trumbo screenplays, such as "Lonely are the Brave," "Papillon," and "Spartacus," I was looking forward to this film, but it does not live up to the quality of those. I was puzzled as to how Trumbo could have lapsed into such sentimentality, but then it occurred to me that he must have identified with the bull who defied attempts to be constrained and ultimately prevailed, just as Trumbo himself.

"The Brave One" is about a peasant boy who runs away to Mexico City to save his brave bull, Gitano... Irving Rapper directed the beautiful simple story of Leonardo and his attachment to his pet bull with understanding...

"The Brave One" has an authentic look in the bullring, on ranches and in Mexican streets...

"The Brave One" has humor: When Gitano, becoming a remarkable bull with a fine physical construction, proves his spirit to Carlos Navarro's red car...

"The Brave One" has strange attachment: The charge of the noble bull against a ferocious jaguar to protect Leonardo's life...

"The Brave One" has determination: In front of the Monument of Mexican President Benito Juarez, the persisting and exhausted boy got a great idea to go and meet the President, the only authority that could save his bull...

"The Brave One" has bravery: Gitano offered to the public a magnificent spectacle of skill, grace and courage...

"The Brave One" has suspense: When the 'moment of truth' is at hand, the little Leonardo, all anguished, couldn't see Gitano in front of his 'Hour of Truth.'

"The Brave One" has a terrific climax: Clamorous screams from the public are heard stronger and stronger... Handkerchiefs are moving in the air with a petition to the president of the bullring...

The film covers many highlights as the weaning and branding of the bulls and how they are tested in the open fields; la Fiesta Brava filling resplendently in the gold and pink brocades of Mexico, mixing with the elegance of swirling capes; the father of Leonardo (Rodolfo Hoyos) trying to make Leonardo understand that the pet bull is born to die in the ring—the reason of his life...

With a tremendous score and an outstanding color photography of exceptional beauty, Jack Cardiff realized the most beautiful and expressive scenery of the Mexican landscapes... His movie had the flavor of the bullfight game and its devotees and hangers-on...

As a little boy, I loved everything about this passionate film superbly directed and acted... Such emotion as I remember seeing it for the first time with my dear parents and brothers a long time ago in Beirut, Lebanon...

This has been one of my ten favorite films of all time. I showed a copy of it to the children of friends in Guadalajara. None of the children had ever seen or heard of it. They all loved it, and cheered with joy.

The children asked if they could invite all their friends in for another showing of "The Brave One," so, soon, the entire room was full. Standing room only.

Adults and kids alike saw the faith, hope and inspiration in this outstanding movie.

Some teachers show the film in classes studying other cultures, and it always goes over very big, as it should.

No remake can ever come close to this version..

Loved the picture! To bad they don't make pictures like this now adays?? Great old fashion family movie. Movies like this install good values and learning!

The Brave One was beautifully crafted in 1957 by blacklisted author Robert Rich and immediately established itself as a superb classic. The tale is of a small Mexican boy and his enduring love for his courageous pet bull. Set in Mexico, a boy discovers a cow has been killed after delivering and orphaning a male offspring. Naming the calf Gitano, The boy become it's friend and caretaker. Realizing the boy's loneliness, the parents encourage the bond, but fail to emphasis the eventual fate of the animal. Throughout the Calf's life the boy's love inexorably growing unaware of his parent's financial responsibility to the bull's true owner. By the time the animal has grown to market size and becomes a cash commodity, the boy's parents are torn between their son's love and their duty to the Patrone. Using subterfuge, the parents separate the two. Returning from a fool's errand, the boy discovers his best friend and lifetime companion has been sold for the purpose of bull fighting and its eventual destruction. Despite the frantic warnings of his parents that it's too late to save the animal, the small boy adroitly played by Michel Rey, sets off to save his courageous friend from certain death. The boy visits everyone from the Patrone to the Governnor of Mexico in a vain attempt to alter the fate of his pet. The film culminates with the boy's magnificent bravery before an arena filled with spectators. True love for any animal has never had a more poignant test of love and courage. For any viewer with a human heart, this tear-wrenching film will leave you joyfully weeping. ****

An excellent picture The Brave One has come down in history as an example of the incredible stupidity and hypocrisy of the blacklist. With Dalton Trumbo's struggle now a subject of a major motion picture a new and hopefully more enlightened audience can appreciate this wonderful film.

I'll leave it to the professional communist hunters to sniff out any left wing Marxist propaganda in The Brave One. All I saw is a touching film from RKO set in Mexico with no major or even minor American stars in it about a young boy who wants to save his beloved pet, a bull named Gitano who is raised as a fighting bull which means he gets one appearance only in the arena to die at the hands of a matador. Young Michel Ray is the boy Miguel and his father is Mexican film star Rodolfo Hoyos who did a few film appearances north of the Mexican border.

Young Ray is so determined to save his bull from slaughter he goes to none other than the President of Mexico to gain pardon for his bull. After that it's a tense race against time played against the background of Gitano giving his best against one of Mexico's best matadors. The bullfight scenes are outstanding and outstandingly photographed.

But a lot of this film is carried on the performance of Michel Ray who comes over so much like a real kid not just another kid actor. One of the best performances by a juvenile ever in the history of motion pictures and sad he did not receive any recognition for same.

I found it ironical that it was RKO on its last legs as a studio that produced this film. Just a couple of years earlier it was owned by Howard Hughes who got tired of it and gave it up to die a lingering death. Had Hughes still been in charge no way would The Brave One been done at his studio even with a pseudonym for a blacklisted writer.

That's how most people know The Brave One today when a later embarrassed Academy gave an Oscar to "Robert Rich" for Best Original Screenplay. It was Dalton Trumbo one of the infamous Hollywood 10 who wrote it, but it was after the award was given that that fact was discovered. That kind of hypocrisy exposed could have also had a large part in giving the blacklist an ignominious death. Maybe as much as Trumbo being hired openly to write the screenplay for Spartacus.

Shame on the studio bosses who while they supported getting these subversives out of Hollywood they also did not want to lose their talents either.

With Trumbo's own life now a motion picture maybe his work will get more critical review and The Brave One should be a standout there.

When I read the summary for "The Brave One", I wasn't eager to watch the film. After all, it sounded like a sappy movie targeted towards kids. Boy, was I wrong!

The story surprised me in many ways. Instead of making it in Hollywood, filming it in black & white, and having all sorts of negative or paternalistic Mexican stereotypes, the story managed to have none of these. Instead, it's obvious someone at RKO really cared about the project and a lot of love and attention was given in order to make this more than just another Hollywood film.

Soon after the story begins, a cow is injured and is dying. But fortunately, her baby survives and is raised by Leonardo (Michel Ray). The boy loves that little calf and over time they become inseparable. Unfortunately, the bull is also destined for the bull ring one day and much of the story shows the boy's efforts to save his beloved Gitano.

While the story might sound sappy, it was very well executed. I also appreciate that the Mexican people are shown in a very good light...like real people, not stereotypes. The story also ended wonderfully...and you'll need to have some Kleenex nearby just in case. Well worth seeing, but also NOT a film for young kids...or, better yet, see the movie with them. This is because the bullfighting scenes, while sanitized, are still pretty gory and disturbing.

This stands out from most child and animal pet movies. So realistic. Great acting from all. Feels genuinely Mexican. Well written story. The colour is vibrant and the version uploaded on YouTube is sharp and good quality. An enjoyable film for the whole family as it can be appreciated by any age group. I understand there was a lot of controversy behind the scenes but what underhanded things happened did not stop it being a worthwhile movie. Just a shame that reviewers have to write 800 characters to make the review acceptable. I think shorter reviews are equally as valid. Don't you think? I do.