johnphilipklein

After several decades of hearing about this film, I finally saw it on a certain video service. I have always been an admirer of Muni, and I am glad that he finally received an Academy Award for Best Actor. BUT, his performance seems a bit forced at times here. British film critic David Thomson complains that Muni began overacting in the mid-1930s, and I would have to agree in small part with that assessment. To be fair, Muni does provide some commendable gravitas as Pasteur, and his award did come after his powerful performances in earlier films, such as the previous year's BLACK FURY (he placed second to Victor McLaglen in the 1935 Academy Award voting as a write-in candidate for that film.) But let's say that Muni delivers more impressively in the next year's LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA.

As for the film, one must keep in mind that this became an early example of what quickly became a cliché in mainstream Hollywood cinema--the "neglected genius overcomes all obstacles." The script is usually excellent, and the directing and supporting performances are not bad. But I still feel that the material is somewhat dated, if interesting.

I saw this film originally in 2005 after making a special appointment at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. (It has shown a few times on TCM, I believe.) THE VALIANT is an excellent showcase for Paul Muni's performance as an anonymous man sentenced to death for a murder he refuses to discuss. His scenes become exemplars of powerful understatement, particularly in his penultimate scene with Mauguerite Churchill's character, who comes to Muni's prison (probably New York's Sing Sing) to find out if he is her long-lost brother. The resulting emotional scene moved my partner to tears, and she is not an easily moved person! I first became attracted to Muni's acting when I watched his powerful performance in I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932) as a child. His performance in THE VALIANT earned Muni his first Academy Award nomination. I've seen the other extant nominations, and they are substandard at best (Chester Morris in ALIBI, George Bancroft in THUNDERBOLT, and especially the winner, Warner Baxter in IN OLD ARIZONA.) The film suffers a bit from the limitations associated with the early sound era, particularly from the somewhat wooden supporting performances by Churchill and the future cowboy star John Mack Brown. But the writing and direction by William Howard are still powerful enough to help support Muni's outstanding performance.