Lonely Are the Brave

Lonely Are the Brave is a 1962 American black and white neo-Western film directed by David Miller and written by Dalton Trumbo, who adapted his screenplay from the 1956 Edward Abbey novel The Brave Cowboy. It stars Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands and Walter Matthau. Kirk Douglas plays Jack Burns, a cowboy, Gena Rowlands portrays his best friend's wife, and Walter Matthau appears as a sheriff who sympathizes with Burns but must do his job and chase him down. The picture also features an early score by composer Jerry Goldsmith. Douglas repeatedly said that this was his favorite film of his own work.