Man from the Cursed Valley (1964) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Ty Hardin is Johnny Walscott, living alone on a ranch out West while a priest cares for his daughter after his wife left him.

One day he comes across a pretty female named Gwen Bennett who’s in need of rescuing.

She needs rescuing because she’s just escaped from the Apaches. They’re after her because they hate her husband, Torinto, a member of a rival tribe who has settled down on a ranch of his own.

Between the vengeance seeking Apaches and a father who has rejected her because she married an Indian, Gwen sees little hope left in life.

Johnny tries to convince her otherwise, and tries to forge a truce between the young woman, her husband and her father.

Ty Hardin as Johnny Walscott, hoping of bringing Gwen and her prejudiced father together in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Iran Eory as Gwen Burnett, rescued from a storm by Johnny Walscott in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Review:

The locations might be European and the focus on racism is certainly unusual, but this is more a Hollywood Western transplanted across the ocean than a Spaghetti Western.

As for the film, it’s just average. Torito is an Indian with nine lives, considering the number of times he fights off a trio of Apache braves. Johnny is fond of Gwen, but knows he can’t have her.

Just why the Apache are so determined to kill Torito and Gwen is never really explained. And Johnny’s determination to bring harmony to their lives defies logic.

Piero Leri (Peter Larry) as Torito, Gwen’s Indian husband in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Jose Nieto as Sam Burnett, a father who won’t accept an Indian as a son-in-law in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Directed by:
Siro Marcellini

Cast:
Ty Hardin … Johnny Walscott
Iran Eory … Gwen Burnett
Piero Leri … Torito
as Peter Larry
Phil Posner … Mitch
Jose Nieto … Sam Burnett
John Bartha … Father Ryan

Also with: Joe Kamel, Albert Lockwood, Giovanni Petti, Rafael Albaicin, Jose Marco, W. Hacobre

aka:
Cursed Valley
L’uomo della valle maledetta

Score: Francesco De Masi
and Manuel Parada

Runtime: 81 min.

John Bartha as Father Ryan, the priest who watches over Johnny’s daughter in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Phil Posner as Mitch, the cabin visitor who lusts over Gwen Burnett in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Memorable lines:

Gwen: “I know I put you through a lot of trouble.”
Johnny: “No you didn’t. Funny thing though. Women normally do complicate a man’s life.”

Gwen: “What sort of life is this?”
Johnny: “The best thing is to bury the past each time. And begin living your life over again.”

Sam Burnett: “Since she married that savage, she can’t remember what’s right or wrong.”
Johnny: “I’m not sure you know what’s right or wrong. There’s only one thing a man can do that’s really wrong and that’s not to admit a mistake he’s made. Maybe you think you’re someone who never makes mistakes.”

Iran Eory as Gwen Burnett, contemplating a future with an Indian husband in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Ty Hardin as Johnny Walscott, confronting Sam Burnett about his daughter Gwen in Man from the Cursed Valley (1964)

Trivia

This marked the first of several European film outings for Ty Hardin, who had starred in the TV series “Bronco” as Bronco Layne from 1958 through 1962. The series lasted for 68 episodes. Known for beefcake roles that required him to go shirtless, Ty begins this film that way.

Jose Nieto, who plays the prejudiced father here, had a distinguished film career that included 155 appearances in film and TV dating back to 1925. In the 1930s, he worked in Hollywood on films targeted at Hispanic audiences. He later scored small parts in some of the epic films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, including “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,” “King of Kings,” “55 Days at Peking” and “Doctor Zhivago.” He died in 1982 at age 79.

Iran Eory was born Elvira Teresa Eory Sidi in Tehran, Iran, and went on to a long career on Spanish-speaking TV, continuing to perform through 2001. She died the following year in Mexico City at age 64.