Valley of the Sun (1942)

(On Cable TV, May 2022) There aren’t many straight-up dramas in Lucille Ball’s filmography and even fewer westerns – so if you find yourself asking why you’re watching as unremarkable a western as Valley of the Sun, tell yourself that this is it – Ball’s only Western. She is, predictably, somewhat wasted here – while the film does have elements of comedy that allow her to find a footing, the film isn’t built to her specifications and that shows. There are more interesting ideas to find in the film’s ususually-progressive-for-1942 treatment of its Native American characters – although there was a limit to how much credence a 1942 film could give to their revindications. A bit of action makes the film go by faster, but Valley of the Sun still feels long at 78 minutes. Some genre films tend to be for fans, and so it will take seasoned western aficionados to get the most out of this one.