Broken Lance | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

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Where to Watch Broken Lance Critics Reviews Audience Reviews My Rating Cast & Crew More Like This Photos Broken Lance

86%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

A patriarchal rancher's empire is threatened by conflict within his family. On the day of his release from prison, the son of a cattle baron swears vengeance on his three half-brothers responsible for dispossessing him of his inheritance and driving his father to a fatal stroke. The ensuing story unfolds in flashback, tracing the sibling rivalries that led to the man's imprisonment.

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Broken Lance

Critics Reviews

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Time Out Staff

Time Out

Strong performances, ably augmented by Joe MacDonald's lovely 'Scope camerawork.

Feb 9, 2006

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Ian Kane

Epoch Times

“Broken Lance” is a well-told and brilliantly directed Western that also features great acting, impactful drama, and lots of highly immersive cinematography

Rated: 4/5

Mar 29, 2023

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André Bazin

L'Obs (France)

What is also noteworthy is the laborious dutifulness with which CinemaScope is used in Broken Lance, which gives the mise-en-scène a rigidity that makes for a certain dryness. Such severity, as one might guess, is not for me.

Jan 5, 2022

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

It's a gripping, framed familial saga of intergenerational misunderstandings, racial hang-ups, and eventually even a court-room drama.

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 20, 2020

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

The camera work, in improved widescreen CinemaScope, is handsome.

Nov 11, 2019

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Very much a product of Hollywood studio system in the 1950's, but it's also a testament to just how good that studio system could be.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 4, 2019

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Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Another really good one right here and yes I highly recommended James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, May 10, 2023 Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/11/23 Full Review Audience Member The cinematography was exceptional. Interesting story. For once the white eyes weren't fighting and killing Native Americans. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review steve d Nothing special but it works ok. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review s r Well made and engaging, but a few political agendas too many. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved it great cast likeable story probably could have happened Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review lanfranco c A western, a family drama and more ! Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Broken Lance

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Cast & Crew

Edward Dmytryk Director Spencer Tracy Matt Devereaux Robert Wagner Joe Devereaux Jean Peters Barbara Richard Widmark Ben Devereaux Katy Jurado Señora Devereaux

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Broken Lance

Broken Lance (1954)

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Synopsis A patriarchal rancher's empire is threatened by conflict within his family. On the day of his release from prison, the son of a cattle baron swears vengeance on his three half-brothers responsible for dispossessing him of his inheritance and driving his father to a fatal stroke. The ensuing story unfolds in flashback, tracing the sibling rivalries that led to the man's imprisonment.

Director: Edward Dmytryk
Producer: Sol C. Siegel
Screenwriter: Richard Murphy
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 25, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 36m