During the American Civil War, Capt. James Braydon visits his sweetheart and finds her with another man. Angered by the betrayal, he volunteers to become a spy for the Union. His first assignment involves carrying false military dispatches behind enemy lines and allow them to be discovered by Confederate Army officers in order to mislead them. Braydon sets off on his dangerous mission. Pretending to be a Confederate sympathizer in possession of vital Union plans, Braydon arrives at the plantation of a beautiful southern belle, Barbara Calhoun, who has organized a ball for Confederate officers. At the ball, Braydon openly flirts with his gracious host in order to make one of the Confederate officers, Capt. Robert Darrington, jealous. Darrington is in love with Barbara, and Braydon believes that if he can make him jealous, he will be arrested and his fraudulent dispatches will be discovered. Braydon's plan is disrupted, however, by Barbara who comes to his defense, and soon falls in love with him. In the coming days, Barbara continues to save Braydon from being arrested, even after she discovers that he is a Union spy. Each time he attempts to get arrested, she intervenes and arranges for his release. Finally, Braydon leaps from a window and is captured by the Confederates, who discover the fraudulent dispatches and soon act on them. Later, after they discover that the dispatches were a deception, they order Braydon executed by firing squad. Just before the sentence can be carried out, the Union Army arrives, and in the subsequent battle, Braydon is saved, although seriously wounded. Barbara is there to comfort him. Sometime later, after General Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House to end the war, Barbara and Braydon are married in a military wedding.
Only the Brave was filmed at Paramount Studios at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The films stars, Gary Cooper and Mary Brian, also appeared together in The Virginian.
Critical response
Only the Brave received positive reviews upon its theatrical release. In the Reading Eagle, the reviewer wrote that Cooper's performance in the film was "far better" than his "previously satisfactory best" in The Virginian. The reviewer continued: The reviewer also felt that Mary Brian was effective in reprising her role as Cooper's love interest, as she did in The Virginian.
