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1958–1959: Reflections on violence

Peck's next movie, the Western The Bravados (1958), reunited him with director Henry King after a six-year gap. King was widely considered to have produced some of Peck's best work; Peck once said "King was like an older brother, even a father figure. We communicated without talking anything to death. It was direction by osmosis." In The Bravados, Peck's character spends weeks pursuing four outlaws whom he believes raped and murdered his wife and agonizing over his own morals. The film was a moderate success, finishing in the top 20 of the box office for 1959. In recent years, the film and Peck's performance have received mixed reviews, with Time Out asserting that "Peck's "crisis of conscience... is worked out in perfunctory religious terms;" and TV Guide stating that Peck's cowboy's "moment of truth is a powerful one and he gives it all the value it deserves, although much of his acting up to then had been lackluster".

In 1956, Peck made a foray into the film production business, organizing Melville Productions and later, Brentwood Productions. These companies produced five movies over seven years, all starring Peck, including Pork Chop Hill, for which Peck served as the executive producer. The films were observed by some as being more political, although Peck said he tried to avoid any "overt preachiness". In 1958, Peck and good friend William Wyler co-produced the Western epic The Big Country (1958) separate from Peck's production company. The project ran into numerous issues. Wyler and Peck were dissatisfied with the script, which underwent almost daily revisions after each day's shooting, causing stress for the performers; the actors would arrive the next day and find their lines and even entire scenes different from what they had prepared. The stellar cast included Jean Simmons, Carrol Baker, Chuck Connors, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives; Ives won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his intense performance. There were disagreements between director Wyler and the performers, resulting in Peck storming off-set when Wyler refused to re-shoot a close-up scene; Peck and Wyler's relationship remained strained for three years after production. Peck said in 1974 that he had tried producing and acting simultaneously and felt "either it can't be done or it's just that I don't do it well".

The film itself was a big hit, finishing fourth at the domestic box office in 1958 and second in the UK. At the time of release, reviews for The Big Country were mixed regarding the producers' prioritization of characterization versus technical filmmaking; opinions on Peck's performance were also disparate. In recent decades, critical opinion of The Big Country has generally risen, although there is still disagreement; many prominent critics and publications describe the cinematography as excellent, some laud Peck's performance, and some cite the film as too long.

Peck's next feature was Pork Chop Hill (1959), based on true events depicted in a book. Peck portrays a lieutenant during the Korean War who is ordered to use his infantry company to take the strategically insignificant Pork Chop Hill, as its capture would strengthen the U.S.'s position in the almost-complete armistice negotiations. As executive producer, Peck recruited Lewis Milestone of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) to direct. Many critics label it as an anti-war film; it has also been stated that "as shooting progressed it became clear Peck and Milestone had very different artistic visions." Peck later said the movie showed "the futility of settling political arguments by killing young men. We tried not to preach; we let it speak for itself." Despite solid reviews, the film did only fair business at the box office. Most critics, both upon Pork Chop Hill ' s opening and in recent years, agree that it is a gritty, grim and realistic rendering of battle action. Three critics who comment on Peck's performance are laudatory, with Variety saying that Peck's performance is "completely believable. He comes through as a born leader, and yet it is quite clear that he has moments of doubt and of uncertainty."

Peck's second release of 1959 cast him opposite Deborah Kerr in Beloved Infidel, which was based on the memoirs of film columnist Sheilah Graham. The film portrays the romance between Graham (Kerr) and author F. Scott Fitzgerald (Peck) during the last three years of his life, towards the end of which Fitzgerald was often drunk and abusive. Crowther assessed it as "generally flat and uninteresting" with a "postured performance of Gregory Peck... his grim-faced, monotony as a washout is relieved in a couple of critical scenes by some staggering and bawling as a drunkard, but that is hardly enough." Variety said that "the acting, while excellent and persuasive in parts, is shallow and artificial in others. Problem is primarily with Peck who brings to Fitzgerald the kind of clean-cut looks and youthful appearance that conflict with the image of a has-been novelist." Reviews from five prominent scribes in recent decades are similar, saying that Peck was blatantly miscast, TV Guide it was because of their physical differences, and Craig Butler saying "Peck was an extremely talented actor, but there is nothing in his personality that matches the qualities associated with Fitzgerald.

Peck starred next in On the Beach (1959) alongside Ava Gardner in their third and final film together. The film is considered to be Hollywood's first major movie about the implications of nuclear warfare. Directed by Stanley Kramer and based on Nevil Shute 's best-selling book, it shows the last months of several people in Melbourne, Australia as they await the onset of radioactive fallout from nuclear bombs. Peck portrays a U.S. submarine commander who has brought his crew to Australia from the North Pacific Ocean after nuclear bombs had been detonated in the northern hemisphere, who eventually romances Gardner's character. The film was named in the top ten lists of the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle and was successful at the North American box office, finishing eighth for the year, but due to its high production cost it lost $700,000. On the Beach was praised by critics. In recent decades, critical opinion of On the Beach is mixed: some prominent critics asserting that the script is poor, but some critics saying the acting, especially Peck, and cinematography are excellent, and that, overall, the film is powerful. Butler of AllMovie writes, "... problematic is the clichéd, almost soap-operatic relationship between Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and the somewhat melodramatic handling of other sections of the film... The cast helps tremendously. Peck has rarely been more stalwart... Even decades after its release, Beach is a harrowing and devastating experience."