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Plot:
A colonel is embittered because he''s been assigned to a remote fort after a brilliant war record. His rule-book manners and inability to accept advice of officers experienced with the west and the In...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:July 27, 2008This is a love story.
I discussed this in my review for The Professionals, but the Western genre really is more of a setting than it is a genre pic. Yes, there are Indian battles in this one, so I guess we have the cowboy v. Indian shootout that's all too custom for the Hollywood Western. But most of the movie doesn't have anything to do with dueling, bars, fist-fights or the like. This is a war love tale that tells of the ego of one man and how that ego destroys the lives of those around him. Maybe that's why I seem to be liking the Western genre...because it isn't actually a genre. It could be anything, but the setting determines the mood of the film. It's a very cool thing. I don't understand why people are afraid of this genre so much. (Even though I really can't begrudge them because I was heistant towards this genre as well.)
I love Henry Fonda. I still see him as that constantly moral individual, so I like to see him play a character with his head up his ass. He really plays dictator very well. Similarly, I'm used to seeing John Wayne with his head up his ass, so it was nice seeing him as the clearheaded one. These actors seem to come from very different camps, but they really do have a fantastic chemistry together. There is an underlying respect for each other hidden by a crippling hatred that both men carry for one another. It is an interesting dynamic. I would have loved to see these men resort to fisticuffs, but I think the verbal battles were just as powerful. After all, the conflict of these two men results in a slaughter around them, so I guess that could be more powerful than any fist fight that John Wayne would clearly win. I just like seeing fights. What?
A lot of the charm of this movie comes from the secondary characters. While the A-story is the conflict between Henry Fonda and John Wayne, the B-plot is the love story and all the people supporting that story. The O'Rourke family takes front and center in this story and although they have little to nothing to do with the end of the story, they represent the hatred that Fonda has for this entire base. The truly intresting dynamic can be found in Fonda's inner conflict. After all, O'Rourke is the model officer and described as the only truly ideal military man on the base. But when it comes to O'Rourke coming into Fonda's personal life, there's nothing doing. There's almost a venom to Fonda's feelings for O'Rourke that is terrifying. His eyes seem to want to tear the entire family apart. There's a bitterness that can be seen especially in the dance scene where tradition forces Fonda to dance with Mrs. O'Rourke. He has a disdain for the family and would tear them all apart if O'Rourke wasn't the best officer he had.
This is a movie of inner conflict. There are questions regarding selfishness and its consequences and what is good for the whole. It really is a fantastic movie. It might not be perfect, but it is definitely worth a lookover. -
MCT:July 4, 2008
Great Ford western with Fonda as a by the book Colonel in the frontier clashing with experienced Indian fighter Wayne. Great performances shot in beautiful black and white with a fantastic ending.
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MCT:May 23, 2008
John Ford was a brilliant director, his location shooting and compositions were amazing, he?s simply one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, however, he had a lot of political beliefs that I don?t agree with. This is one of his most ideologically strange works as it feels like a great anti-war story made by a pro-war filmmaker. The film tells the story of a frontier cavalry fort and culminates with a Custer-like coronal foolishly leading his troops to their death. This should be an anti-war, anti-authority story, but Ford doesn?t have a revolutionary bone in his body. In the hands of a Billy Wilder this would be a story of gloom and tragedy, but Ford sees it as a story of triumph and courage, ford seems interested in encourage unjust historical revisionism and the glorification of authority figures. On the bright side, the depiction of the Native Americans here is slightly, and I do mean slightly, more enlightened than most films of this time. This is of course a John Ford film, and thus it is awesome for it?s visual storytelling majesty, and the story does hold up. This is great filmmaking even if it doesn?t fit with my personal political beliefs.
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MCT:February 21, 2008John Ford's 'cavalry' trilogy is not the most inspiring series of films imaginable. Taken out of context, this will be entirely forgettable to a modern audience.
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MCT:January 21, 2008
Henry Fonda squares off against the Duke in this dark take on the cavalry mythos.
It's interesting that this film flies in the face of Ford's infamous quote "print the legend." While it does embrace that this story became a classic tale of bravery, it reveals that the "hero" behind it was a narcissistic glory hungry fool -
MCT:September 28, 2007
Big names in this classic western. John Wayne is typical in his stiff acted role. I know the Duke is frozen now but I can't imagine why everyone raved about his acting prowess as he appeared pretty frozen to me even before he popped his cork.
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MCT:August 16, 2007
John Ford's 'cavalry' trilogy is not the most inspiring series of films imaginable. Taken out of context, this will be entirely forgettable to a modern audience.
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MCT:August 16, 2007
Ford's finest cavalry film. Colonel Custard was a maniac and Henry Fonda plays him perfectly. Ford always said, "Print the Legend."
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MCT:June 4, 2007At the time of its release might have made for a fun movie, but the stereotyping and blatant disregard for history (i.e. glamorizing our troops wiping out unarmed native Americans) makes these movies SO damned lame.
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MCT:January 5, 2007First and best of John Ford's cavalry trilogy. Never have a movie's characters been more effectively and economically developed.
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MCT:October 19, 2006
Another great John Ford western cavalry & indian movie with John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Ward Bond & a young Shirley Temple.
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