Constance Towers, Hoot Gibson, John Wayne

This latter-day sort-of Western from John Ford--falling midway between The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--is a crisp retelling of a true-life episode from the Civil War....( read more  read more... ) In 1863 a Union colonel named Grierson (Marlowe in the film, and John Wayne by any name) led his cavalry several hundred miles behind Confederate lines to cut the railroad between Newton Station and soon-to-be-embattled Vicksburg. Grierson's Raid was as successful as it was daring, and remarkably bloodless. Never fear that the screenplay makes up for that un-Hollywood lapse--as well as supplying amatory distraction for the colonel in the form of a feisty Southern belle (Constance Towers) who has to be dragged along to protect secrecy.

There's a certain amount of bombast in the running arguments about wartime ethics between Marlowe and the new regimental surgeon (William Holden), who don't take to each other at all. But Ford more than makes up for it with such tasty scenes as an encounter with a couple of redneck Rebel deserters (Denver Pyle and Strother Martin), an ethereal swamp crossing led by a cornpone deacon (Hank Worden), and above all the famous skirmish with a hillside full of grade-school cadets from a venerable military academy. The film ends rather abruptly because Ford abandoned a climactic battle scene--the veteran stunt man and bit player Fred Kennedy having been killed in a horse fall. Golden-age cowboy star Hoot Gibson, who acted in Ford's directorial debut, Straight Shooting, appears as Sergeant Brown. --Richard T. Jameson

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71% liked it

6,726 ratings

Unrated, 119 min.

Directed by: John Ford

Release Date: June 12, 1959

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DVD Release Date: May 8, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (153)


  • June 5, 2007
    The John Ford/John Wayne partnership is probably the most reliable in the history of the western, although it can seem a little difficult to tell some of them apart. Stoic union colonel Wayne is joined by humanitarian doctor William Holden and a captive southern belle for a typic...( read more)ally solid and entertaining civil war adventure. Quality stuff, but it won't win over non-western fans.
  • April 27, 2009
    Sometimes looks can be deceiving. With John Wayne, William Holden and John Ford all working on the same movie I think that my expectations were really high, so I came out of this a little disappointed. I was just expecting so much from these guys.
  • September 18, 2007
    Its John Wayne...nuff said.
  • November 20, 2009
    John Wayne strikes again.
  • July 25, 2009
    Saw it before and really love his movies
  • March 28, 2009
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • March 11, 2009
    Outstanding movie John Wayne is my family favorite actor
  • January 4, 2009
    This John Ford's frontier actioner packed with laughter, romance and thrills. Based on a true incident during the Civil War, this is a minor, but enjoyable. John Wayne and William Holden play well-matched adversaries.
  • October 1, 2008
    GOOD MOVIE WORTH WATCHING.
  • September 18, 2008
    A very underrated and entertaining film!

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The Horse Soldiers Trivia


  • What do the following movies all have in common? *John Ford's 'The Horse Soldiers' *John Huston's 'The Red Badge of Courage' *Sergio Leone's 'The Good the Bad the Ugly' *Buster Keaton's & Clyde Bruckman's 'The General' *D.W. Griffith's 'The Birth of a Nation'  Answer »
  • Name the actor: The Searchers Big Jake The Horse Soldiers El Derado  Answer »

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