Actually it's John Ford and Merian C. Cooper's (a very interesting individual) RIO GRANDE but whichever it has become one of my favorite John Wayne movies.
It was actually kind of a "throw away" movie. Ford apparently agreed to make it only in order to secure funding for "The Quiet Man" but the movie turned out to be quite good and was one of a trio of John Ford-John Wayne cavalry movies of the period. The other two were "Fort Apache" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"
It's the story of a tough cavalry commander, who's estranged son shows up as a recruit to his command, followed very shortly by the estranged wife (Maureen O'Hara in her first movie with Wayne). They are estranged for one small problem, Wayne and his Sgt Major (played very well by Victor McLagLen) burned her plantation as part of Sheridan's Shenandoah Campaign (Sheridan played by the excellent character actor J. Carroll Niash).
Wayne's current fight is with the Apache Indians and the movie's name refers to the geographic boundary which limits the cavalry but is crossed with impunity by the Indians.
The supporting cast is extremely talented and includes three actors playing some risk-taking recruits (two up and coming cowboy actors and one young promising star who was successful later in life, just not as an actor). Their scenes together are a large part of what makes this movie so great.
Music plays a role in this movie, but like many westerns which feature firearms which usually found a bit later in actual history, some of the songs came many years later. In an early scene showing the arrival of the new recruits they are singing "You're in the Army Now" which dates to about 1917.
Another such song, sung very well by a future member of the Gunsmoke cast and the Sons of the Pioneers is "Down by the Glenside (the Bold Fenian Men). This song actually dates to around 1916. It comes at the end of a formal dinner with Wayne, his officers, his wife, and General Sheridan. If you look closely, Wayne's character is wearing the Civil War Medal of Honor.
Everytime I watch this movie I seem to catch another scene which adds some depth of story-telling and character development. I just about know this movie by heart but I still like to sit down with a cup of coffee and go watch this story unfold.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo7CHY544HY[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jwPVe_sWa8[/ame]
It was actually kind of a "throw away" movie. Ford apparently agreed to make it only in order to secure funding for "The Quiet Man" but the movie turned out to be quite good and was one of a trio of John Ford-John Wayne cavalry movies of the period. The other two were "Fort Apache" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"
It's the story of a tough cavalry commander, who's estranged son shows up as a recruit to his command, followed very shortly by the estranged wife (Maureen O'Hara in her first movie with Wayne). They are estranged for one small problem, Wayne and his Sgt Major (played very well by Victor McLagLen) burned her plantation as part of Sheridan's Shenandoah Campaign (Sheridan played by the excellent character actor J. Carroll Niash).
Wayne's current fight is with the Apache Indians and the movie's name refers to the geographic boundary which limits the cavalry but is crossed with impunity by the Indians.
The supporting cast is extremely talented and includes three actors playing some risk-taking recruits (two up and coming cowboy actors and one young promising star who was successful later in life, just not as an actor). Their scenes together are a large part of what makes this movie so great.
Music plays a role in this movie, but like many westerns which feature firearms which usually found a bit later in actual history, some of the songs came many years later. In an early scene showing the arrival of the new recruits they are singing "You're in the Army Now" which dates to about 1917.
Another such song, sung very well by a future member of the Gunsmoke cast and the Sons of the Pioneers is "Down by the Glenside (the Bold Fenian Men). This song actually dates to around 1916. It comes at the end of a formal dinner with Wayne, his officers, his wife, and General Sheridan. If you look closely, Wayne's character is wearing the Civil War Medal of Honor.
Everytime I watch this movie I seem to catch another scene which adds some depth of story-telling and character development. I just about know this movie by heart but I still like to sit down with a cup of coffee and go watch this story unfold.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo7CHY544HY[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jwPVe_sWa8[/ame]
