Considered the final film in director John Ford’s “cavalry trilogy,” which also includes FORT APACHE and SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON, the film was only done by the director as part of a deal that would allow him to make his classic, THE QUIET MAN.
Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke (John Wayne, THE SEARCHERS) has been fighting Indians on the Plains for 15 years — a long way away from his family. He learns that his son Jeff (Claude Jarman Jr., THE YEARLING) has flunked out of officer school and now has enlisted. Well sure enough, he is assigned to Kirby’s unit. Kirby tries to keep their relationship as business, but this becomes even more difficult when his estranged wife Kathleen (Maureen O’Hara, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET) shows up. Jeff makes friends with fellow troopers Travis Tyree (Ben Johnson, THE WILD BUNCH) and Sandy Boone (Harry Carey Jr., SILVER LODE). It’s up to gruff Irish sergeant major Timothy Quincannon (Victor McLaglen, THE QUIET MAN) to whip the troopers into shape.
The plot is fairly straight-forward with Indians engaging in regular attacks. What makes the film interesting is the dynamic between Wayne, O’Hara and Jarman’s characters. There’s more to their pasts than just Kirby not being around. It’s interesting to watch Kirby balance his unquestioning dedication to the U.S. army and his new-founded love for his family. Wayne gives his fairly standard by-the-book performance, but his presence on screen is undeniably affective. O'Hara gives the best performance of the film as a woman desperate to save her family. McLaglen adds a nice touch of comic relief.
The screenplay is well-crafted in how and when new information is presented. It also does a fairly fine job of working in the more crowd pleasing elements, which were probably a requirement as the film was really designed as a cheap quickie that would make a ton of money so that Republic Studio could afford to take a risk on the "filmed in Ireland," color extravaganza that was to be THE QUIET MAN. The most amazing scene in the film is a training sequence that sees Jarman, Carey and Johnson all perform a stunt horse riding routine that would never get past the insurance companies that protect top stars today.
Out of all of Ford’s work that I have seen, this one is the least challenging. Yet it’s still a wonderful and entertaining film. When watching the work of a master filmmaker even their lesser work has moments of sheer brilliance to be found.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
