John Ford's Most Powerful Drama. The Breathtaking Saga of the United States Cavalry! The third installment of John Ford's trilogy...
Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against depredations of marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress by a serious shortage of troops of his command. Tension is added when Yorke's son (whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years), Trooper Jeff Yorke, is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment.
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Classical in form, earnest, resolved and nostalgic.
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- resolvedopen-ended
- contemporarynostalgic
- effortlessdemanding
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“Is John Wayne the best thing in Rio Grande?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Jun 20247/10
"Col. Yorke" (John Wayne) has enough on his plate fighting the marauding Apache when his son "Jeff" (Claude Jarman Jr) arrives at his post, only to be followed shortly thereafter by the man's mother "Kathleen" (Maureen O'Hara) determined to buy him out. Let's just say that marital relations are a bit strained, and that the youngster has no intentions of leaving his post and so the seeds of slightly comedic discord are sown as mother and father bicker their way back into love. The film itself is all just a bit predictable, but there's a fun dynamic between Wayne and O'Hara and a solid supporting cast offering entertaining roles for Chill Wills; Victor McLaglen as the snifter loving "Quicannon" and Fred Kennedy as the gargantuan "Trooper Heinze". There's plenty of action and the stars make sure that what "romance" there is, is presented in feisty and stroppy a fashion with the bare minimum of anything remotely sentimental. John Ford knew how to cast and make an entertaining western and he does it well here.
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · May 20198/10
More artistry from the maestro. The final piece of John Ford's cavalry trilogy is a fine portrait of the old west and the soldiers who operated at that time. Much like She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, this film continues with the central theme of human focus, getting close and real to what makes these folks tick, all laid out on Ford's wild frontier portrait. This offering throws up a number of emotions by splicing Western staple conventions. We have a special war time romance (the excellent John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara), a fair dash of humour (hats off to Ben Johnson), and some delightful tunes brought to us by Sons Of The Pioneers. But ultimately it's the realistic feel to the film that makes it so special. There is no overkill of the subjects, it is painted as hard grind, not all whooping in the air and shooting the enemy - with the camera work from Ford able to bring it all vividly to life. What we ultimately get is a post civil war tale that looks great and beats a sound and true heart. 8/10 Footnote: The whole trilogy isn't for those seeking out good old shoot 'em ups in the Wild West, it is for those looking for involvement into a past that has long since gone, but thankfully one th
Read the whole review on TMDB - Dark Jedion TMDB · Sep 20148/10
In this old classic John Wayne had not yet become the somewhat grumpy old tough guy as he is in many of his classical movies. He is somewhat younger and his character as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke is a bit more emotional than the characters that he often played and there is a bit more romance in this movie as well. At least in my experience with John Wayne’s movies. I was not sure if I was going to like this movie so much since it is generally put in the Romance genre as well as the Western genre. However I can without a doubt say that I did indeed like it quite a lot. It is still a good old-fashioned Western movie with brawls, fistfights and a lot of shooting. John Wayne is great in his role and a lot of the supporting characters are very enjoyable. I especially liked the old Sgt. Major and I would have liked there to be a more official scene of forgiveness between Mrs. Yorke and him. There were a lot of nice interaction between the Sgt. Major as well as between other characters in the movie. At times the movie was really funny due to these interactions between several of the rather original characters in the movie. To my understanding John Ford was more or less forced by Republic Pictu
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Cast
- John WayneLt. Col. Kirby Yorke
- Maureen O'HaraMrs. Kathleen Yorke
- Ben JohnsonTrooper Travis Tyree
- Claude Jarman Jr.Trooper Jefferson 'Jeff' Yorke
- Harry Carey Jr.Trooper Daniel 'Sandy' Boone
- Chill WillsDr. Wilkins
- J. Carrol NaishLt. Gen. Philip Sheridan
- Victor McLaglenSgt. Maj. Timothy Quincannon
- Grant WithersU.S. Deputy Marshal
- Peter OrtizCapt. St. Jacques
Crew
- John FordDirector
- James Kevin McGuinnessScreenplay
- Bert GlennonDirector of Photography
- Victor YoungOriginal Music Composer
- Jack MurrayEditor
- Merian C. CooperProducer
- John FordProducer
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Pairings
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Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Both classical in form, earnest, resolved.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 194983% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest.
The Iron Giant 199982% alikeBoth classical in form, resolved.
Gypsy 196279% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest.
The Wanderers 197978% alikeBoth classical in form.
Vatel 200078% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest.
The Outlaw Josey Wales 197678% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest.
The Sound of Music 196578% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest, resolved.
Downton Abbey 201084% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, earnest.
Upstairs, Downstairs 197180% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, earnest.
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