I could watch those roman riding scenes all day long. I'll admit the romantic bits between Wayne and O'Hara don't pack a lot of emotional resonance and end up feeling superfluous but for the most part, this is a well-directed, sweeping Western. Loved Young's score, the exciting battle scenes and in my case, it served as a welcome introduction to Wayne's immortal ruggedness. This movie needed more mustaches.

yenah

835

Wayne is okay in this, less brutish and cocky than usual. The cinematography is fine as always. And the overarching plot is generally well put-together. But the comic relief moments, although thankfully pretty scarce, are terrible, and often punctuated by some goofy musical cue. Speaking of the music, that's wretched too. And then there's the portrayal of Native Americans as ruthless savages. I just didn't give a shit about most of it. It's all so sentimental in a way I find very disagreeable.

I have watched this out of the place as its part of the John Ford's "Cavalry trilogy" so despite liking it already, I better watch the first two. But I will add - John Wayne's mustache is worthy of praise alone.

An occasionally successful cavalry movie; at the very least I think it's convinced me I enjoy Western music a lot more than I thought I did. Both Victor Young's music and the Sons of the Pioneers songs are the film's best quality, and they especially complement the slower, more contemplative scenes quite wonderfully. O'Hara and Wayne are fantastic; everyone else is less so (enough with Victor McLaglen!). The humor mostly falls flat, and that's unfortunately a large chunk of the running time.

#877

Mercifully, 40% musical.

Wayne shows much vulnerability here, and he and O'Hara have great chemistry in their first appearance together. (Their expressive faces during the serenade of "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" is one of the high points of the film). The plot is strictly 19th Century melodrama (Indians kill women, kidnap children), the comic relief is mostly unsuccessful, but McLaglen is subdued for once and Carey and Johnson--both good actors--are allowed more room than usual and take advantage of it.

Great film.

# 843

Western classic

An excellent film from the Ford/Wayne combo. Ford makes especially good use of Maureen O'Hara, and allows her presence to complicate the world of the cavalry post in ways that women have not done so in the other cavalry films (or military films, for that matter). This is the first Ford film I've seen that paints the Indians as blatant savages--generally Ford provides them nobility and honor, even as they fight against the White settlers. Here though we begin to see a balancing of that portrayal.

This is the best I've seen of John Wayne, plus he gets a mustache bonus.

759