Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

fredtee The best part of this movie is the grandiose color cinematography, especially when compared with today's washed-out digital projections. Color Deluxe and Techicolor in Cinemascope, is so much more brilliant than today's substandard digital 4096K projections on the "large "screen.John Wayne acts like well, John Wayne. He is an authority figure great at giving commands, riding a horse, strutting around and speaking in that unique John Wayne drawl. But projecting serious emotion is not his strong suit. Recalling, over a bottle his wife being butchered by 2 doctors looking for a tumor that does not exist is not very convincing....until he smashes a stack of glasses off the bar counter.William Holden stays behind to tend to a few wounded soldiers, expecting a one-way ticket to a notorious military prison? This William Holden would be more convincing running across the bridge ahead of the troops to friendly lines, shouting, "I'm a doctor, I am too important to be captured." The war scenes are....war scenes? Confederate soldiers jumping off a train running like zombies down the same street, getting killed? Cadet kids marching down a field like robots, getting killed? John Wayne shouts, "sound the bugle, you know what to do," and his soldiers spring instantly into action, knowing exactly what to do. John Ford must have been out arguing with William Holden while a junior flunky directed these battle scenes...or so it seems.

vincentlynch-moonoi Beginning with 1931's "Arrowsmith" starring Ronald Colman, John Ford had more than his share of impressive directorial efforts. This was not one of them. Likewise, though John Wayne was a somewhat limited actor, what he specialized in he did extremely well (e.g., "Rio Bravo" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence"). Unfortunately, for both Ford and Wayne, this film was less than impressive.If I were to pick only one single problem with this film, that problem would be the horrible acting of Constance Towers. One of the worst performances I've ever seen. While she made a few films, she mostly became a television actress (and as of this writing is still alive at 82). Well, no thank you. Her performance in the early phases of the film -- playing the Southern belle -- actually made me giggle. And it wasn't supposed to. Better she ended up on soap operas on afternoon television.Personally, I think there's also a problem with John Wayne's role here. Not with his performance, but with the way the role was written. He seems -- especially in the early parts of the film -- to just be an ass. He seems to insult pretty much everyone, including a doctor who is just doing his job. There is, in my view, nothing admirable in this John Wayne character.When it comes to William Holden, whether I like him or not depends to a large extent on the individual film (although more often than not, I did like him). Here I like him very much in a performance that is, perhaps, a bit more nuanced than usual.And, despite some weaknesses, there are some strong points to this film. Perhaps the most emotional being the young students at the rebel academy being called to fight. It is reminiscent of a later sequence in the wonderful film "Dr. Zhivago", though here the results are not quite so tragic.The supporting actors here are not, in my view, particularly memorable, but they all do their jobs.Overall, this is a "decent" film, but it still falls short of the typical John Ford/John Wayne collaboration. Some of the location photography is quite good. To be fair, this genre doesn't usually hold my attention, but this film did. So while not great, I was going to give it a "7", the ending left me totally flat. Sorry, now we're down to a "6".

utgard14 Union cavalry officer John Wayne leads his men through Confederate Mississippi hoping to reach Baton Rouge. Along the way, he has to deal with Rebel soldiers and spies, as well as clashing with doctor William Holden. While not one of director John Ford's best, this is an interesting movie for a few reasons. First it's a film about the cavalry's role in the Civil War, which is rarely discussed. Second, it takes place largely in Mississippi. Most Civil War movies that take place in the South generally focus on Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, etc. This is one of the few that I can think of to deal with the war in Mississippi. Third, this is John Ford's only Civil War film. He did direct a small segment of How the West Was Won that took place during the war and he certainly had many characters affected by their Civil War experiences in his westerns. But this is the only full movie of his that actually takes place during the war itself.Duke is fine. It's not one of his more memorable roles, though that's more the fault of the script than his performance. William Holden plays an army surgeon Duke is forced to take along with him. In all honesty, Holden's character seems completely tacked-on to the plot. He could've been removed entirely without upsetting the film much. It might have even improved it. Constance Towers is fun as a Southern belle the soldiers have to take with them on their march. At first she seems flighty but soon shows there's more to her. She also has one of the most provocative scenes from any Ford film, where she bends down in front of John Wayne with her cleavage exposed, offering him some chicken and saying "Would you like a leg or a breast?" She's probably the only standout in the film. It's not one of Ford's best. It's watchable and interesting enough, but also overlong and familiar in tone to other cavalry movies I've seen, despite the change in locale. Obviously Wayne and Ford buffs will want to check it out.

hawkswill I noticed in the first review that the contributor wrote that the Song Writer who gave us the Searcher's theme Song was acting in the picture, The Horse Solders. But,did anyone notice bits of the Searcher's theme Song woven into the sound track at points in the movie that concerned Colonel Marlowe and Hannah? Also, there were a great many of the Ford Stock Troupe in this movie contrary to what some have posted. Ken Curtis, Jack Pennick, Bing Russell, Hank Worden, Russell Simpson, OZ Whitehead, Walter Reed, Strother Martin, Denver Pyle, "Good" Chuck Hayward,and "Bad" Chuck Roberson just off the top of my head. I agree with most that this movie has been greatly overlooked and underplayed. I saw it for the first time just the other day, and I am researching for a book on the uncredited stunt men and character actors who MADE our heroes.