Horse Soldiers [DVD] [1960]

 

 

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Colonel John Marlowe (John Wayne) is asked to take his Union calvary troop deep into Confederate territory to destroy the railroad and depot at Newton Station. Much to Marlowe's chagrin, regimental surgeon Major Henry Kendall (William Holden) is also along for the mission. With both men completely at odds with each other as regards adherence to duty and the execution of war. Things are further complicated when the brigade rests at Greenbriar Plantation, because Miss Hannah Hunter (Constance Towers), the plantation's mistress, and her slave Lukey (Althea Gibson) eavesdrop on a staff meeting thus hearing the plans about the raid. To protect the mission, Marlowe is forced to take the two women with him.

John Ford's venture into the American Civil War is adapted from Harold Sinclair's novel of the same name. The story is based around the true story of Grierson's Raid and the climatic Battle of Newton's Station, which was led by Colonel Benjamin Grierson who, along with his men, rode hundreds of miles behind enemy lines in April 1863 to blow up the railroad between Newton's Station and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Thus giving Confederate General John C. Pemberton a whole heap of problems.

What is at first the most striking thing about The Horse Soldiers is the chemistry between Holden and Wayne, friends in real life they were and my how does it show here. It gives the film a real sense of believability, the characters may be at odds as the ideological conflict between the military and the medical professions shows its hand, but a respectful, almost friendly rivalry shines thru from the two icons of machismo. Tho often described as one of the lesser lights in the John Wayne/John Ford partnership, The Horse Soldiers contains all the stock features that make up the best of Ford's Oaters. The Duke, Holden and bright eyed Constance Towers are obviously well framed in gorgeous settings, William Clothier working his photography magic in Louisiana and in and around Natchez, Mississippi. The lead song is a rousing one as Stan Jones warbles 'I Left My Love,' and the piece is chocked full of interesting characters fleshed with Ford thematics. Respect, strength, a love of your country, all given an observational, and customary, sheen from the master director. Ford even takes time to vent his spleen at cowards, courtesy of an engrossing sequence involving Strother Martin, while a running theme of surgery, particularly the legs, gives the piece a dramatic and honest historical core. The battle scenes are as to be expected, handled with skill, with a poignant moment as Confederate Cadettes are sent out to fight by the besieged superiors being as sad and indicative of the War as it is important in the context of Ford's story telling.

Off camera the shoot was not without problems, Ford was battling the bottle and was making everyones life a misery, particularly The Duke. Things were further darkened when Ford's friend, Fred Kennedy, a retired stuntman, asked for a job in the film on account of being broke financially. Reluctantly agreeing he allowed Kennedy to perform a basic stunt of falling off a horse. But tragically, Kennedy broke his neck during the stunt and was dead before reaching the hospital. Ford was shattered, closing down the location site and returning home. The final battle scenes were eventually finished at San Fernando Valley, from where Ford headed to Hawaii and hit the bottle big time. 7.5/10

The Horse Soldiers represents the 11th outing of John Ford and John Wayne. Having created the seminal Westerns Stagecoach, buy the Criterion Blu Ray it's wonderful, and The Searchers some of the other collaborations are a little below par, unsurprising when we have the aforementioned films as benchmarks!
The Horse Soldiers sits comfortably in the upper bracket without ever really reaching the heights of it's predecessors to call it an out and out classic. The story is fast paced and laced with a good dose of underlying humour, most through Constance Towers (slightly miss cast in the role IMO), " Care for some more leg or breast? as she leans over the table with the lowest cut top. Wayne replies "No thank you mam, I've had quite enough". It's a solid Wayne Western.
Onto the Blu ray itself: The colours are vibrant but unfortunately that is where the Blu ray transfer seems to stop. The picture quality is no better than the DVD with the exception of 40% of the close-up scenes which suddenly burst into life and looks great. It is a travesty given the importance of these films and how good transfers can be. If you compare this to How the West was Won, another Ford and Wayne collaboration, albeit John Wayne is only in it for a few minutes, you will see the difference. The Cinerama version of How the West was Won is truly breathtaking and a wonderful transfer. The Horse Soldier alas has been give a cheap update; the film deserves better.
Having said all of the above this version is the best currently available so it's better than not having it at all. We can only hope that maybe a special edition, similar to The Comanchero's digibook a must buy!, may be released in the future. If you can look past the average quality mixed with nice hi def scenes its' an enjoyable film and one which deserves more credit out of the Ford/Wayne collaborations.
4 stars for the film, 3 stars for the transfer

The previous reviewer is being very unfair to this film.(sure it"s not as good as the searchers or the cavalry trilogy)but how many westerns are?. the film is based on a true event fom the spring of 1863 when a unit of union cavalry was sent behind confederate lines to destroy a vital rail depot.wayne and holden"s characters clash along the way while constance towers overhears the plan so has to be taken captive.the film is very enjoyable for western buffs,and how about ford"s cheyenne autumn starring richard widmark finally coming out on region 2 dvd?.

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5.0 out of 5 stars OFF TO NEWTON STATION
I love this great John Wayne film, even the singing at the begining. William Holden plays his part well, it has a good storyline, humour and no swearing, which makes it an ideal... Read more

Published 8 days ago by HONEST JOHN

3.0 out of 5 stars Good But Not Ford And Wayne's Best
Out of the many films John Ford directed John Wayne in, this is probably the weakest and it didn't exactly do quite well in the box office and it was a financhial failure. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Marilyn A. Rice

4.0 out of 5 stars dvd
Bought as a gift. Easy to find on amazon despite it being an old film. Arrived quickly in the post.

Published 1 month ago by ramgib

3.0 out of 5 stars "Doctor, war isn't exactly a civilized business."
The Horse Soldiers is usually damned with faint praise as one of John Ford's lesser Westerns, especially compared to his famed cavalry trilogy. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Trevor Willsmer

5.0 out of 5 stars WAYNE AND FORD.
JOHN FORD..JOHN WAYNE..CAVALRY MOVIE, NOW WHERE COULD YOU GO WRONG??? AND THE STIRRING SCORE BY DAVID BUTTOLPH, FIRST CLASS MOVIE BUSTING WITH CLASS, TRUE WHEN THEY SAY " THEY... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Mrs. Flora Holmes

4.0 out of 5 stars The Horse Soldiers
I bought this film for a friend, but I did watch it as well. It is quite a good film, of its type, with John Wayne as a yankee soldier in the American Civil War. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Lainey

4.0 out of 5 stars Way down south
John Ford is on form and so are John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers in this Union raid on the Confederate States.

Published 19 months ago by Chris

4.0 out of 5 stars La Grange To Baton Rouge, For U.S. Grant
Based on a true story ( loosely ) and sporting a top class cast including John Wayne and William Holden, this John Ford directed western is watchable enough, it seems to lack a... Read more

Published 21 months ago by A. Tomlinson

5.0 out of 5 stars John Wayne Plays Hamlet
Having seen some of the reviews on here you would think JW is a classical actor of the old school, far from it. Read more

Published 23 months ago by catfish-knight

4.0 out of 5 stars The Horse Soldiers
one of John Waynes really good films. Plenty of action, with a mix of a bit of comedy, and a little romance. A good buy.

Published on 14 Aug 2009 by R. Lake

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