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From Amazon.co.uk
Gary Cooper's forte--the searching, lone figure beleaguered by conflicts over conscience, truth, and ethics--followed him all the way to the ambitious They Came to Cordura, his third-to-last feature. Cooper plays Thomas Thorn, a career officer in America's fading horse Army of the early 20th century. Thorn's alleged cowardice in battle has been papered over by superiors: He is to identify acts of bravery during an attack on Pancho Villa's troops and lead those designated heroes to a Medal of Honor ceremony in Cordura, Texas. Though Thorn tries to extract the secret behind courage from each man, he discovers a battle-hardened, bestial side to them as well. The Cordura journey becomes fraught with mutiny and near-assaults on a Yankee expatriate (Rita Hayworth). Thorn, reputation aside, redefines courage on his own terms. This widescreen drama (the DVD offers full-screen format as well) is suspenseful, morally complex, and visually rich, but Cooper's performance carries the day. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
Gary Cooper stars as a disgraced Army officer during the 1916 war against Pancho Villa. Branded a coward, he is charged with accompanying five Medal of Honor candidates (and a female ex-patriate) to a military base in Cordura, and hopes that along the way he will discover what qualities separate them from him. Instead he finds that the five 'heroes' show their true colours as the journey gets tougher, and his female travelling companion (Rita Hayworth) begins to appreciate his leadership qualities in the face of mutiny.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
In this sizzling trek across Mexico Hollywood creates a masterpiece in a study of human behaviour under unusual circumstances and duress.
The circumstances that determine our fickle but fascinating minds is studied in the best psychological western i have ever seen.
The characters are driven by a mysterious courage ,nobility and a selfishness that is very human yet evil and the question of what is the dertemining factor that creates a hero out of an ordinary human being is put to a visceral test,some people will disagree with the bitter truth of the revelation as ROSSEN and swarthout are both very subtle and satirical yet intelligent as the creators of this deceptively smart drama dressed as an action thriller ,but it becomes a penultimate study of the surreal human character which remains a mystery to all.
It does not present any paragons or stereotypes neither any stalwarts but the beauty of being just humane with all their weaknesses ,desires and treachery which becomes evident in this gorgeously made Outdoor epic without a single Indoor shot ,even the mexicans are shown as mere humans rather than an an evil rabble .
The landscape,action and cinematography are excellent and the editing and sound ahead of their time .
Van heflin and Rita hayworth easily steal the show but Cooper and Tab hunter are brilliant as well.
This is a paradoxical enigmatic exploration of heroism and what is it that makes us act as we do in a moment of extra-ordinary hazard ,whether it is self-Defence ,nobility or selfishness which make us do outstanding deeds is the riddle being questioned and the answer is for you to find out as you need to see this great movie .... Read more ›
The circumstances that determine our fickle but fascinating minds is studied in the best psychological western i have ever seen.
The characters are driven by a mysterious courage ,nobility and a selfishness that is very human yet evil and the question of what is the dertemining factor that creates a hero out of an ordinary human being is put to a visceral test,some people will disagree with the bitter truth of the revelation as ROSSEN and swarthout are both very subtle and satirical yet intelligent as the creators of this deceptively smart drama dressed as an action thriller ,but it becomes a penultimate study of the surreal human character which remains a mystery to all.
It does not present any paragons or stereotypes neither any stalwarts but the beauty of being just humane with all their weaknesses ,desires and treachery which becomes evident in this gorgeously made Outdoor epic without a single Indoor shot ,even the mexicans are shown as mere humans rather than an an evil rabble .
The landscape,action and cinematography are excellent and the editing and sound ahead of their time .
Van heflin and Rita hayworth easily steal the show but Cooper and Tab hunter are brilliant as well.
This is a paradoxical enigmatic exploration of heroism and what is it that makes us act as we do in a moment of extra-ordinary hazard ,whether it is self-Defence ,nobility or selfishness which make us do outstanding deeds is the riddle being questioned and the answer is for you to find out as you need to see this great movie .... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Spike Owen
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
On the night of March 18th, 1916, a large mounted force of Mexican rebels under Pancho Villa crossed the American border and attacked the town of Columbus, killing both civilians and soldiers. As a result of this action, the United States Army sent an expedition into Mexico with orders to capture Villa and disperse his forces. It was during this campaign that one man, a United States Army officer, was forced to come face to face with two of the great fundamental questions that affect mankind.
What is courage? What is cowardice? This is the story of his search for an answer.
That summary is the opening text from this oddly {to me} divisive picture from Robert Rossen and Ivan Moffat. Divisive because there are conflicts about it's technical aspects, its length {which cut is original?}, it's talky nature, and if it's splendid cast did the material justice? Well the dispute about the technical aspects being poor certainly don't stand up to the version I saw of the picture, lovely widescreen CinemaScope with Burnett Guffey's photography astutely and rightly oppressive as the story unfolds. As for its length, the version I viewed was two hours long, is this a restored cut or is there still another half hour of Rossen footage lurking somewhere? Either way, the complaint about there being gaps in the film are not evident in this two hour cut. All characters are fully fleshed and every minute of this picture was engrossing and perpetually watchable. The cast are also on fine form, Gary Cooper is perfectly cast as Maj. Thomas Thorn, the man whose moment of weakness hangs heavy round his neck like a curse. Van Heflin, Rita Hayworth, Dick York, Richard Conte and Tab Hunter all help to make this a fine character driven piece.... Read more ›
What is courage? What is cowardice? This is the story of his search for an answer.
That summary is the opening text from this oddly {to me} divisive picture from Robert Rossen and Ivan Moffat. Divisive because there are conflicts about it's technical aspects, its length {which cut is original?}, it's talky nature, and if it's splendid cast did the material justice? Well the dispute about the technical aspects being poor certainly don't stand up to the version I saw of the picture, lovely widescreen CinemaScope with Burnett Guffey's photography astutely and rightly oppressive as the story unfolds. As for its length, the version I viewed was two hours long, is this a restored cut or is there still another half hour of Rossen footage lurking somewhere? Either way, the complaint about there being gaps in the film are not evident in this two hour cut. All characters are fully fleshed and every minute of this picture was engrossing and perpetually watchable. The cast are also on fine form, Gary Cooper is perfectly cast as Maj. Thomas Thorn, the man whose moment of weakness hangs heavy round his neck like a curse. Van Heflin, Rita Hayworth, Dick York, Richard Conte and Tab Hunter all help to make this a fine character driven piece.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
An interesting study of the nature of courage by the director Robert Rossen with an all star cast. Gary Cooper plays Tom Thorn an Army Officer who following a Cavalry charge in the 1916 US expedition to Mexico to capture Pancho Villa, has recommended four motley characters for the congressional medal of honor. On the difficult journey back to Cordura with this disparate group he comes to re-evalute both himself and these supposed heroes.
The subject of bravery and cowardice has been looked at before. John Huston did so when he adapted Stephen Crane's famous book "The Red Badge of Courage" in which interestingly Audie Murphy played the coward who becomes a heroe. Audie Murphy is a good case study. The most decorated US soldier in the second World War was in later life acquitted of attempted manslaughter after a particularly brutal attack on another man. Our heroes so often have feet of clay and that is what this film portrays. It is based on a very good book of the same title by the celebrated author Glendon Swarthout who also wrote "The Shootist". The question of what makes one man brave and another just plain scared will probably never be resolved. Often the bravest acts in life go completely unnoticed and what is a brave act for one may not be so for another. It will be the subject of many more films. Overall this film is a good attempt. Not strong on action, but sincere and well meaning if a little heavy on occasion. Highly recommended.
The subject of bravery and cowardice has been looked at before. John Huston did so when he adapted Stephen Crane's famous book "The Red Badge of Courage" in which interestingly Audie Murphy played the coward who becomes a heroe. Audie Murphy is a good case study. The most decorated US soldier in the second World War was in later life acquitted of attempted manslaughter after a particularly brutal attack on another man. Our heroes so often have feet of clay and that is what this film portrays. It is based on a very good book of the same title by the celebrated author Glendon Swarthout who also wrote "The Shootist". The question of what makes one man brave and another just plain scared will probably never be resolved. Often the bravest acts in life go completely unnoticed and what is a brave act for one may not be so for another. It will be the subject of many more films. Overall this film is a good attempt. Not strong on action, but sincere and well meaning if a little heavy on occasion. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
They Came to Cordura is one of those good ideas that never really works, as Gary Cooper's disgraced officer in Pershing's disastrous Mexican misadventure escorts a motley group of heroes he's recommending for the Medal of Honor to Cordura, hoping to find out the secret of their courage only to discover that one moment of unselfish heroism doesn't necessarily redeem a man anymore than one act of cowardice damns him. After a spectacular early battle, action is thin on the ground, with the film more concerned with the way this increasingly lost patrol gradually turn on each other as bandits and disease turn their simple journey into a test of endurance and character. Despite boasting an impressive cast - Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Van Heflin, Richard Conte - the performances are more professional than inspired, with Tab Hunter of all people giving the best performance by far as the ambitious young officer who, like the various others, has his own reasons not to want the medal.
Columbia's DVD offers a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.
Columbia's DVD offers a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Oww!
Ever wondered why there were two Darrin's in Bewitched? Because of this movie! Dick York left the series after the fifth one because of a crippling back problem he suffered from... Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2007 by D. James
3.0 out of 5 stars
"I have a chance to put my hand on the bare heart of heroism."
(3.5 stars) Directed by Robert Rossen in 1959, this exploration of the nature of courage has limited appeal in the present day. Maj. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2006 by Mary Whipple
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