Other Titles • She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) • Der Teufelshauptmann (1954)
Synopses for She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
1.
A lament for the passage of time and the second in the director's acclaimed series of cavalry films, John Ford's SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON stars John Wayne as Capt. Nathan Brittles, a cavalry officer stationed in the Southwest. While contemplating his retirement, which is only a week away, Brittles is assigned to escort the wife and niece of his commanding officer, Maj. Mac Allshard (George O'Brien), to the stage line at Sudros Wells. Although he would prefer to battle the rampaging Cheyenne Indians as his final action, Brittles obeys orders. En route, two of the men in Brittles's patrol, Lieutenants Cohill and Pennell (John Agar and Harry Carey Jr.), get an eyeful of the major's distracting niece, Olivia (Joanne Dru), and nearly kill each other trying to attract her attention. Brittles then gets word from a scout, Sergeant Tyree (Ben Johnson), that a group of Arapaho Indian warriors is heading straight toward Sudros Wells. Wayne is at his best in his sensitive portrayal of an older man reluctantly stepping away from the only life he's known. Despite the constant skirmishing of Ford and cinematographer Winston Hoch, the cameraman won an Oscar for his work on the film and would go on to shoot the director's THE QUIET MAN and THE SEARCHERS.
2.
Director John Ford's frontier masterpiece boasts one of John Wayne's best performances as a cavalry officer in his final week of service. This cinematography Academy Award® winner, lovingly restored to Technicolor glory, is a visual knockout and an essential title for each Western fan's library. Joanne Dru, John Agar, Shirley Temple, Ben Johnson, Victor McLaglen and Mildred Natwick co-star.
3.
The second instalment of John Ford's famous cavalry trilogy, this meditative Western continues the director's fascination with history's obliteration of the past. It features one of John Wayne's more sensitive performances as Capt. Nathan Brittles, a stern yet sentimental war horse who has difficulty preparing for his impending military retirement. All things considered, he refuses to leave before fulfilling his obligation to the local Indian tribe. It's a film about honour and duty as well as loneliness and mortality. And Oscar-winner Winton C. Hoch beautifully photographs it in Remington-like Technicolor tones (you've never seen such stunning cloud-covered skies). The combination of melancholy and farce (Victor McLaglen makes a perfect court jester) evokes comparisons to Shakespeare. Best of all, the scene in which Wayne fights back tears when receiving a gold watch from his troops is unforgettably bittersweet. If you view the whole trilogy, it actually makes sense to save this for last. --Bill Desowitz, Amazon.com
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