“The sun and the moon change. The Army knows no seasons.”
The second of Ford’s Calvary Trilogy is repackaged and included in the Wayne/Ford box set. It’s a great movie and features some Academy Award winning color cinematography by Winton C. Hoch.
Capt. Nathan Brittles (John Wayne – in effective old age makeup) is counting down to his retirement. Some of the men under his command include Lt. Cohill (John Agar), Sgt. Tyree (Ben Johnson), Sgt. Quincannon (Victor McLaglen), and 2nd Lt. Penell (Harry Carey, Jr.). Other notables in the fort include its commander Major Allshard (George O’Brien) and Dr. O’Laughlin (Arthur Shields). The state is reeling from the shock of Custer’s defeat at Little Big Horn.
The fort is also reeling from some good old fashioned male rivalry for the attentions of Olivia Dandridge (Joanne Dru), the commander’s niece. Penell and Cohill wish that she would wear a yellow ribbon for them, meaning that she’s a man’s sweetheart. Brittles is going out on patrol when he sees that a wagon will be accompanying it (and slowing it down).
He complains to Major Allshard who informs him that Mrs. Allshard (Mildred Natwick), affectionately called Old Iron Pants by the men, and Miss Dandridge will be in the wagon and to be escorted to safer surroundings due to the local Indians feeling their oats over the defeat of Gen. Custer.
They arrive at the stagecoach stop to find that it’s been attacked and burnt down by the warring Indians. They turn around and head back towards the fort. They leave Cohill on one side of the river to hold off the Indians, promising to return soon. However, when they make it back they cannot return as soon as they wanted to and by the time they will be able too Brittles will be officially retired. At four hours till retirement, Brittles rides into the Indian camp to try and make peace.
Have you been touching the bottle
The show is all the Dukes and he performs admirably as Nathan Brittles. This is one of my favorite performances of his (along with True Grit and the Shootist, off the top of my head). However, Victor McLaglen gets points for his scene stealing performance as the colorful drunkard Quincannon. This is the second of Ford’s Calvary Trilogy and the only one to be shot in glorious Technicolor. Its color cinematography was so good that it won an Academy Award.
There are many touching moments in the film. Such as the graveside conversation that Brittles has with his late wife and when the men present Brittles with a pocket watch. We also have a bit of a love triangle since both Cohill and Penell are fighting over the affections of Olivia. I won’t tell you who wins her hand. It’s also good to see Ben Johnson. This film also has a fair amount of “Irish color.” It makes you wonder if only the Irish were allowed to enlist in the U.S. Calvary.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is presented in fullscreen as it was originally shown. Special features include 4 minutes of John Wayne and John Ford home movies and the theatrical trailer. The rest of the special features are text based and include a short essay about Wayne and Ford’s collaborations, cast & crew list, and a mention of the cinematography Academy Award. This appears to be the same disc that Warner Brothers released before, just repackaged for the Wayne/Ford set.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is one of the Duke’s best performances and fans of his will want to add it to their collection. If you buy the Wayne/Ford set you’re getting it whether you like it or not.
Fighting over Olivia
It is definitely a classic and worth having in your collection. I would’ve scored this a 4 star, however, I’m going to knock .5 of a star off since it’s just a repackage (although I will admit that I like the new box art much better than the old box art).
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information. The film is also part of the John Wayne/John Ford Film Collection DVD set now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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