# Horse Soldiers, The (1959)

### reviewed by
Dennis Schwartz

HORSE SOLDIERS, THE (director: John Ford; screenwriters: John Lee Mahin/Martin Rackin/From book by Harold Sinclair; cinematographer: William H. Clothier; editor: Jack Murray; cast: John Wayne (Colonel Marlowe), William Holden (Major Kendall), Constance Towers (Hannah Hunter), Althea Gibson (Lukey), Judson Pratt (Sgt. Maj. Kirby), Hoot Gibson (Brown), Willis B. Bouchey (Col. Phil Secord), Carleton Young (Col. Jonathan Miles), Hank Worden (Deacon), Strother Martin (Virgil); Runtime: 119; United Artists; 1959)

    Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

This is a quintessential John Ford Western. There are all his stock characters present, the rousing song to stir one's heart is there as the cavalry troops ride by with Stan Jones singing 'I Left My Love,' there is the formula story of the men in order to be respected proving themselves in combat, and finally the film has Ford's ongoing patriotic message that this country is for everyone who has the guts to fight for it.

Harold Sinclair's novel is based on this actual Civil War mission. The film proves more interesting than its predictable outcome because of Ford's odd touches in certain scenes and John Wayne, who is who he is, giving the film a powerful symbol. In one such scene, the pacifist-leaning surgeon Major Kendall (William Holden) and the gung-ho, company commander, Colonel Marlowe (John Wayne), argue about what comes first, humanitarian treatment or one's army duty, as after the outfit's first squirmish, Kendall stops in a Negro cabin to deliver a child and receives an order from Marlowe not to, saying the mission is the most important thing. It is a fundamental argument that has plagued mankind about war ever since the beginning of time, that is, what is the right way to fight a good war when the object is to kill the enemy. The scene also had a white Union soldier dying and a Negro child being born into freedom with the help of the army doctor, symbolic of the war's effort to be for a good cause.

The plot of the film is set in 1863, as the practical-minded Colonel Marlowe is ordered by General Sherman to take a cavalry brigade 300 miles into enemy territory and destroy the railroad depot and all the tracks between Newton Station and Vicksburg cutting off supplies to the South. There is no plan made for how they are to return to friendly territory, except they should incur as few casualties as possible.

Ford is more interested in the characters in the story than the story itself. The characters are all familiar ones: the new Sergeant Major Kirby (Judson Pratt) likes to drink but is a good fighter, which makes him acceptable in Ford's eyes. Col. Phil Secord (Willis B. Bouchey) is a politician in civilian life, with designs on using his army record to help him get elected as a congressman back in Michigan. Ford doesn't like politicians, they are too willing to compromise their principles. Secord does his job but is too ambitious and sleazy to be thought of as a hero. The heroes are Colonel Marlowe, a railroad engineer in civilian life, who is asked in his military life to destroy what he builds in civilian life. Marlowe is a bitter man, unhappy that his wife was unsuccessfully operated on by two doctors, leaving him with only memories of her and a deep hatred for doctors. But there is no question of his ability to lead and his bravery in combat, and as hard-boiled as he is, there will be the scene that shows he is a just man. Kendall is an equally obstinate man, a medical man who is dedicated to saving lives and is willing to stand up to his superior to fight for what he believes in. He will also prove himself in battle as someone who is a dedicated surgeon and willing to make the tough decisions needed to treat the men properly.

To add some spice and romance to the tale, Marlowe takes over an attractive Southern belle's mansion, Hannah Hunter (Constance Towers). When she tricks him into thinking she's a bimbo and discovers his plans, he is forced to take her and her loyal Negro slave Lukey (Althea Gibson) along to prevent her from tipping off the Confederates. Hunter is well-thought of by Marlowe for her feistiness, horsemanship, loyalty to her cause, and the concern she has for Lukey. As the two fight with each other throughout most of the film, by the film's climax they find they are in love and look at themselves in a new light after all the battles and horrors they have been through. For Ford, it is another heavy symbolic moment, pointing out that the country will only stand strong when it can love one another again and learn to respect those who fought for what they believed in. Ford saves his anger the real enemies, two Confederate deserters, one of whom is the character actor Strother Martin, who is a vile thief. He gets knocked out by Marlowe and turned over to the local sheriff as a deserter. Ford does not put up with cowards in his films.

The film has a lot of gory scenes of surgery, which included showing the amputation of a leg. That was a common operation during the Civil War and so it gave the film an accurate historical perspective. It also showed some violent battles scenes, especially when the Union forces take Newton Station and the outmanned Confederate ragtag soldiers fight bravely knowing they don't have a prayer. In one scene, children from a military school are drawn into battle out of necessity by their elders and Marlowe shows the good sense to retreat rather than to slaughter the brave but foolish youngsters.

This is suprisingly the only film Ford made that was set during the Civil War, and he does himself proud by pointing out the more noble reasons the war was necessary. In Ford's oeuvre, this film would rate somewhere in the middle or slightly better than that, it couldn't quite get past all its static formula presentations to be a great film, but it threw out some diverting ideas, making it a greater film than a typical Western.

    REVIEWED ON 11/22/2000     GRADE: B

Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"

    http://www.sover.net/~ozus

    ozus@sover.net

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