I thought I'd try another western, by none other than John Ford, since it came by late one night on the BBC. The story is rather unusual for its time, as I understand it, and the flashback motif works pretty well with that. The (sort of) running gag with the judge and his wife was wearing a little thin at some point, though.The cast members play quite well, with Wooody Strode as the stout-hearted Sergeant Rutledge as my personal favorite. Toby Michaels (uncredited), in the role of victim Lucy Dabney, was a positive ray of sunshine, which will help the viewer rooting for any angry mob out for justice. The story stays interesting enough, even if there are no real surprises, and things stay sort of goody-goody most of the time.A good 7 out of 10.

When this movie was made, its argument against racism was timely and still enough of a novelty to be interesting. The idea of a troop of black soldiers fighting as well as white ones would no doubt have been satisfying to many well-intentioned people, as would Woody Strode's portrayal of a noble warrior with a strong sense of integrity. It was a far cry from the demeaning stereotypes of black people that one found in the movies only a few years earlier--including Ford's own "The Sun Shines Bright." Today it's a different story. The movie seems obsessed with miscegenation--the sheer horror of a black man having intimate contact with a white woman! Good thing Sergeant Rutledge was an honorable man who would never do such a thing.Then there is the portrayal of Sergeant Rutledge as something larger than life. Instead of Stepin Fetchit, we have The Noble Black Hero. We see Woody Strode in several poses designed to portray him as an almost mythic character.The movie alternates between courtroom scenes that are not very exciting and outdoor sequences that, in true John Ford fashion, are beautiful. The early sequence in the railroad station is dreamlike and scary. The views of Monument Valley are majestic.

With most of America enthralled with Raymond Burr as "Perry Mason" on TV and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" about to be released, director John Ford was at least ahead of the curve, even this late in his career. "Sergeant Rutledge" places the now-familiar trial of the noble Black man accused of raping a White woman in Mr. Ford's western setting. And, set in Monument Valley, to boot. The timely story has some problems, but should be appreciated for its effort.First of all, the title presumes the picture to be about "Sergeant Rutledge" (Woody Strode), who couldn't have been familiar to the vast majority of filmgoers - so, the more symbolically representative "Captain Buffalo" would have been a preferable title. And, it often seems like the title character is more like a prop, with romantic defenders Jeffrey Hunter (as Tom Cantrell) and Constance Towers (as Mary Beecher) taking center stage. Finally, the courtroom and location flashbacks aren't juxtaposed well, until the exciting climaxes. Watch for fluttering Billie Burke (as Cordelia) in her last featured role.Also, Ford "extra" Mae Marsh (as Nellie) gets a relatively good amount of screen time playing (obviously) a fluttery friend of Billie Burke. Ford, and many members of his troupe, absolutely recalled Ms. Marsh's courtroom appearance in D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance" (1916) - once upon a time, it was considered one of the most memorable moments in film. So, to have Marsh bracketing two great directors' attempts to redress past racist images is grand ironic counterpoint.****** Sergeant Rutledge (5/18/60) John Ford ~ Woody Strode, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Billie Burke

This is a marvelous Western starring Jeffery Hunter and Woodie Strode--thanks in large part to the always wonderful direction of John Ford and the fact that this film dared to take a big risk. In the 1950s and 60s, American was still struggling desperately with racism and it was still widely acceptable to demean or mistreat Black people. However, this film deliberately tries to debunk this myth that Black people are in some way inferior. The film attacks racism without being preachy or ridiculous (something that makes me hate GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT due to its very heavy-handed way of dealing with antisemitism).Woody Strode, as usual, plays a very dignified and wonderful role as a soldier on trial for rape and murder. He was a very fine actor and you wonder how much further he could have gone in life had he been White. Hunter plays the man defending him and shows more than he could in most of his other pretty forgettable films. The actual story of what occurred unfolds in flashbacks told during the course of the trial and the style is very reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa's film Rashômon. This is VERY ironic, as for years, Kurosawa had been a huge fan of Ford and tried to emulate the master director! In this case, it is the other way around! The film is near-perfect in the acting, story and execution. Watch this film and see that Westerns CAN be more than just the typical horse and Indian flick.