Executive producers: John Ford, Merian C. Cooper. An Argosy Pictures Production, released through RKO-Radio Pictures. Copyright 26 July 1949 by Argosy Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 17 November 1949. U.S. release: 22 October 1949. U.K. release: 8 May 1950. Australian release: 25 May 1950. 9,514 feet. 105 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Cavalry captain enters his last week of service before retirement. Encouraged by Custer's defeat, the various Indian tribes join together to fight their common enemy: the white man. NOTES: Hollywood's most prestigious award went to Winton C. Hoch (only) for Best Color Cinematography of 1949, defeating The Barkleys of Broadway, Jolson Sings Again, Little Women, and Sand. Locations in Monument Valley, Utah. Shooting commenced early November 1948, winding up early December 1948. COMMENT: A terrific film - except for one thing: the unconvincing slapstick involving Victor McLaglen. This seems pretty artificial when it starts (even though it does serve a useful purpose in providing necessary background information), but gets progressively less bearable until culminating in a ridiculous brawl. Fortunately, aside from the climactic all-in, these contrived scenes fail to spoil the picture as a whole. They could in fact easily be eliminated (though it would mean the loss of Francis Ford's part). Otherwise, script, locations, action and acting are absolutely perfect. Wayne, in a character role, gives the best performance of his career. With the exception of the hammy McLaglen, he's given solid support too, with memorable cameos from Tom Tyler as an injured corporal, Rudy Bowman as the dying Trooper Smith, and Chief John Big Tree as the conciliatory Pony That Walks. Amongst the principals, John Agar (Mr Shirley Temple at the time) is adequate enough, Ben Johnson is better, whilst Mildred Natwick is outstanding. But I thought the most winning portrayal came from the beautiful, talented but much under-rated Joanne Dru. Although he had worked with cinematographer Hoch on his immediately previous Three Godfathers, producer-director Ford was unhappy with the amount of time Hoch (a technical perfectionist) took to light his locations whilst cast and the rest of the crew broiled in the desert sun. A showdown came when Ford ordered Hoch to continue shooting during a thunderstorm. Hoch filed an official complaint with his union, alleging that the likely sub-standard photographic quality of the shots would damage his reputation. To Hoch's amazement, the executive board of the American Cinematographers Society sided with Ford, saying the director was within his rights to insist that photography be attempted even though lighting and other conditions may have been unfavorable. Hoch protested vehemently and even canvassed the option of tendering his resignation, when he was hit with a second surprise. His photography captured the Society's award for the best color work of the quarter and subsequently went on to win America's most prestigious award for Best Color Photography for 1949. The thunderstorm sequence was singled out for praise. Belatedly realizing that outstanding photography does not result from mere technical perfection but from an artistic creativity that on occasion involves the taking of risks and bending of rules, Hoch thanked Ford profusely for forcing his hand and expressed the desire to work with the director again. Ford took Hoch at his word, assigning him to The Quiet Man (1952), for which Hoch won yet another award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences!

. . . saved America in the late 1870s with his flick SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON. As this movie begins, George Custer and his 211 men are freshly dead. They cannot even be considered as "road kill," because America's Interstate Highway System has yet to be built. Native Americans are proving to be sore losers, unhappy with their many Reservations, having already squandered the $24 the Dutch paid them for Manhattan (which, by extension, Escrowed the rest of the U.S., since the Manhattan Project makes sure Wall Street runs everywhere). Buoyed by Custer's demise, RIBBON's narrator recounts, ALL of the "Indian" tribes have banded together to "go on the Warpath." He tells us that one more Native Triumph will delay construction of the Interstate System until 2200 or so. Against this backdrop, Capt. Nathan Brittles has exactly 12 minutes to defeat the Unified Tribes once and for all, while deciding which of his lieutenants should have his fort's only eligible young lady. Though I guess you could say that any of Today's Interstate Highway Signs is a "Spoiler" as to the outcome of Brittles' Mission, it doesn't hurt drivers on the freeways to be grateful to Nate.

John Ford finally relented in his preference for B&W film making to give us a long overdue look at the predominantly rusty-colored spectacular Monument Valley backdrops featured in major portions that took place outside of the fort. The sequences when the cavalry is walking their horses, with a thunderstorm or mist in the background, are particularly memorable as a mood setter.Duke Wayne is back from the previous year's "Fort Apache", again as second in command, technically. But this time, he pretty much runs the show, with minimal interference from easy-going fort-bound Major MacAllshard, who is very different from Fonda's up-tight dictatorial Colonel Thursday in "Fort Apache". Here, Wayne plays a much older man, around 60, who is due to retire in a few days. Very much the father figure for the younger set. John Agar also returns from "Fort Apache" to play a similar role as the young lieutenant romantic lead. But instead of actual wife Shirley Temple, he has equally luscious-looking Joanne Dru to woo. And, he has stiff competition this time from Harry Carey Jr.. The volatile relationship between these 3 very much brings back memories of a similar sparring between cavalrymen Errol Flynn and Ronny Reagan over Olivia de Havilland, in "Santa Fe Trail". Dru's character is even named Olivia. Actually, Olivia seems much more in love with Wayne's mature character than with the sparring young duo. Obviously, Ford was impressed with the acting of Duke and feisty Dru in the previous year's outstanding western "Red River". Wayne is back with his older, more authoritarian, persona exhibited in that film, plus a moustache. But, again, the mood of the film is quite different: much more relaxed.Ben Johnson, another relatively young buck, is given his most visible film role to that point, as Wayne's chief scout. Likable Ben was a real Oklahoma cowboy and champion horse rider, and would team with Harry Carey Jr. as the laconic male stars in Ford's "The Wagon Masters", the following year. Dru would also return as the female star in that film. Ben rode two famous horses in this and the latter films: Steel and Bingo. Steel was valued as making riders look especially good, while Bingo was a champion galloper.The abundant music, while repetitive, consists mostly of well-known spirited traditional songs, mostly about sweethearts, often sung by troops through the years, including my Vietnam-era training troop. It certainly adds to the generally relaxed, jovial, tone of the film.Charismatic Victor McLaglen is back from "Ft. Apache", serving as the thoroughly Irish, whiskey-fired, top sergeant cut up. He is the star of an extended slapstick brawl. Ford often had at least one fisted brawl in his westerns, which might be serious, slapstick, or a mix of the two. He always included some humor in his films, however subtle, and there is plenty in this one. One type of humor is running gags or lines. Duke's repetitive "Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness" is an example. The film opens with an attack by Cheyenne Dog Soldiers(a military-oriented brotherhood) on the fort paymaster stage, to obtain money to buy more rifles. 20 years later, the much Vietnam War-influenced cavalry western "Soldier Blue" would open with a similar Cheyenne attack, again to obtain money to buy rifles. Unlike "Ft. Apache" and the subsequent "Rio Grande", a battle with Apaches is not included in this film. Besides Cheyenne, Arapahoes, Kiowas, and Comanches are mentioned as putting aside their traditional animosities, forming a common military alliance against rapidly encroaching Europeans. As in "Ft. Apache", Wayne makes a daring parley visit to the hostile 'Indian' encampment. There are no battles between mounted 'Indians' and cavalry. In several instances, the cavalry merely sees the results of an 'Indian' attack, including the satisfying murder of the gun-running fort sutlers. However, there is the late dramatic stampeding of the 'Indian' warrior's horses through their camp in the dead of night, as Wayne's commission as a soldier expires. The point was to limit the ability of the warriors to fight, with minimal bloodshed on either side. This episode encapsulates the result of the historic Red River War, headed by Colonel MacKenzie, which effectively ended the Indian Wars on the southern plains. Another MacKenzie-lead exploit is the basis of the subsequent "Rio Grande".... Wayne thinks his military career is now over, and we see him riding off into the sunset. But, he's in for a surprise!Irishman Ford actually identified with Native Americans as another group, who like the Irish, were commonly persecuted by mainstream Anglo-Saxon society. Thus, he usually tried to portray them in a relatively favorable light, although he knew that most of his audiences expected them to be mostly cast as expendable impediments to western expansion. This favoritism is seen most vividly in his last cavalry western: "Cheyenne Autumn", especially in the bizarre "Dodge City" segment.

Skip it – People associate the words "cavalry," "Indians," and "John Wayne" with the word "action movie." But where's the action in this one? This is a very disappointing western because it has only two small skirmishes in the entire movie. They are not even long enough to be called battles. Sure, John Wayne is great in his role as an aging cavalry officer mere days away from his retirement. But this is a cavalry "fort soap opera," and if you're not careful you'll find yourself nodding off to sleep. This is the second of the John Ford/John Wayne cavalry trilogy of 1948-1950. Wayne's character is different than the one he plays in "Fort Apache" and "Rio Grande." Yet this story has several characters from those other movies played by the same actors (ex. Ben Johnson as "Tyree" and Victor McLaglen as "Quincannon.") FYI, Even though the trilogy has overlapping characters, it is not meant to be watched in any particular sequence. 1.5 action rating