I do not write many reviews and will only comment when something is worthy of high praise or to warn against."They Came to Cordura" is a definite "warn against" as it is a fine mess of a movie. Rita Hayworth is 15 years past her "Love Goddess" sell by date and is absolutely wasted here (and probably wishes she were.) Gary Cooper should check for termites with every line reading and is simply too old for this. The acting highlight of this movie was Sam Buffington (a favorite of mine) as a jaded war correspondent who is never seen again after about minute 5 of the film.If only I had been so lucky! There is a pretty interesting cavalry charge against a fixed position held by the banditos in the first 20 or so minutes of the film. Interesting but totally implausible as any officer who had ordered such a charge would have been sacked immediately. Still it provided the only memorable action in a movie which has little.The premise of the movie is absurd. The naivete of Gary Cooper's central character is simply unbelievable in a man of his age with 30 or so years in service. The other characters are stock types and memorable only for who they became in later TV roles (Darren Stephens of "Bewitched", the Chief in "Get Smart" to name two). The wandering in the desert to find the way to Cordura is mind numbingly boring interspersed as it is with set pieces of every man in the group turning against the Major for one reason or another.And the ending is absolutely ridiculous -- one of the worst, least plausible means to The End that has ever been "submitted for your approval" as the characters who so despised the Major enter some sort of Twilight Zone where the men they have been for 2 hours of the movie are completely transformed (by the scribblings in the Major's notebook!) so that they can drag the Major across the finish line that is Cordura.Don't let the fine cast lure you in lest you lose two hours of your life and a lot of your respect for Coop and Ms. Hayworth.

Not sad in the normal sense. It was too long and I did not care for any of the characters. There is always some sympathetic character, one you root for. I really did not care if they got back to Cordura. An earlier comment by bkoganbing about Gary Cooper being the wrong one for the part is so correct. Montgomery Cliff would have been better as the self-doubting one in charge. Gary Cooper has always been to me a very wooden actor and this movie did not change my mind about that. Van Heflin is good as the agitator in the movie and the rest of the actors became more well known in the 60s and did OK as the supporting cast. Rita Hayworth, well is Rita Hayworth. Not a horrible movie, if you have two hours you don't mind not getting back.

Apart from "The Hustler" and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the over-rated "All the King's Men", Robert Rossen was never given his proper due, perhaps because his films straddled so many genres without ever finding a solid footing in any one. But he was certainly no jobbing director even if his voice was never as distinctive as a number of more highly acclaimed film-makers who worked during the same time. This large-scale, all-star 'contemporary' western, (it's set in 1916), is one of his most under-valued films. It's about heroism and cowardice and what makes a man choose one road or the other. In this case the men perform 'heroic' deeds but are deeply flawed as human beings. It's not a 'deep' movie but it is very well-crafted and Rossen certainly has a handle on the material.The central premise, (six men, five of whom are to receive the Congressional Medal of Honour for bravery, and one woman, their prisoner, journey across some particularly wild terrain together), is the stuff of cliché but Rossen keeps us interested in their plight and the cast are top-notch. Hunter, never reckoned to be much of an actor, is surprisingly good as the arrogant young lieutenant while Rita Hayworth, never reckoned to be much of an actress, fails to rise to the occasion here as well. It's also beautifully photographed by Burnett Guffey, who was later to win an Oscar for "Bonnie and Clyde", and it showed Rossen was just as capable of handling a large-scale action picture as he was of handling something as 'interior' as "The Hustler" or "Lilith".

This movie contains some good acting by all the cast. Overall the story is a good idea for a psychological Western, which could have been a really good dramatic movie. However, it is not written well, or maybe it was chopped up in editing. Story-wise its more like a book but with the deep thinking not effectively translated onto the screen, or at least Capt.Thorn's motivations not explained believably enough for me.The drama is done in a rather non-dynamic style, seeming more like just a collection of individual characters rather than an ensemble. Also, the ending is a bit abrupt and it puzzles me from a character standpoint. Cooper performs his usual good understated acting and notable screen presence, but he has aged considerably and his health is obviously in decline to the point where you don't believe he could either chase Pancho Villa or handle the rigors of this story's long journey. Rita Hayworth gives a fine performance- too bad its pretty much wasted in this movie. The supporting actors are also very good, especially Van Heflin, Dick York and Richard Conte.Good wide-screen scenery of rugged Utah and Mexico locations. All of the production values are first-rate.Can't really recommend this movie except for the opportunity to see a fine Rita Hayworth dramatic performance. This is definitely one of Cooper's weaker films, but he was able to courageously overcome health issues to make two outstanding late films- "Wreck of the Mary Deare" and "The Hanging Tree". Look for them to see proof that he still had the right stuff, despite "They Came to Cordura".