This film doesn't seem to garner much appreciation by other reviewers on this board but I thought it had an interesting concept. It reminded me of Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers", as the soldiers newly tapped for Congessional Medals of Honor were to then be used as a propaganda tool for the country's entrance into World War I. Even today, the idea of 'selling' a war seems like a foreign concept and not to be undertaken in a commercial manner.The film offers a lot of dichotomies to consider, chief among them the idea that a soldier attaining the rank of Major would have been chosen to operate as an Awards Officer even though he himself experienced cowardice in battle. That's Major Thorn's (Gary Cooper) task as he navigates his way through the situations and personalities that challenge his authority throughout the picture. I didn't get the sense that he was cowardly in any way and it required the story to play out in order to show his true colors.Interesting casting for this picture with the likes of Richard Conte, Dick York, Tab Hunter, and Van Heflin who looked like he packed on a few pounds since "Shane". I knew Rita Hayworth was in the cast but when she showed up a a blonde it didn't register. The resolution to the story didn't quite fit with everything that went before, leaving one to wonder what would happen once everyone finally set foot in Cordura. One of the reasons the picture merits it's weak reviews.

One of the more interesting Westerns of the 1950s, Robert Rossen's "They Came to Cordura" stars Gary Cooper as a US Army officer tasked with leading a small group of men to the frontier town of Cordura. The group is attacked, lose their horses, and begin to turn on one another as they slowly roast in the desert heat."Cordura" is slow and uninvolving for most of its running time, but was directed by Robert Rossen, whose films nevertheless often have an interesting, intellectual bent. Here we're given a lesson in the contradictions of "honor", "morality", "courage" and "cowardice". Acts of virtue, we then learn, are often intertwined with xenophobia, selfishness and personal ambition, a lesson which the film's introductory title card tastelessly informs us to expect. Rossen, unsurprisingly, was hounded by the House Un-American Activities Committee.Whatever its flaws, "Cordura's" final act is powerful. Here Cooper nobly and singlehandedly pulls a rail-cart across Mexican deserts. A character, played by Rita Hayworth, similarly sullies her body in a gesture of altruism. In a film plagued by stiff, poor acting, Hayworth shines.6.9/10 – See Martin Ritt's "Hombre" for a superior take on similar material. See too Dmytryk's "Broken Lance".

In 1916, an army major leads a woman prisoner and a disagreeable group of soldiers through rugged terrain near the Mexican border. This is a standard Western that takes a while to get going and then goes on a bit too long, but is helped by a good cast. Cooper, who was ailing at the time and would make only two more films, is solid as a cowardly officer tasked with finding candidates for the Congressional Medal of Honor. Hayworth is quite alluring as an American accused of abetting Mexico against her country. The familiar cast includes Heflin and Conte as the villains, Keith as a colonel seeking glory, as well as future TV actors York and Platt. This was the only Western for Rossen, an uneven director.

A really good movie. Ultimately a redemption movie. Heroes can also be villains. A single act of cowardice or an act of courage does not mark the measure or the destiny of a man. Also, confidence in people can change them and reform them.The acting is superb throughout, and Gary Cooper captures wonderfully the gradual decline as he leads his motley crew on a trek to survival through the desert. An heroic performance to match the hero he portrays.This is movie that deserves more acclaim than it has received. In my book this is a must see. Great fare for Sunday afternoon on the couch!