
The Command (David Butler, 1954). The first ‘Scope western, apparently, about an inexperienced cavalry sawbones (Guy Madison) tapped for command when a wagon train needs an escort through Indian territory. A solid outing with all the conventions in place, some exciting stuntwork, and even a few stabs at mentioning the toll of the white move west (in the form of regretting that Native Americans are going to get exposed to smallpox). Samuel Fuller is credited with the “adaptation” of a story by James Warner Bellah, author of the tales that became John Ford’s cavalry trilogy. The laid-back Madison – who looks like he drifts off in the middle of a line reading – is good casting, because he indeed looks outmatched and out of place, especially standing next to an actor with energy like James Whitmore. Joan Weldon, from Them!, is the leading lady.
The Invaders (prob. Francis Ford, 1912). Dandy early western, produced on an impressive scale by Thomas Ince, in which the natives are clearly being screwed over by the white railroad surveyors. Many fabulous shots contained here, including a moment when a surveyor wants to flirt with an Indian girl and stands astride a small stream, as though embodying Manifest Destiny in his blank confidence.
Custer’s Last Fight (Francis Ford, 1912). On a much cruder level, a docu-drama re-creation of the Little Big Horn, with G.A. Custer (played by director Ford, John’s older brother) treated in unqualified heroic terms; Sitting Bull is depicted as a coward. The “You Are There” approach is interesting, despite the propaganda. (This triple bill was the first salvo in a 12-week series of cavalry films, which is how I’ll be spending my Wednesday afternoons here in Edinburgh in the near future.)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »