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| famous thunderstorm scene in SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON |
# 19
SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (Argosy/RKO, 1949)
DIRECTOR: John Ford; PRODUCERS: John Ford and Merian C. Cooper; WRITERS: Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings from a story by James Warner Bellah; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Winton C. Hoch
CAST: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr., Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, George O'Brien, Arthur Shields, Francis Ford, Harry Woods, Chief Big Tree, Tom Tyler, Frank McGrath, Jack Pennick, Fred Graham, Noble Johnson, Cliff Lyons, Mickey Simpson
SGT. QUINCANNON (Victor McLaglen): "The army will never be the same when we retire."
CAPT. BRITTLES (John Wayne): "The army is always the same. The sun and the moon change, but the army knows no seasons."
CAPT. BRITTLES (John Wayne): "The army is always the same. The sun and the moon change, but the army knows no seasons."
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| Capt. Nathan Brittles |
This is the second in Ford's cavalry trilogy and, in general, the most highly regarded. It is the only one of the three to be filmed in color, and there is no doubt that visually it is the better film, and one of the most beautiful ever filmed.
It has the look and feel of the Western paintings of Frederic Remington and Charlie Russell, which is exactly what Ford hoped to accomplish, and he and cinematographer Hoch succeed to a superb degree. Hoch won an Academy Award for cinematography for his efforts.
However, because of the panoramic photography and the Monument Valley locations it loses a lot on the TV screen and must be seen on a large screen to be fully appreciated.
The plot is episodic and slow in spots and overly-sentimental in others, but, particularly if viewed on a large screen, one can not help but like it. J.A. Place put it perfectly when she wrote that "it is a symphony for the ears and a canvas for the eyes more than a narrative for the mind."
"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness." -- Capt. Brittles
Joanne Dru began her acting career by winning roles in several classic Westerns.
"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness." -- Capt. Brittles
Joanne Dru began her acting career by winning roles in several classic Westerns.
Her second film was Howard Hawks' RED RIVER (UA, 1948), in which she co-starred with John Wayne and Montgomery Cliff.
From there she moved on to SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON, only her third picture.
The following year she would co-star in another Ford classic Western, WAGON MASTER (RKO, 1950).
All in all, it was quite a good beginning for the young actress who was born Joanne Latitia Lacock, but changed her name to Joanne Marshall at the beginning of her acting career. Howard Hawks then changed her name to Joanne Dru for her role in RED RIVER.
Ben Johnson is magnificent in several chase scenes aboard the famous movie horse, Steel, which alone is worth viewing the film.
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| Joanne Dru and John Agar |
Ben Johnson is magnificent in several chase scenes aboard the famous movie horse, Steel, which alone is worth viewing the film.
Wayne's outstanding performance of a cavalry officer near the end of his career, the Monument Valley locations, and Johnson's horsemanship make the film an enjoyable treat.
Frank McGrath, who appears in many scenes as the bugler, does not speak a single word of dialogue, but lets the bugle do his talking for him. Starting out as a stuntman, he would talk and talk and talk as Charlie Wooster, the cook, in the long running TV Western Wagon Train.
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| Ben Johnson on "Steel" |
Frank McGrath, who appears in many scenes as the bugler, does not speak a single word of dialogue, but lets the bugle do his talking for him. Starting out as a stuntman, he would talk and talk and talk as Charlie Wooster, the cook, in the long running TV Western Wagon Train.
She wore it for her lover who was far, far away
Around her knee she wore a purple garterShe wore it in the springtime and in the month of MayHey, heyAnd if you asked her why the heck she wore itShe wore it for her lover who was far, far away
Behind the door her father kept a shotgunHe kept it in the springtime and in the month of MayHey, heyAnd if you ask him why the heck he kept itHe kept it for her lover who was far, far away
And on the wall she keeps a marriage licenseShe keeps it in the springtime and in the month of MayHey, heyAnd if you asked her why the heck she keeps itShe keeps it for her lover who is far, far away
Songwriters: L. Parker / M. Ottner
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REVIEWS
"In a handful of motion pictures, John Wayne brought both power and sensitivity to his roles. SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON is among these. His performanc as the grizzled Captain Brittles is brilliant, and peerless; it is impossible to think of any actor bringing Brittles to life so well. [It] is a marvelously entertaining masterwork; proof that art can be fun." -- Brian Garfield in Western Films.
"John Wayne gives a commanding, yet restrained performance....Academy Award-winning Winton Hoch augments this nostalgic atmosphere with colors that glow like a campfire....No one invented and reinvented the Western like Ford....[Ford's] usual excellent production, with sweep, scope, entertainment." -- Stephen H. Scheuer
"Director Ford's stock company in fine form. Wayne [is] excellent. Beautifully filmed in color, but a bit top-heavy with climaxes." -- Leonard Maltin
"[Ford's] action is crisp and electric. His pictures are bold and beautiful. No one could make a troop of soldiers riding across the Western plains look more exciting and romantic than the great director does. No one could get more emotion out of a thundering cavalry charge or an old soldier's farewell departure from the ranks of his comrades than he." -- Bosley Crowther in the New York Times
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REVIEWS
"In a handful of motion pictures, John Wayne brought both power and sensitivity to his roles. SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON is among these. His performanc as the grizzled Captain Brittles is brilliant, and peerless; it is impossible to think of any actor bringing Brittles to life so well. [It] is a marvelously entertaining masterwork; proof that art can be fun." -- Brian Garfield in Western Films.
"John Wayne gives a commanding, yet restrained performance....Academy Award-winning Winton Hoch augments this nostalgic atmosphere with colors that glow like a campfire....No one invented and reinvented the Western like Ford....[Ford's] usual excellent production, with sweep, scope, entertainment." -- Stephen H. Scheuer
"Director Ford's stock company in fine form. Wayne [is] excellent. Beautifully filmed in color, but a bit top-heavy with climaxes." -- Leonard Maltin
"[Ford's] action is crisp and electric. His pictures are bold and beautiful. No one could make a troop of soldiers riding across the Western plains look more exciting and romantic than the great director does. No one could get more emotion out of a thundering cavalry charge or an old soldier's farewell departure from the ranks of his comrades than he." -- Bosley Crowther in the New York Times
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