Rating Ford's Cavalry Trilogy

[MissGoddess]

All I can add is: "what Lynn said."

[mrsl]

I guess I'm not as nice as you gals. The funny thing is, I loved what Henry Fonda did with the Thursday character. It was a super job of acting. I would have liked to kick him you know where. But that's what I meant when I said York should not have said anything about Thursday, though as Lynn said, he couldn't praise the men and not their leader. Basically the same as telling the coach it was a good game, even though they lost.

Miss G, how are you doing with Jimmy Stewart westerns?

Anne

[movieman1957]

I'm inclined to think that though this wasn't a cover-up, per se, there is a motive to keeping the image up. It wouldn't do for the Army to have a reputation that the public wouldn' trust when one man screwed it all up.

[MissGoddess]

I believe Ford brilliantly showed the "facts" while also illustrating how people felt they have to cling to the legend, instead, for what was, in their minds and probably Ford's, too, the "good of the country". However, that does not take away from the barefaced telling of the facts. This is why I believe we actually are getting what we think at first we are denied at the end: Ford DOES show the ugly reality (during the body of the film, since it turns out this story is being told in flashback by John Wayne to the reporters), and by showing the facts gets us in the audience to questioning why men like Thursday can be perpetuated. That he ends it the way he does is because that is how history is typically told to succeeding generations---subjectively , as Wayne does, and to feed a need that humans have to believe certain things were not done in vain.

I believe Ford always questioned this aspect of historical perspective, while at the same time understood and was empathetic toward those needs. The past and its role in the present is one of the most consistent and strongest themes in all his major works and it's a theme he was always very complex about, contrary to what many critics of his work believe. They think he glorifies the Thursdays of the past, while that simply is not the case upon closer inspection.

Hope that makes some sense, I'm a bit tired so I am not thinking too clearly. All I know is the closer you peer, the more layers you are willing to peel away in many of Ford's betst films, including Fort Apache, the more deeply thoughtful and philosophic they reveal themselves to be. That they also work on the level of pure entertainment without deeper examination, is a testament to his showmanship.

[mrsl]

Great explanation Miss Goddess, I think you've hit the nail firmly on the head. I didn't realize before that we are actually seeing the 'true' story before Wayne starts talking. Thank you, you really cleared that up.

Anne

[mrsl]

I just caught She Wore A Yellow Ribbon this morning and watched the whole movie. Fort Apache is still the number one of the three, and if not for Joanne Dru, I might put SWAYR in second place but she absolutely ruins it for me. Mr. Ford was wonderful at getting emotional facial expressions from his actors with no words uttered, but he failed miserably with her. The scene at Mrs. Brittles' grave should have shown silent commiseration and empathy in Dru's face but instead she looked stoic, hard, and completely unemotional - in a close up yet! With words, when she was angry, or happy, she did fine, but without dialog she sinks.

Mildred Natwick, on the other hand was great. Her drunk scene in the wagon was so funny, especially when she sat at the back to get some air, and I never noticed before how the Duke patted her on the head as he passed her by. Another thing I never noticed was that Miss Dandridge (J. Dru), was not in any of the scenes at the burned out station. Simply being a woman you would expect her to see to one of the children with the Colonels' wife. There again however, no words were spoken, so Dru was probably either written out of the scenes or cut out.

Anne

[MikeBSG]

Recently on youtube I looked up the 1960 Bugs Bunny cartoon "Horse Hare" in which Bugs Bunny is a trooper single-handedly defending the fort against Renegade Sam who is leading a war party of Indians.

This cartoon is in some ways a parody of "She Wore a yellow Ribbon" with "The Girl I left behind me" playing as the cavalry rides away from the post. Someone should pair it with Ford's film on TCM one day.

"Horse Hare" was directed by Friz Freleng.

[MissGoddess]

Oh how cute! I don't remember that one, at least not from the description but I'd love to see it.

[rohanaka]

Just stepping in for a minute here....

Want to chime in w/ a rating:

Gotta go with:
Rio Grande
Ft. Apache
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

I have always preferred the first two over the third... but their present order is subject to change. Because honestly.. having to rate them is kinda hard sometimes. (It could very well come out differently depending on which one I might be watching at the time.) ha.

Now back to Bugs Bunny.... (another FAVORITE of mine too!!)