Rio Grande,
the final installment in Ford’s ‘Cavalry
Trilogy’, continued the saga of mutually destructive territorial battles
between the US Cavalry and the Native Americans. Interestingly, it also added
another chapter to interesting father-son explorations in the series. In Fort Apache the father was cold and
rigid, in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,
though symbolic, he was warm and understanding, and here he was distant and
silently loving. John Wayne reprised his role from the first film, viz. Kirby
Yorke, now a Lieutenant Colonel and in command of a Texan outpost. He falls in
a position of emotional and professional difficulty when his young son Jeff
(Claude Jarman Jr.), who he hasn’t seen in 15 years, joins his regiment. On one
hand he is delighted to have his son near him after such a long time, while on
the other his sense of integrity wouldn’t allow him to treat his son
differently lest he be accused of partiality. Things become further complicate
with the arrival of his estranged wife (Maureen O’Hara) who wants to take their
son back. Meanwhile the Apaches have grown stronger and more organized with
each passing year, and when children are captured by them, the inevitable face-off
between the warring sides ensues. Wayne gave another fine performance as a man
torn between duty and personal wants – his tough exterior was nicely
counterbalanced by his inner loneliness and craving for love. Monument Valley
once again provided stunning backdrops thanks to the exquisite cinematography,
while the deeply affecting blues and folk songs performed by Sons of the
Pioneers added melancholic touches to this engaging but otherwise reasonably
straightforward and sentimental film.
Director: John Ford
Genre: Western/Cavalry Film
Language: English
Country: US
Released a year after Fort Apache, She Wore a
Yellow Ribbon, the second installment in Ford’s famed ‘Cavalry Trilogy’, was easily the most sentimental and nostalgic of
the lot. However, John Wayne gave a stirring performance as an ageing Captain
on the verge of retirement, thus elevating the film beyond just another
light-hearted fare. Nathan Cutting Brittles (Wayne), stationed at Fort Starke,
is only a few days from a well-deserved retirement that he’s looking forward
to. Meanwhile the Native Americans are getting stronger by the day. So, when
he’s given charge of escorting his commanding officer’s wife and pretty niece
(Joanne Dru), two officers are vying for the attention of whose, his job is cut
out. The mission doesn’t succeed; but he knows that if he takes the easy route
out by calling it a day as his boss wants him to, his sense of duty wouldn’t
let him be and that, given the perils at stake, the young men need his experience
and guile in order to succeed. So, by using a technicality, he takes charge for
one last night while on his way out, in order to facilitate the passage for his
men and prevent unwanted loss of life. The Duke brought an incredible amount of
warmth, humanism and easy charm into his lovingly etched character, thus
lending the film a strong emotional depth. That, combined with the comical interludes
involving his garrulous and alcoholic sidekick, and the love triangle, made
this a soothing and mellow, if a trifle corny and reductive, watch. The
stunning colour photography of Ford’s beloved Monument Valley was another of
its memorable facets.
Director: John Ford
Genre: Western/Cavalry Film
Language: English
Country: US
In Dead
Man Jim Jarmusch meditated on the nature, philosophy and popular perceptions
associated with the Wild West, while also deconstructing its archetypal tropes.
He used the format to compose a lyrical tone poem, to cheekily subvert its
conventions and myths, and to use the canvas for his wryly humorous, absurdist,
idiosyncratic and existentialist musings. The film begins with William Blake
(Johnny Depp), a soft-natured accountant, arriving at the grimy frontier town
of Machine in order to join the firm where he has been offered a job, only to
find that it has been offered to someone else by its grotesque owner Dickinson
(Robert Mitchum in his final role). With hopes dashed and pockets empty, he
gets drunk with his last few cents and spends the night with a former hooker
(Mili Avital). When her ex-boyfriend (Gabriel Byrne), who also happens to be
Dickinson’s son, arrives unexpectedly, shootings result, and the bemused Blake
suddenly finds himself an outlaw on the run with a fat reward on his head,
three vicious hired guns on his tail, and a bullet lodged close to his heart.
He gets an unlikely friend in the form of a deadpan poetry-reading Native
American aptly called Nobody (Gary Farmer) who, ironically, mistakes him for
the legendary poet he shares his name with. Blake, interestingly, began his odyssey
as an outsider – he didn’t just look out of place but even anachronistic, as if
transported to a different era altogether; but by the time it came to a close,
he had become the fastest draw in the West. The luscious B/W photography and
the haunting guitar riffs by Neil Young added a deeply resonating touch to it.
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Genre: Western/Revisionist Western/Psychological Western
Language: English
Country: US
Fort Apache
was the first chapter in John Ford’s renowned ‘Cavalry Trilogy’, the ambitious saga based on James Warner Bellah’s
stories that chronicled the armed territorial struggles between the US Cavalry
and Native Indians from the former’s point of view. Arguably the best of the
lot, it depicted a devastating self-destructive battle led by a stubborn and
blinded commander of a post, only for him to be, ironically, labeled as a great
hero by the media upon his death courtesy an honorable lie. In that respect one
might draw parallels with Ford’s marvelous myth-breaking The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday
(Henry Fonda), a decorated and vainglorious veteran of the Civil War, is
assigned, much to his disdain, the command of the far-flung outpost of Fort
Apache. The men, both commissioned and otherwise, had expected the practical
and respected Captain Kirby York (John Wayne) to be given the job, but
acquiesce to Thursday’s stern presence. The opportunity for a much needed peace
with the Indians arrives on account of Kirby’s intervention; however,
Thursday’s quench for war takes precedence over Kirby’s moral stand as well as
his tactical advices. Consequently when the inevitable battle occurs, Thursday
and his men become sitting ducks to their shrewd opposition leading to a complete
massacre. Meanwhile, the blossoming love affair between Thursday’s lovely
daughter (Shirley Temple) and a young West Point graduate (John Agar) formed a
key sub-plot. The sympathetic and impartial portrayal of the natives counterpointed
by Fonda’s unsympathetic turn, the theme of pig-headed and foolish heroism, depiction
of camaraderie, excellent cinematography, and fine soundtrack made this a
highly engaging watch.
Director: John Ford
Genre: Western/Cavalry Western/War
Language: English
Country: US
Robert Aldrich’s Vera Cruz was one of the earliest films in the transition
of classical Westerns to their revisionist counterparts. Its cynical tone,
penchant for violence and glibly amoral protagonists who prefer money over
cause, were however masked by the action and spectacle that typified it.
Consequently, even though, on hindsight, it feels slight and merely entertaining
vis-à-vis other revisionist Westerns, its importance in the genre’s evolution ought
to be acknowledged. The story is set in 1866 during the Mexican Revolution when
Americans by the handful ventured into the country in the hope for lucrative opportunities
that situations of turmoil generally provide to mercenaries and outlaws. Ben
(Gary Cooper), a former Confederate soldier, and Joe (Burt Lancastar), a crooked
gunslinger, take up the job of protecting Countess Duvarre (Denise Darcel)
during her transportation to Veracruz, at the behest of the country’s emperor
in exchange for a lucrative fee, and much to the chagrin of the rebels.
However, as they soon find out, their real job is to protect the millions worth
gold that is secretly accompanying her, and hence stealing that, with the help
of the duplicitous lady, becomes their objective, while staying a couple of
steps ahead of everyone, including each other. The divergent personalities of
the two principal protagonists – one serious, sober and wary, the other nasty,
unreliable and perennially grinning – made for an interesting psychological
duel, but didn’t alleviate the film beyond its scintillating sequences and gunsmanship.
Further, Cooper looked quite out of sorts given the film’s tone and style, and
particularly in comparison to Lancaster’s delectably over-the-top turn.
Director: Robert Aldrich
Genre: Western/Adventure/Buddy Film
Language: English
Country: US
