The Horse Soldiers Details

This stirring American Civil War epic was not liked on its release by fans of the great western director John Ford: it's not really a western and it seemed dramatically unconvincing. Today, however, Ford's marvellous set pieces and stunning use of landscape are genuinely thrilling, and there's nostalgic value in seeing two great lamented movie stars (John Wayne and William Holden) teamed and contrasted so cleverly: it's medic Holden who mouths the liberal sentiments. The film is based on a true incident (the 1863 Grierson raid deep into the south to cut supply lines to Vicksburg), and Ford tells the tale straight and true; but the sequence that stays in the memory is that of the southern military cadets being ordered to lay down their young lives for the cause to the sound of fife and drum. Music is expertly used, as David Buttolph's score includes a range of army choruses, and the combination of the soundtrack and photographer William Clothier's stunning images makes this a minor masterpiece from a major director.

Underrated Civil War Western, leisurely and sometimes simplistic, but mostly quintessential Ford as Wayne's pragmatic... read more on Time Out