jrpsm Every viewing of this wonderful movie seems to reveal an interesting, purposeful detail, so small and subtle in its message,but unnoticed in previous viewings. For example, in the early scene where John Wayne is kneeling at his wife's grave, right behind him is another grave marker with the name B. DeVoto. Bernard DeVoto was one of our foremost historians of our western settlement. His "1846, The Year of Decision" is a classic. I can't help but think John Ford was trying to give DeVoto some recognition (that name is not one you just would not pull out the sky for a grave marker). Well, maybe that was a macabre way do it as DeVoto did not die until 1955, 6 years after the movie.Another interesting detail concerned the "indians" horseback riding. True western indians rode bareback mostly, but some had makeshift saddles. But none had stirrups. It's extremely hard to gallop a horse without stirrups. In this movie, where you had a direct view of the side of the Indian's horse, you could see that the indians were using stirrups, but they were camouflaged/covered with cloth. A lot of westerns don't go into that much detail.

mnkim It has taken me a long time to write a review about this film which I saw as a child and have long since added to my personal film collection. For me the strongest elements of this film as with so many John Ford films are the characterisations. John Wayne, Victor McClaglen, Ben Johnson and the rest. There are better films in this genre and to modern ears the theme tune supposedly sung by the troopers sounds almost embarrassingly naive, but boy what a great movie. It is always the simple things, the mannerisms that enchant and entertain. Others have covered the details of this film far better than I and I will not attempt to repeat that. Simply to add that if you don't mind a bit of sentimentality mixed in with belly laughs and western folklore then you are on a winner with this one. Incidentally the use of colours and shades in filming are exceptional. Monument Valley rarely looked so good.

MChittum-California *****Minor Spoiler***** I've seen this film many times over the years and only now did it really hit me how John Ford treasured the value of a single life. Other reviewers have already covered well John Wayne's acting and the awesome photography in Monument Valley. But think about the lives lost or wounded in the film. In the first action against the Indian warriors Capt. Brittles orders his men to "shoot high" and..no warriors are killed or wounded. In later actions one trooper is wounded and much is made of his subsequent operation and good prognosis. One trooper (the ex-Confederate officer) does die from his wounds and again, this is not treated lightly, either by ex-Confederate or ex-Union.Most films of this genre leave countless bodies all over the place. Not so this one and that's what I take away from the film. That Ford felt life was to be treasured, that it was rare and not to be wasted. Perhaps this comes from his wartime service? Even the stampeding of the Indian ponies results in no casualties..on either side. I think Ford wanted his audience to go away thinking there are better ways than war and the wasting of lives.

doug-balch This may be a better movie than "Fort Apache".Here's what I liked:Undoubtedly one of Wayne's best career performances. At least as good as in "Red River". Ironic to see him playing a character 20 years older than himself, since he spent the next 15 years playing characters who were 10 to 20 years younger than himself. Thematically sound -- duty, aging, changing of the guard.Colorful Civil War references. Sergeant Tyree (Ben Johnson) is a former high ranking officer in the Confederate army.Ben Johnson is very good as the savvy scout.Monument Valley is stunning. Won an Oscar for cinematography.Fantastic stunt work as usual with the horses and wagons.Great example of John Ford's colorful, sentimental world of military fetish. Ford has a tendency to overdo the comic relief. He gets just about the right balance here. Victor McLaglen doing the heavy comic lifting again.Here's what kept it from being better:The plot is skimpy. They ride to the station to relieve a patrol and drop off two women at the stagecoach station. They come back. They run the Indians horses off. The end. The romantic subplot doesn't work. Joanne Dru looks good, but her character is annoying and gratuitous.There's virtually no heavy. The Indians are not well characterized.That's it. Really enjoyed this movie!! Tough to get eight stars from me!