The Glory Guys (1965)

Tom Tyron plays Capt. Demas Harrod, a cavalryman expected to train and lead a company of raw recruits sent to Fort Doniphan, which is under the command of Gen. Frederick McCabe (Andrew Duggan).

That makes Harrod very leery. Years earlier, McCabe won a glorious victory over the Indians at Wishbone Creek. But he did it by sacrificing a troop of men in order to set up an ambush. Harrod and McCabe clashed over that strategy. Now they’ve been reunited. And, as Harrod puts it, this time he’s leading “the expendables.”

He also finds himself involved in a love triangle with the lovely Lou Woodard (Senta Berger) in the middle. They met in St. Louis, but she runs a gun shop in nearby Mule City, a business left to her by her late husband. But she’s also been romantically involved with Sol Rogers (Harve Presnell), a sometimes-miner, sometimes-scout who would gladly settle down, if only Lou would marry him.

Of course, she isn’t convinced a restless man like Sol would ever be happy tied to a woman and a home. But for Lou, Harrod is equally baffling, refusing to commit to her because he’s convinced McCabe is his “Jonah.”

Tom Tyron as Capt. Demas Harrod, fretting over Gen. McCabe’s means of achieving victory in battle in The Glory Guys (1965)

Harve Presnell as Sol Rogers, interrupting a kiss he’d rather not have witnessed in The Glory Guys (1965)

Review:

Scripted by Sam Peckinpah, this is one of the better cavalry-Indian films you’re going to find, even if it does borrow liberally from the story of George Armstrong Custer and his ill-fated stab at glory at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

The story is paced well enough that we get to know several of the soldiers serving under Harrod. His troopers include Slim Pickens as the sergeant responsible for whipping the men into shape; Michael Anderson Jr. as a naive farmboy who joins the cavalry to avoid a shotgun wedding; and James Caan as a hard-drinking, smart aleck private.

As for the romantic subplot … well, it doesn’t hurt that Senta Berger is one of the most strikingly beautiful women to grace a Western. And, yes, that’s Wayne Rogers, the future Capt. John McIntyre of MASH as one of Harrod’s fellow officers.

Andrew Duggan as Gen. Frederick McCabe talks Indians and strategy with scout Sol Rogers in The Glory Guys (1965)

Senta Berger as Lou Woddard talking to Sol Rogers about their future in The Glory Guys (1965)

Directed by:
Arnold Laven

Cast:
Tom Tryon … Capt. Demas Harrod
Harve Presnell … Sol Rogers
Senta Berger … Lou Woddard
Michael Anderson Jr. … Pvt. Martin Hale
James Caan … Pvt. Anthony Dugan
Andrew Duggan … Gen. Frederick McCabe
Slim Pickens … Sgt. James Gregory
Peter Breck … Lt. Bunny Hodge
Jeanne Cooper … Mrs. Rachael McCabe
Laurel Goodwin … Beth Poole
Adam Williams … Pvt. Lucas Crain
Erik Holland … Pvt. Clark Gentry
Wayne Rogers … Lt. Mike Moran
Robert McQueeney … Maj. Oliver Marcus
William Meigs … Capt. Rand Treadway

Runtime: 112 min.

Title tune: “The Glory Guys,”
composed by Riz Ortolani

Slim Pickens as Sgt. James Gregory, serving under Capt. Demas Harrod in The Glory Guys (1965)

James Caan as Pvt. Anthony Dugan, meeting Capt. Demas Harrod for the first time in Glory Guys (1965)

Memorable lines:

Capt. Harrod: “Now I’m back for one last fight. Only this time, he’s put me in charge of the expendables. Why those recruits can’t ride, can’t shoot, can’t fight, can’t even button their pants twice the same way. But for Gen. Glory McCabe we can all do one thing superbly. We can die.”

Lou Woodard: “Sol, is it possible to be in love with two men at the same time.”
Sol Rogers: “Not after the dust settles.”

Lou Woodard: “I happen to belong to that strange breed of woman who has to love a man before she marries. Money and everything else be damned.”

Harrod: “McCabe’s my Jonah. Don’t ask me how I know, but I do.”
Sol Rogers: “You’re a fool, Demas. If you aim to die, you’re gone at it the wrong way. Drink deep. Ride hard. Take a hold of everything that comes your way. Only double. Don’t look over the horizon. That’s the Lord’s business.”

Harrod, in the middle of a battle: “What are you doing here?”
Sol Rogers: “Heading home. Unfortunately, this noisy skirmish got in my way.”

Private Martin Hale, after letting out a whoop and falling hard to the ground as an Indian arrow whistles his way: “I guess I’m all right. It just got me in the canteen.”

Michael Anderson Jr. as Private Martin Hale, telling Beth about the coming expedition in The Glory Guys (1965)

Laurel Goodwin as Beth Poole, the young girl who nurses Private Martin Hale after a fight in The Glory Guys (1965)

Senta Berger as widow Lou Woddard, explaining the need for discretion to Demas Harrod in The Glory Guys (1965)

Senta Berger as Lou Woddard and Tom Tyron as Capt. Demas Harrod have their romantic dinner interrupted in The Glory Guys (1965)

Tom Tryon as Capt. Demas Harrod and Harve Presnell as Sol Rogers, watching out for Indians in The Glory Guys (1965)

Tom Tryon as Capt. Demas Harrod and Slim Pickens as Sgt. James Gregory survey a battlefield in The Glory Guys (1965)