The Horse Soldiers (1959)

John Wayne is Col. John Marlowe, a Union cavalry commander given the mission of destroying a supply depot at Newton Station, 300 miles inside Rebel lines, to help Gen. Grant in his siege on Vicksburg.

Along for the ride is a young officer (William Leslie) eager for a chance at glory and another (Willis Bouchey) eager for a chance to bolster his political ambitions.

But Marlowe balks much more loudly at the presence of Army doctor Henry Kendall (William Holden). He’s afraid Kendall will slow down a mission that’s going to rely on speed.

And he has a natural mistrust for doctors since a misdiagnosis led to the death of his wife years earlier.

As it turns out, none of the fellow officers give him as much trouble as Hannah Hunter (Constance Towers), the owner of the Greenbriar Plantation.

She plays it dumb and flirtatious when Marlowe’s Yankee troops come calling, then listens in on the plans for their mission and their escape route with every intent on passing the information on to the Confederates.

But Kendall catches her in the act, and Marlowe decides she’ll accompany his command so she can’t leak information to anyone — that’s if he can prevent her from running away or alerting any Rebel troops who happen to pass nearby.

Because the Rebels are closing in, and Marlowe’s decided on a risky escape route, 300 miles farther south to the Union controlled town of Baton Rouge.

John Wayne as Col. John Marlowe, explaining his treatment of Confederate deserters in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

William Holden as Maj. Henry Kendall, assigned to the mission and regarded as a nuisance by Col. John Marlowe in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Review:

With Wayne, Holden and Towers as leads and Ford in the director’s chair, you know you’re in for an entertaining film. Towers is particularly effective, especially when she’s trying to win the trust of the Yankee officers with her southern charm.

That said, there are missteps along the way. Mutual respect between Hannah Hunter and Col. Marlowe would have been fine. But love? Ah, I suppose romance is a necessary ingredient in even a Civil War film.

But would any Union commander be as concerned about the death of a Southern slave as Marlowe is when Hannah’s maid Lukey dies at the hand of a sniper? And the Rebel attack on Marlowe’s troops once they’re reached Newton Station isn’t very well done either.

On the other hand, Ford and company serve up a host of unique and memorable scenes: Union troopers relishing in the destruction of a Confederate railroad, Marlowe and his men escaping through a swamp and the attack on Marlowe and his troops by young boys from a military school.

The supporting cast includes future Festus of “Gunsmoke” fame Ken Curtis as a Yankee scout and Hank Worden as the deacon who leads Marlowe’s troops through the southern swamps.

Constance Towers as Hannah Hunter, the conniving southern belle Marlowe is forced to take along on the mission in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Carleton Young as Col. Jonathan Miles, the Confederate commander in charge of Newton Station in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Directed by:
John Ford

Cast:
John Wayne … Col. John Marlowe
William Holden … Maj. Henry Kendall
Constance Towers … Hannah Hunter
Judson Pratt … Sgt. Maj. Kirby
Hoot Gibson … Sgt. Brown
Ken Curtis … Cpl. Wilkie
Willis Bouchey … Col. Phil Secord
O.Z. Whitehead … Otis Hopkins
Hank Worden … Deacon Clump
Chuck Hayward … Union captain
Denver Pyle … Jackie Jo
Strother Martin … Virgil
Basil Ruysdael … The Reverend
Carleton Young … Col. Jonathan Miles
William Leslie … Maj. Richard Gray
Anna Lee … Mrs. Buford
William Forrest … Gen. Steve Hurlburt
Russell Simpson … Henry Goodbody
Althea Gibson .. Lukey
Richard Cutting … Gen. Sherman
Stan Jones … Gen. Grant

Runtime: 115 min.

Judson Pratt as the hard-drinking Sgt. Maj. Kirby, about to insist on taste testing whiskey in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Ken Curtis as Cpl. Wilkie, enjoying a break before the mission begins in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Memorable lines:

Hannah Hunter, leaning toward Col. Marlowe, cleavage on display, with a plate of chicken: “Now, what was your preference: the leg or the breast?”
Marlowe: “I’ve had quite enough of both, thank you.”

Hannah Hunter: “But, of course, Col. Marlowe, I imagine that you are a professional soldier.”
Marlowe: “No. Prior to this insanity I was a railroad engineer.”
Hannah: “Why how thrilling. To think of being able to steer one of those huge things just a puffin’ and a steamin’ and ringin’ that little bell – ding dong, ding dong …”
Marlowe, looking irritated: “Not quite. My job was in the construction of railroads.”

Marlowe to Hannah, after realizing she’s been listening in on his war strategy: “Can you possibly suggest what I should do with you?”
Maj. Kendall: “I noticed she was getting on your nerves all evening. Now’s your chance to shoot her.”

O.Z. Whitehead as Otis ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, Maj. Kendall’s assistant in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Bing Russell as Dunker, learning from Maj. Kendall that he’s going to lose his leg in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Hannah: “You’ll never get away with the rest of your filthy, murdering plans Mr. Col. Marlowe. You Yankees and your holy principle about saving the union? You’re plundering pirates, that’s what. You think there’s no Confederate army where you’re going. You think our boys are asleep down here. Well, they’ll catch up to you and they’ll cut you to pieces — you nameless, fatherless scum. I wish I could be there to see it.”
Marlowe: “If it happens Miss Hunter, you will be.”

Maj. Kendall: “I can’t figure a man like (Confederate officer) Miles giving up that easy. He’s West Point — tough as nails.”
Col. Marlowe: “Maybe losing that arm took a lot out of him.”
Kendall: “The man I knew could lose both arms and still try to kick you to death.”

Marlowe, tossing money on the bar: “When we move out, give your people — the wounded — a lot of liquor.”
Bartender, ignoring the money: “I’d do that anyway.”

Maj. Kendall: “You’re not going far with that bullet in you.”
Col. Marlowe: “Well, you’re taking your ol’ sweet time about cuttin’ it out of there.”

Willis Bouchey as Col. Phil Secord, William Leslie as Maj. Richard Gray and John Wayne as Col. John Marlowe getting a dinner invitation from Hannah in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Constance Towers as Hannah Hunter, asking the colonel if he prefers chicken breasts or legs in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Althea Gibson as Lukey, drying out her mistress’s boots after a misguided escape attempt in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

William Holden as Maj. Henry Kendall and John Wayne as Col. John Marlowe in another disagreement in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Hank Worden as Deacon with Ken Curtis as Col. Wilkie, explaining how to escape through the swamp in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Denver Pyle as Rebel deserter Jackie Jo with Russell Simpson as Henry Goodbody, the sheriff who had been chasing him in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Cpl. Wilke (Ken Curtis), Col. John Marlow (John Wayne) and Dunker (Bing Russell) wondering where the gunfire is coming from in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

Constance Towers as Hannah Hunter and her servant girl Lukey (Althea Gibson) watching Union cavalry approach in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

John Wayne as Col. John Marlowe, facing a desperate situation trying to get his troops back to safety in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

John Wayne as Col. John Marlowe and William Holden as Maj. Henry Kendall, watching Southern troops advance in The Horse Soldiers (1959)