She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

John Wayne is Capt. Nathan Brittles, a cavalry commander facing retirement just after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, as Cheyenne dog soldiers begin raiding in his region.

He’s sent on a final detail, to round up patrols, drive the renegades north if possible and deliver two women for a stagecoach trip east and out of danger.

Of course, he protests the latter. He doesn’t want his final patrol saddled with pretty Olivia Dandridge (Joanne Dru) and Abby Allshard, the wife of his commanding officer.

But they set off nevertheless. And while the women remain out of harm’s way, little else goes right.

Brittles and his men aren’t at the relief station to assist a small patrol fleeing hostiles. The commander of that patrol is seriously wounded.

Brittles fails to keep scoundrels from delivering a load of guns to the Indians. And he arrives at the relay station only after it’s already been attacked at the cost of several lives.

So he’s forced to return to Fort Starke with the two women, declaring his final detail a failure.

Worse yet in his mind, he’s left part of the troop behind to guard his retreat to the fort. And his plea to rejoin those troopers is denied.

Review:

Beautifully filmed in Monument Valley, this marked the second of Director John Ford’s cavalry triology, following “Fort Apache” (1948) and coming before “Rio Grande” (1950).

And Wayne turns in a sterling performance as a man who’s spent four decades in a uniform, isn’t sure what comes next, but knows he isn’t about to settle into a rocking chair back East.

He gets help from a subplot that has Joanne Dru, looking oh so fine in a cavalry kepi and blouse, toying with the hearts of two young lieutenants.

And he gets help from a trio of Ford regulars, John Agar and Harry Carey Jr. as those lieutenants and Ben Johnson as Sgt. Tyree, a former Confederate who might know more about Indians than anyone else in the command.

Victor McLaglen plays Sgt. Quincannon, a longtime friend of the captain’s who’s also about to retire. His role as comic relief is one of the film’s weaker points.

Still, Ford presents another compelling Western, even though most of the Indian fighting takes place off screen.

Directed by:
John Ford

Cast:
John Wayne … Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
Joanne Dru … Olivia Dandridge
John Agar … Lt. Flint Cohill
Ben Johnson … Sgt. Tyree
Harry Carey Jr. … 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell
Victor McLaglen … Sgt. Quincannon
Mildred Natwick … Abby Allshard
George O’Brien … Maj. Mac Allshard
Arthur Shields … Dr. O’Laughlin
Michael Dugan … Sgt. Hockbauer
Chief John Big Tree … Chief Pony That Walks
Fred Graham … Sgt. Hench
George Sky Eagle … Chief Sky Eagle
Tom Tyler … Cpl. Mike Quayne
Noble Johnson … Chief Red Shirt

Runtime: 104 min.

Memorable lines:

Capt. Brittles, as the fort learns of an attack on a stagecoach: “What in blazes would the Cheyenne be doing this far south?”
Sgt. Tyree: “That ain’t my department, sir.”

Capt. Brittles to one of his junior commanders: “Never apologize, mister. It’s a sign of weakness.”

Olivia Dandridge: “I’m sorry I made such a fool of myself at the gate this morning.”
Capt. Brittles: “Made a fool out of a couple of young lieutenants. That’s never against army regulations.”

Capt. Brittles, asking to return to the men he left behind: “Look, 40 years a good soldier. I can’t leave Cohill facing those devils.”

Capt. Brittles: “Old soldiers, Ms. Dandridge. Someday, you’ll learn how they hate to give up.”

Capt. Brittle, as he walks into a Cheyenne camp: “Were you ever scared, Sgt. Tyree?”
Sgt. Tyree: “Yes, sir. Up to and including now.”

John Agar as Lt. Flint Cohill and Harry Carey Jr. as Lt. Ross Pennell, caught arguing over Olivia in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

Victor McLaglen as Sgt. Quincannon makes a toast to the retiring captain in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)