As the tough-as-nails sergeant, Wayne is in fine form, barking out orders and making the recruits jump. Yet there is more to him than that; he's bitter at his wife for leaving him and taking his son with her, seeking solace in a bottle whenever the squad are granted leave. He's not heartless though; there's a touching scene with a mother and child that leads to him laying his demons to rest. And then there’s the dance scene where he teaches one of the squad how to use his bayonet by dancing a jig with him; it’s the films lightest moment by far.
He gets great support from Forrest Tucker as the squad’s troublemaker and Wally Cassell as the obligatory schemer. John Agar is on hand as well and this marked the third Wayne classic he’d appeared in. The film’s classic status has little to do with Agar though; in fact, as with Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, it would be fair to say the films are great in spite of his presence and certainly not because of it. Once again the film is burdened with a love interest for the actor, with his marriage and impending fatherhood used to mirror the failed relationship of Wayne’s Stryker. Unfortunately it doesn’t really work, with Agar lacking the range as an actor to pull it off. It’s little surprise that Agar descended to B-movie hell and films like The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) within a few years.
Wayne’s performance is the glue that holds the film together and despite some clichéd characters (and Agar), the film stands as one of the best war films of the period. If you only watch one John Wayne war movie, this should be it.
Article comments
1 - jim
could you talk about Chisholm starring John Wayne??
Thanks
2 - Ian Woolstencroft
Chisum will definitely get a mention jim when I write about Wayne's '70s films but I'll be concentrating more on Big Jake (his last big hit, The Cowboys and his final film The Shootist.
Next up will be the ‘50s featuring Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, Hondo, The Searchers (arguably the greatest film ever made and my personal favourite) and Rio Bravo.
3 - Victor Lana
If you only watch one John Wayne war movie, this should be it.
Ian, I have never seen this one but am going out to get my copy. Sounds great. Thanks for a fine review.