SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON

This is a superior John Ford Western, part of his cavalry trilogy.

But I do have some minor gripes. 

Firstly, given the title, I was disappointed by the lacklustre nature of the obligatory romance, which Joanna Dru is unable to bring to life.

Secondly, despite the constant threat from Native Americans alluded to throughout, the action is rather thin on the ground and, especially towards the end of the film, confusingly presented.

At one point Brittles (John Wayne) leaves part of his troop to carry out a rear-guard action which seems certain to result in high casualties. Yet later we learn that these men have been rescued with no loss of life.

More seriously, the military climax of the film is a bit of a let-down, being the capture of the amassed Native American tribes (again without any casualties!) through the simple tactic of stampeding their horses. Really!

Thirdly, I felt that the elegiac tone that had been developed was thrown away somewhat by the feel-good ending that comes out of nowhere. 

I would have much preferred the last shot of the film to have been Brittles riding into the sunset.

Whew! Having gotten all that off my chest, on to all that this film gets right. 

The Oscar-winning cinematography is a joy. For most of the film the troop is out on a mission, released from the confines of the fort,  giving us plenty of shots to admire of cavalrymen set against stunning backdrops.

John Wayne is totally convincing as the aged Brittles approaching retirement, joshing with the inevitable Sergeant Quincannon (played as always by Victor Mclaglen) or, in one of the most moving scenes, visiting his dead wife’s grave.

And Mildred Natwick steals every scene she is in as the wife of Brittles’ commanding officer.

In ‘Fort Apache’ (my favourite of the trilogy) John Wayne plays a relatively young second-in-command. In ‘Rio Grande’ he has graduated to being a middle-aged and world-weary leader. And in this film he has reached retirement age, complete with greying hair.

Appropriate then to see this as the satisfying conclusion (my gripes notwithstanding) to three heartfelt and moving tributes to the US Cavalry.

RATING: ✓✓ Catch It If You Can