"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" may not be the best title that this film could have had; the yellow ribbon stands for a sweetheart, and the movie doesn't dwell on romance, unless it's the symbolic romance of the Old West in the days following Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn. That's where the movie picks up, as Captain Nathan Brittles (John Wayne) facing retirement in just six more days, laments the two hundred and twelve dead at that battle, having known many of the fallen. Brittles' last assignment will be to escort his commanding officer's wife (George O'Brien, Mildred Natwick) and niece (Joanne Dru) to a rendezvous with a stagecoach East at Sudrow Mills. At the same time, the Captain must avert the sale of firearms to hostile Indians who have come to heed Sitting Bull's call for a holy war against the white man.
Filmed in color as the middle leg of director John Ford's cavalry Western trilogy, "Ribbon" is set in Monument Valley, a favored Ford locale. You'll recognize formations from the prior year's "Fort Apache", and on them rest the year's Oscar for Best Color Cinematography.
Wayne's character plays out admirably against strong performances by a host of young actors. Ben Johnson is Brittles' right hand man, Sergeant Tyree, who offers strong advice for the Captain to consider, even when it's not "his department". Lieutenant Flint Cohill (John Agar) and Second Lieutenant Ross Pennell (Harry Carey Jr.) vie for the proverbial yellow ribbon worn by pretty Olivia Dandridge (Dru), and at one point it takes Brittles' intervention to prevent fisticuffs between the two officers, complete with a verbal dressing down as befits their station in the military.
You'd be hard pressed to ever see John Wayne cry in a movie, but he comes close here. When presented with a silver watch upon his retirement, his character holds back tears as he battles the sniffles, choking for the words to thank his men.
As was his custom, director Ford sprinkles this movie with moments of comic relief, and the best comes near the end of the film. Wishing to protect Top Sergeant Quincannon's (Vicor McLaglen) pension in retirement, only days following Brittles' own, the Captain orders his men to arrest Quincannon for being drunk and out of uniform. Earlier, Brittles encouraged Quincannon to try on a civilian suit to see how he would look dressed as a gentleman. Seven soldiers attempt to bring him in, but halt in their mission long enough for the sergeant to buy them all a round. With a politically incorrect line you probably wouldn't hear in a film made today, one of the soldiers states "I'd love to throw that big Mick into the cooler".
Ultimately, events conspire against Captain Brittles, as he accepts blame for the failures at Sudrow Mills, and for the Indians acquiring firearms. With the combined might of the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, Cheyenne and Apache putting aside their differences to make war together, Brittles makes a last ditch effort to insure peace by riding into the Indian camp to parley with Chief Pony That Walks. He like Brittles is an old man, and has been overruled by the young chiefs. With the minute hand of his retirement watch showing twelve minutes to midnight, Brittles leads a charge to scatter the Indian horses so they have none to make battle - "No Casualties, no Indian war, no court martial".
The feel good ending of the movie comes when Brittles, riding off into the sunset, is retrieved by Sergeant Tyree, bringing him news of a civilian assignment to Chief of Scouts from President Grant. The closing words of the narrator puts the sacrifices of the U.S. Cavalry into both human and historical perspective - "Wherever they rode, and whatever they fought for, that place became the United States".
Filmed in color as the middle leg of director John Ford's cavalry Western trilogy, "Ribbon" is set in Monument Valley, a favored Ford locale. You'll recognize formations from the prior year's "Fort Apache", and on them rest the year's Oscar for Best Color Cinematography.
Wayne's character plays out admirably against strong performances by a host of young actors. Ben Johnson is Brittles' right hand man, Sergeant Tyree, who offers strong advice for the Captain to consider, even when it's not "his department". Lieutenant Flint Cohill (John Agar) and Second Lieutenant Ross Pennell (Harry Carey Jr.) vie for the proverbial yellow ribbon worn by pretty Olivia Dandridge (Dru), and at one point it takes Brittles' intervention to prevent fisticuffs between the two officers, complete with a verbal dressing down as befits their station in the military.
You'd be hard pressed to ever see John Wayne cry in a movie, but he comes close here. When presented with a silver watch upon his retirement, his character holds back tears as he battles the sniffles, choking for the words to thank his men.
As was his custom, director Ford sprinkles this movie with moments of comic relief, and the best comes near the end of the film. Wishing to protect Top Sergeant Quincannon's (Vicor McLaglen) pension in retirement, only days following Brittles' own, the Captain orders his men to arrest Quincannon for being drunk and out of uniform. Earlier, Brittles encouraged Quincannon to try on a civilian suit to see how he would look dressed as a gentleman. Seven soldiers attempt to bring him in, but halt in their mission long enough for the sergeant to buy them all a round. With a politically incorrect line you probably wouldn't hear in a film made today, one of the soldiers states "I'd love to throw that big Mick into the cooler".
Ultimately, events conspire against Captain Brittles, as he accepts blame for the failures at Sudrow Mills, and for the Indians acquiring firearms. With the combined might of the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, Cheyenne and Apache putting aside their differences to make war together, Brittles makes a last ditch effort to insure peace by riding into the Indian camp to parley with Chief Pony That Walks. He like Brittles is an old man, and has been overruled by the young chiefs. With the minute hand of his retirement watch showing twelve minutes to midnight, Brittles leads a charge to scatter the Indian horses so they have none to make battle - "No Casualties, no Indian war, no court martial".
The feel good ending of the movie comes when Brittles, riding off into the sunset, is retrieved by Sergeant Tyree, bringing him news of a civilian assignment to Chief of Scouts from President Grant. The closing words of the narrator puts the sacrifices of the U.S. Cavalry into both human and historical perspective - "Wherever they rode, and whatever they fought for, that place became the United States".