The Horse Soldiers

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Blu B A classic war movie and one of the few Civil War films. It's crazy how few Civil War movies there are compared to WWII films. Everything here is really well done and very good direction by John Ford. It feels like a Western Adventure more than a Civil War flick at times. The way it's shot, the stars, and just the general pacing and feeling is very simliar to a Howard Hawks/Ford flick. Holden and Wayne are really good together. This starts out really strong but sort of slows down once it focuses on the girl. Than it starts focusing on more subplot related things and it just slows things down in general. I wish it would've focused solely on the dynamic between Holden and Wayne. But to it's credit it's never incoherent or unfocused either. So I don't really know how you fix that. The theme song is extremely catchy but everything else isn't. Regardless anyone who is a fan of Ford, any actors in this, war movies, or even Golden Era westerns should check this out. It should get more notority than it does. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/03/25 Full Review Audience Member Very good John Wayne movie right here. Yes I recommend it. James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas June 14, 2023. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/14/23 Full Review John R While this movie is, on the surface, just another John Wayne/John Ford flick, there's actually a good deal of moral complexity going on. William Holden's character actually addresses slavery multiple times in the film, one of the Union troopers used to work on the Underground Railroad and black people, both free and slave, make regular appearances onscreen. Though it by no means grapples with the horrifying reality of slavery on a visceral level, this was pretty good for 1959. In addition, the film makes some jabs at the farcical "glory of war". Characters who constantly seek the limelight in battle are parodied and they compare poorly to Colonel Marlowe's consummate, quiet professionalism. The pupils from the southern military academy are at once hilarious playacting as adults and terrifying in their military bearing and efficiency. Ultimately this movie succeeds because of its realism (Constance Towers' performance notwithstanding). A slow death from Civil War medicine or the death sentence of Andersonville are constantly present, and when Marlowe and his command ride away at the end of the film, it's left an open question whether they make it through to New Orleans or not. In The Horse Soldiers, war is deadly serious. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/06/23 Full Review Frances H My Dad took my sister and I to see this movie in a double feature with The Absentminded Professor at a drive in the summer my Mom spent in the hospital, which was very traumatic for my 8 year old self. I fell asleep during this movie, because the Disney film was first. Many years later I was the whole film on TV and it was pretty good, but I have a problem with watching John Wayne now, since I found out he didn't see in WWII because his career was just taking off and he didn't want to go. So though many Hollywood greats did serve their country, such as Clark Gable, who really rather old for it, co-star in this film William Holden and Jimmy Stewart who became a general, Wayne thought more of his career than serving his country in its time of need! For someone who made a career of being a military tough guy on screen, he was too selfish to go to war and defend his country! Could never think the same of him again, especially after I learned he also ratted on many of his friends in the industry to the McCarthy committee during the Red Scare! What a disappointment his real life was! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/01/20 Full Review Audience Member I loved seeing John Wayne and William Holden together in this film. They were great foils for each other. I must say that Willis Bouchey playing Col. Secord was very good at driving me crazy! I wanted to strangle him every time he came into frame! I learned a lot about the Civil War from this film. John Ford and John Wayne we're both history buffs and especially interested in how conflicts affect individuals and groups. I learned terminology unknown to me before, such as freed slaves being referred to as ‘contraband'. It's well worth seeing. Enjoyable as an action film and more as character studies. Love stories in war films always turn me off but it's there for those who need such. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A Good Movie John Wayne Gives A Fine Performance! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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