The Horse Soldiers

Buy This Item The Horse Soldiers by MGM (Video & DVD)  Available from Amazon  $11.99  on 11-26-2008     John Wayne teams with William Holden and eminent western director John Ford for this frontier actioner "packed with laughter, romance and thrills" (The Hollywood Reporter)! Written by John LeeMahin and Martin Rackin, this faithful representation of one of the most daring cavalry exploits inhistory is both a moving tribute to the men who fought and died in that bloody war and a powerful, action-packed drama.Based on an actual Civil War incident, The Horse Soldiers tells the rousing tale of a troop of Union soldiers who force their way deep into Southern territory to destroy a rebel stronghold at Newton Station. In command is hardbitten Colonel Marlowe (Wayne), a man who is strikingly contrasted by the company's gentle surgeon (Holden) and the beautiful but crafty Southern belle (Constance Towers) who's forced to accompany the Union raiders on perhaps the most harrowing mission in the war. Reader Reviews This movie by John Ford paired John Wayne (Col. John Marlowe) and William Holden (Maj Hank Kendall, regimental surgeon) as the male leads in the film while Constance Towers provided the female lead and love interest as the Southern Belle Hannah Hunter. The movie was expensive for its time and everyone involved expected it to be a blockbuster. Both Wayne and Holden received $775,000 and a promise of 20% of the profits. However, the film did not do all that well and there were no profits to distribute. Some say that the era of lead star megadeals began with this movie. This movie is loosely based on Grierson's Raid in April and May 1863 as part of the Vicksburg Campaign in Mississippi. Wayne's Marlowe is a former railroad builder without much formal education, but he is smart and brave. Marlowe is leading a regiment of cavalry through Mississippi to reach Vicksburg and join Grant's campaign. We know it is dangerous because most of his officers are looking for excuses to turn back and head North to safety. During the film we learn he is a widower and how losing his wife caused him to dislike doctors. Holden's Kendall is a doctor who cares for people and is only part of the war because he was put there. Wherever he sees someone who needs his help, he offers it and this gets him on Marlowe's bad side. Along the way, they stop at a plantation and requisition horses, supplies, and refresh themselves. They meet the mistress of the plantation, Hannah Hunter and when they leave they take her so she cannot warn the Confederates of their presence of plans. Her joining the regiment of hundreds of horse soldiers provides a tense love story with Marlowe with some competition with the more sophisticated Kendall. The final resolution of the love story is one of the less satisfying aspects of the story, but in war who gets to wrap up personal stories in a neat package anyway? The movie has some spectacular vistas, lots of great work with the horses (it is cavalry, after all) a couple of fine battle sequences, the Duke fighting on the side of the Union for once, and lots of colorful supporting characters. While I don't think it is a great Wayne movie like "The Searchers" or "The Shootist", it is still a good one. Enjoy! Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

The Horse Soldiers Available from Amazon Price: $11.99 Updated on 11-26-2008.

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