Saturday, May 18, 2013

I'm a man

Tina really puzzled me by saying that she'd never seen a John Ford's movie. She makes films and she isn't familiar with one of the best film-makers ever...


Sergeant Rutledge (1960) is another John Ford's Western that I've seen. It revolves around the court-martial of a black soldier falsely accused of the rape and murder of a white girl at a US army fort in the late 1880s.

Considering the period when it was filmed (Civil Rights marches were making headlines in the US) it's a brave movie and way ahead of its time. Woody Strode as a Buffalo Soldier stands out with his sober, poised acting and physically dominates the screen (just look at his never-ending shoulders!)

A comic relief is provided by the commanding general's wife Cordelia (played by Billie Burke) and some members of the jury (including the commanding general himself) .


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