Sergeant Rutledge (1960)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

James Warner Bellah (written by) and
Willis Goldbeck (written by)

Release Date:

18 May 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Crime

Tagline:

It's the rendezvous with DEATH for men to whom DEATH was no stranger!

Plot:

Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Rape | Murder | Courtroom | Buffalo Soldier

Cast

Jeffrey Hunter	...	Lt. Tom Cantrell (counsel for the defense)
Constance Towers	...	Mary Beecher
Billie Burke	...	Mrs. Cordelia Fosgate
Woody Strode	...	1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge
Juano Hernandez	...	Sgt. Matthew Luke Skidmore
Willis Bouchey	...	Col. Otis Fosgate (president of the court-martial)
Carleton Young	...	Capt. Shattuck (prosecutor)
Judson Pratt	...	Lt. Mulqueen (court-martial board member)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shug Fisher	...	Mr. Owens (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	...	Capt. Dickinson (uncredited)
William Henry	...	Capt. Dwyer (uncredited)
Rafer Johnson	...	Cpl. Krump (uncredited)
Jack Lewis	...	Indian (uncredited)
Fred Libby	...	Chandler Hubble (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	...	Sam Beecher (uncredited)
Mae Marsh	...	Nellie (uncredited)
Toby Michaels	...	Lucy Dabney (uncredited)
Eva Novak	...	Spectator (uncredited)
Jack Pennick	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Walter Reed	...	Capt. McAfee (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	...	Court-martial board member (uncredited)
Charles Seel	...	Dr. Walter Eckner (post surgeon) (uncredited)
Jan Styne	...	Chris Hubble (uncredited)
Estelle Winwood	...	Spectator (uncredited)
Hank Worden	...	Laredo (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford

Writing credits
James Warner Bellah		(written by) and
Willis Goldbeck		(written by)

Produced by
Patrick Ford	....	producer
Willis Goldbeck	....	producer

Original Music by
Howard Jackson

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jack Murray

Art Direction by
Eddie Imazu

Set Decoration by
Frank M. Miller

Costume Design by
Marjorie Best

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Russell Saunders	....	assistant director (as Russ Saunders)
Wingate Smith	....	assistant director

Sound Department
M.A. Merrick	....	sound

Stunts
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Lewis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Michael A. Hoey	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Dolores Rubin	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
• Ford Productions (as John Ford's production of)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (1961) (West Germany) (theatrical)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (certificate #19413) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Mexican Hat, Utah, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Originated in 1957 as a project for director André De Toth, about a black soldier accused of raping and murdering a German girl and the lieutenant who defends him and proves his innocence. De Toth wanted Jeffrey Hunter as the defense attorney. Based on the 1955 story "Shadow of the Noose" by John Hawkins and Ward Hawkins in The Saturday Evening Post.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Cantrell explains that the "buffalo soldiers" were so named because when first seen by the Native Americans, the Natives mistook their woolly coats for those of a buffalo. In truth, it was the "nappy" hair of the Black soldiers that lead the Natives to dub the unit as "Buffalo Soldiers," but Cantrell could have been misinformed. When Dr. Eckner testifies as to the rape/murder, his testimony is shown in flashback and concludes with a conversation between Juano Hernandez as Skidmore and Jeffrey Hunter as Cantrell that took place outside the building. As the doctor remained inside, he could not possibly have heard it.

Quotes:

1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge: Soldier can never think by his heart, ma'am. He got to think by the book.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Captain Buffalo

A wonderful piece of social history

This movie was a wonderful piece of social history. It was filmed during a turbulent time in the United States when Civil Rights marches were really making headlines. It was a well crafted and movingly brave attempt to address in celluloid what the Civil Rights movement was addressing on placards.

Throughout the trial, colour isn't mentioned at all until near the end, but the underlying issue is one of race and how easy it would have been to jump to the wrong conclusion and ‘Hang ourselves a nigger'. It was also incredibly brave to show how the protagonist, Sergeant Rutledge, (beautifully played by Woody Strode) was helped by a white woman; again very rare at that time.

This is a hidden gem of a movie, and although the dialogue gets a little stilted at times, it doesn't detract from the central issue. Judging by his performance when under oath, Woody Strode is up there with the best of the marvellous Black actors that have changed the face of social America.

I rate this 10 out of ten.