Two Rode Together (1961)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (screenplay)
Will Cook (novel)

Release Date:

26 July 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

TOGETHER...THEY RODE INTO A THOUSAND DANGERS! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

The US Army is under pressure from the desperate relatives of white prisoners of the Comanches to secure their rescue...

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Hanged Boy | Music Box | Small Town | Native American

Awards:

1 win

Cast

James Stewart	...	Marshal Guthrie McCabe
Richard Widmark	...	First Lt. Jim Gary
Shirley Jones	...	Marty Purcell
Linda Cristal	...	Elena de la Madriaga
Andy Devine	...	Sgt. Darius P. Posey
John McIntire	...	Maj. Frazer
Paul Birch	...	Judge Edward Purcell
Willis Bouchey	...	Mr. Harry J. Wringle
Henry Brandon	...	Chief Quanah Parker
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Ortho Clegg
Olive Carey	...	Mrs. Abby Frazer
Ken Curtis	...	Greeley Clegg
Chet Douglas	...	Deputy Ward Corby
Annelle Hayes	...	Belle Aragon
David Kent	...	Running Wolf (Steve Purcell)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Spain:T | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #19928) | Argentina:13 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This film marked comedic actor Edward Brophy's last role as he died during the production on May 27, 1960 in Pacific Palisades, California.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Marty gets up from getting water at the creek, the knees of her trousers are wet. However, they are dry in the next shot as she and Jim are walking back to camp.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Jesus gives Marshal Guthrie a beer]
Marshal Guthrie McCabe: Thank you, Jesus.
Jesus: Senor, the widow Gomez has delivered a son this morning - a boy.
Marshal Guthrie McCabe: Bully for the widow Gomez!
Jesus: But senor, it has been more than a year ago since Senor Antonio Gomez has been buried in the church house.
Marshal Guthrie McCabe: Well, there are some men you just can't trust to stay where you put 'em.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cachorro (2004)

Rather good John Ford Western

It's no classic, but it is quite a good film. Jimmy Stewart plays a gruff, old, drunken sheriff who can speak Comanche and Richard Widmark plays a cavalryman assigned to accompany him on a mission to buy white captives away from the Comanches. The first half of the film can be called Searchers-lite. They buy back two captives, a young white man stolen in his youth and a Mexican woman stolen five years earlier. Other non-Comanches they find are unsalvageable. Now, The Searchers ends ambiguously. We're not sure what is going to happen with Natalie Wood's character. Two Rode Together goes into that part of the story a bit more. Stewart falls in love with the Mexican girl, but she cannot take the way other white people treat her. The boy is so far gone that he is entirely violent to everyone around him. The second half of the film is actually quite great, and the film has an extremely powerful climax. Jimmy Stewart is beyond excellent in the film. Could you ever imagine a bad performance from this man? It's rare that he plays such a cheating b**tard, but he's no villain, either. The actress who plays the Mexican girl is very good, too. The rest of the cast is more than adequate. There's a funny scene where Ford regulars Andy Devine and Ken Curtis fight in a slapstick fashion. Ford's direction is rather flat. The story goes that he did this only as a favor, not by any real choice. Frank Nugent's script is quite good, especially in the second half. The score is excellent. The photography is weak, but good sets and costumes make the visual aspect of the film decent if not great. 8/10.