Dark Command (1940)

When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place, especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local banker. Politics is in the air however. ... See full summary »

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Grover Jones (screenplay), Lionel Houser (screenplay),

Stars:

Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claire Trevor	...	Mary McCloud
John Wayne	...	Bob Seton
Walter Pidgeon	...	William 'Will' Cantrell
Roy Rogers	...	Fletch McCloud
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Doc Grunch (as George Hayes)
Porter Hall	...	Angus McCloud
Marjorie Main	...	Mrs. Cantrelldams
Raymond Walburn	...	Judge Buckner
Joe Sawyer	...	Bushropp (as Joseph Sawyer)
Helen MacKellar	...	Mrs. Hale
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Dave
Trevor Bardette	...	Mr. Hale

Storyline

When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place, especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local banker. Politics is in the air however. It's just prior to the civil war and there is already a sharp division in the Territory as to whether it will remain slave-free. When he gets the opportunity to run for marshal, Seton finds himself running against the respected local schoolteacher, William Cantrell. Not is what it seems however. While acting as the upstanding citizen in public, Cantrell is dangerously ambitious and is prepared to do anything to make his mark, and his fortune, on the Territory. When he loses the race for marshal, he forms a group of raiders who run guns into the territory and rob and terrorize settlers throughout the territory. Eventually donning Confederate uniforms, it is left to Seton and the good citizens of Lawrence to face Cantrell and his raiders in one final clash.

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Plot Keywords:

kansas | marshal | civil war | raider | schoolteacher | 

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Taglines:

A drama of undying love

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Comando Negro

Filming Locations:

Agoura, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA "High Fidelity" Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Will Cantrell is loosely based on the real life Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill. Like Cantrell, Quantrill was born in Ohio, taught school in Lawrence, Kansas, became a guerrilla fighter on the Confederate side and burnt Lawrence to the ground. However, the Confederacy eventually distanced itself from, and eventually disowned, him because of his band's propensity for executing prisoners, massacring civilians, looting and raping. The real Quantrill was killed in an ambush, beheaded by a Union cavalryman's saber, in Kentucky at the ripe old age of 27 instead of at the hands of Bob Seton.

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Goofs

Throughout the film, Colt Single Action Army revolvers (commonly known as Peacemakers) are used by various actors including John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and George 'Gabby' Hayes. This revolver was not produced until the 1870s. The film is set in the late 1850s and 1860s.

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Quotes

Bob 'Shortcut' Seton: [to "Doc" before he makes his election speech] I gotta get outta here!

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Connections

Edited into Law of the Golden West (1949)

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Soundtracks

"Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Music by William Steffe (circa 1856)
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe (1961)
Played as part of the score when the Civil War starts

User Reviews

"We've got a saying down in Texas, ma'am. . ."

John Wayne's first "A" film at Republic is a good story carried by a strong cast. One year after Stagecoach, he still takes second billing after Claire Trevor in their third of four pairings together. They worked extremely well together, and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Walter Pigeon is given the part of the heavy, Roy Rogers gives the finest acting performance of his entire career, and veteran character actors Gabby Hayes and Marjorie Main round out the cast. Veteran director Raoul Walsh keeps the story moving and gives emotional depth to the characters that was unusual for Republic films at the time.

Set in pre-Civil War Kansas, when both Northerners and Southerners were scrambling to settle Kansas and decide its political position on slavery, the story revolves around an uneducated Texas cowboy, Bob Seton (Wayne), who finds himself in conflict with local schoolteacher Will Cantrell (Pidgeon) over both the job of Marshall in Lawrence, Kansas, and the hand of the local Southern banker's daughter, Miss Mary McCloud (Trevor). When Seton appears to have won not only the job, but also Mary's heart, Cantrell decides that the way to power lies through lawlessness, and forms a band of freebooters who ravage both Northern and Southern settlements, causing destruction and terror in Kansas.

While the film is not totally historically accurate, it does do a good job of portraying the viciousness and ruthlessness of pre-Civil War Kansas. It is told from the Northern point of view, and is a nice contrast to Errol Flynn's Santa Fe Trail, which came out the same year (1940) and portrays similar events in "bleeding Kansas" from a Southern point of view.

Part-Western, part-Civil War movie, Dark Command is one of Wayne's best early starring roles. Fans of his, or of the genre's will not be disappointed.