Dark Command (1940)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Grover Jones (screenplay) &
Lionel Houser (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 April 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Tagline:

A drama of undying love

Plot:

When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place...

Plot Keywords:

Marshal | Romantic Rivalry | Fistfight | Teaching | Deception

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Claire Trevor	...	Miss Mary McCloud
John Wayne	...	Bob Seton
Walter Pidgeon	...	William 'Will' Cantrell
Roy Rogers	...	Fletcher 'Fletch' McCloud
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Andrew 'Doc' Grunch (as George Hayes)
Porter Hall	...	Angus McCloud
Marjorie Main	...	Mrs. Cantrell, aka Mrs. Adams
Raymond Walburn	...	Judge Buckner
Joe Sawyer	...	Bushropp (guerrilla) (as Joseph Sawyer)
Helen MacKellar	...	Mrs. Hale
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Dave (gunrunner)
Trevor Bardette	...	Mr. Hale (shot by Fletch)

Runtime:

94 min | UK:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Germany:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #5985) (original rating) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Placerita Ranch - 24715 Oak Creek Avenue, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

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.

Quotes:

William Cantrell: I know what I'm doing, Ma. I'll be running Kansas yet. I'm going clear up to the top. But I'm not going for the climb or the view.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Law of the Golden West (1949)

Soundtrack:

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Duke in 'Bloody Kansas', in his first Republic 'A'-List Feature!

After the spectacular success of John Wayne in "Stagecoach", Republic realized they actually had an 'A'-list star...still making 'B' movies! While Duke was on loan to RKO for "Allegheny Uprising" (continuing to 'farm out' their biggest star out to major studios would provide a MAJOR source of cash for the small studio), Republic worked on creating their first 'major' western, borrowing MGM's Walter Pigeon, top Warner director Raoul Walsh (who'd directed Wayne's failed initial 'starring' role, "The Big Trail", ten years earlier), Claire Trevor (in what would be her third teaming with Wayne in two years), rising star Roy Rogers (who'd inherited the "Singing Cowboy" roles a dubbed Wayne had played in the thirties), and ever-popular Gabby Hayes (a frequent Wayne co-star for nearly a decade).

The result of all the assembled talent was a well-crafted, if still modestly-budgeted film, showcasing Duke's charisma and 'star' quality. As an illiterate but straight-talking Texan in Lawrence, Kansas, Duke wins the hearts of the townspeople and (eventually) banker's daughter Trevor, over intellectual schoolteacher William Cantrell (Pidgeon, playing a variation of infamous Southern guerrilla fighter William Quantrell). With the beginning of the Civil War, Cantrell, showing the signs of insanity his mother (the ever-wonderful Marjorie Main) had warned him of inheriting, recruits an 'army' of mercenaries, dons a stolen Rebel uniform, and burns and pillages, with Duke in pursuit, climaxing in a last-ditch defense of Lawrence.

While very 'fast and loose', historically, "Dark Command" is great fun, and the Wayne/Trevor chemistry was never more enjoyable!