IMDb > Dark Command (1940)
Dark Command
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Dark Command (1940) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   869 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Grover Jones (screenplay) &
Lionel Houser (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Dark Command on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 April 1940 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A drama of undying love
Plot:
When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. more
User Comments:
A Wish for Walsh's Last Command more (32 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
94 min | UK:90 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)
Certification:
West Germany:16 (f) | Germany:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #5985) (original rating) | UK:U

Fun Stuff

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. more
Quotes:
Bob 'Shortcut' Seton: You know that girl I was staring at when all the ruckus started?
Fletcher 'Fletch' McCloud: Yeah.
Bob 'Shortcut' Seton: Well, who is she?
Fletcher 'Fletch' McCloud: Well, her name is Mary McCloud. Why?
Bob 'Shortcut' Seton: Well, I'll tell you. I think maybe I'll marry her.
Fletcher 'Fletch' McCloud: What ?
Bob 'Shortcut' Seton: Course if she'll have me, I mean. Fella wouldn't wanna marry anyone that didn't want him, naturally.
Fletcher 'Fletch' McCloud: Oh, naturally. Uh, you know her well?
Bob 'Shortcut' Seton: Naw, just seen her once or twice. Once she was on a horse, and...
Fletcher 'Fletch' McCloud: ...next time she was with a jackass.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Edited into Law of the Golden West (1949) more
Soundtrack:
Camptown Races more

FAQ

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
A Wish for Walsh's Last Command, 28 August 2007
7/10
Author: wesconnorsehny from Earth

John Wayne (as Bob Seton) stars in a Civil War-era film wherein he runs for Marshall of a Kansas town, against wicked schoolteacher Walter Pidgeon (as Will Cantrell). Of course, they are rivals for the attention of a woman - beautiful Claire Trevor (as Mary McCloud). Roy Rogers adds additional charm as brother McCloud. The story is rather more ordinary than intriguing, but the western scores on several fronts…

First, the direction by Raoul Walsh is outstanding. The production is well-mounted; it includes the expected exciting climax, but that's not all... Even better than the climatic ending is a spectacular sequence involving a stagecoach. Don't miss it! The indoor scenes are great, too. Watch the scenes in the Barber Shop, for example: witness the sets, direction, and photography. The placement of characters and objects, along with the great street outdoors, provide terrific visual depth.

The story doesn't do the production justice, however. And, some of the performances are merely adequate; and, sometimes they seem unfocused. Mr. Pidgeon's is probably the most consistent of the main players. Mr. Wayne and some of the players might have improved with some additional worked on their characterizations; and, if the story was sharper, "Dark Command" might have been a truer classic.

******* Dark Command (1940) Raoul Walsh ~ John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Walter Pidgeon

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