The Undefeated (1969)

After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are leading two disparate groups of people through strife-torn Mexico. John Henry and ... See full summary »

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers:

James Lee Barrett (screenplay), Stanley Hough (story),

Stars:

John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Antonio Aguilar

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Col. John Henry Thomas
Rock Hudson	...	Col. James Langdon
Antonio Aguilar	...	Gen. Rojas (as Tony Aguilar)
Roman Gabriel	...	Blue Boy
Marian McCargo	...	Ann
Lee Meriwether	...	Margaret
Merlin Olsen	...	Little George
Melissa Newman	...	Charlotte
Bruce Cabot	...	Jeff Newby
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Bubba Wilkes (as Michael Vincent)
Ben Johnson	...	Short Grub
Edward Faulkner	...	Anderson
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Webster
Paul Fix	...	Gen. Joe Masters
Royal Dano	...	Maj. Sanders

Storyline

After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are leading two disparate groups of people through strife-torn Mexico. John Henry and company are bringing horses to the unpopular Mexican government for $35 a head while Langdon is leading a contingent of displaced southerners, who are looking for a new life in Mexico after losing their property to carpetbaggers. The two men are eventually forced to mend their differences in order to fight off both bandits and revolutionaries, as they try to lead their friends and kin to safety.

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Plot Keywords:

colonel | mexico | confederate | revolution | horse | 

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

27 November 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Unbesiegten

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before filming began, John Wayne had to lose most of the weight he had put on in order to play Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.

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Goofs

In the opening scene, Union soldiers are marching past the screen carrying a flag with 48 stars on it. During the Civil War the Union flag only had either 34 or 35 stars.

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Quotes

[McCartney is dying]
Shortgrub: McCartney.
McCartney: Mr. McCartney. Shortgrub, I said a lot of mean things to the boys, didn't I?
Shortgrub: Yeah, you did.
McCartney: Tell them from me, I meant every damn word.

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Connections

Featured in Jan-Michael Vincent Is My Muse (2002)

User Reviews

"The conversation sorta dried up, ma'am."

"The Undefeated" is one of the finest of John Wayne's later westerns, "True Grit" excepted and taking into consideration that "Big Jake" is nothing to slouch at.

"The Undefeated" is the Duke's biggest large-scale epic since "The Alamo" a decade earlier. The battle scenes and the shots of the horse drive are stirring and impressive.

Another thing that separates this film from other post-1965 Wayne westerns (except for "The Cowboys") is the dialog. It's sharp, crisp, witty and often fun.

Here's a good example of that sharp, witty & pointed dialogue: Duke and co-star Rock Hudson had just returned to their camp after being forced to kill a Mexican bandit leader, who, with his gang wanted Rock & Duke's valuables, their horses and their women. When one of the women asks the Duke why he had to kill him, he replied matter of factly, "The conversation sorta dried up." Classic stuff!

And Hugo Montenegro's memorable score is terrific - the best work I personally have heard from him. It helps perpetuate the whole notion that this is indeed an epic western.

I'm amused at some of the wanna-be Rex Reed's here, the "I am a critic so I can't really, actually, truthfully admit that I loved something like this" with their "ho hum, it's passable, I guess"; and their "it's an okay time killer if you've got nothing better to do." How too, too cool. Give me a break, you elitist wanna-be's!

"The Undefeated" is long on length and even longer on entertainment. This is a grand western.