The Horse Soldiers (1959)

In 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (written for the screen by), Martin Rackin (written for the screen by)

Stars:

John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Col. John Marlowe
William Holden	...	Maj. Henry Kendall
Constance Towers	...	Hannah Hunter
Judson Pratt	...	Sgt. Maj. Kirby
Hoot Gibson	...	Sgt. Brown
Ken Curtis	...	Cpl. Wilkie
Willis Bouchey	...	Col. Phil Secord
Bing Russell	...	Dunker
O.Z. Whitehead	...	Hoppy Hopkins
Hank Worden	...	Deacon Clump
Chuck Hayward	...	Union Captain
Denver Pyle	...	Jackie Jo
Strother Martin	...	Virgil
Basil Ruysdael	...	Commandant
Carleton Young	...	Col. Jonathan Miles

Storyline

A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail/supply center. Along with them is sent a doctor who causes instant antipathy between him and the commander. The secret plan for the mission is overheard by a southern belle who must be taken along to assure her silence. The Union officers each have different reasons for wanting to be on the mission.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. civil war | behind enemy lines | u.s. cavalry | sabotage | based on true story | 

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Taglines:

...Rides Where Only The Great Ones Go!

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der letzte Befehl

Filming Locations:

Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Mirisch Corporation, Mahin-Rackin

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 119 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The quote at the Greenbriar dinner, "And yet your fair discourse hath been as sweet as sugar making the hard way sweet and delectable" is from "Richard II", Act II Scene 3 by William Shakespeare.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the scene of the battle with the boys from the academy a contrail can be seen in the sky.

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Quotes

Miss Hannah Hunter: They'll catch up to you and cut you to pieces, you nameless, fatherless scum. I just wish I could be there to see it.
Col. John Marlowe: If it happens, Miss Hunter, you will be.

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Connections

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Ford (1973)

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Soundtracks

I Left My Love
by Stan Jones

User Reviews

Much Underated

For some reason, many critics and John Ford fans underrated this saga of the Grierson raid of 1863, in which 1700 Union cavalrymen galloped from Illinois to New Orleans to divert Confederate attention from Grant's Vicksburg campaign. I think it's one of Ford's best films, ranking with his Cavalry Trilogy. The action scenes are the best in any Civil War films and John Wayne's performance is perhaps the best of his career. I don't have any problem with the love story. William Holden is the same cynical character he is in so many films, (this was just two years after "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and here he is back in a war movie- one that ends with a bridge blowing up!). The sequence with the military academy is great. In the real battle of New Market, the Union forces did not spare the VMI cadets, who would have been older than these boys and were part of a larger Confederate force.

One of the last scenes in the film contains tow forgivable historical errors. Dr. Holden is seen boiling his utensils. He tells Wayne that he is staying behind to care for the wounded even if it mean capture. Wayne asks "Even if it means Andersonville?" Holden answers "yes". Pasteur didn't determine the cause of infection until 1879. More Civil War soldiers died of their wounds after battle than during the battles precisely because Civil War doctors did not take the precautions Holden is shown taking here. The Andersonville prison camp was founded in February, 1864, to alleviate overcrowding at Libby Prison in Richmond and to remove the captees from the front lines. It didn't exist at the time of the Grierson raid. Obviously Ford and his writers felt Andersonville would raise an image of horror in the viewers that underscored the sacrifice Holden is making by staying.