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IMDbPro

The Horse Soldiers

  • 19591959
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
12,697
4,369
William Holden and John Wayne in 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.
Play trailer1:23
1 Video
87 Photos
AdventureRomanceWar
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
12,697
4,369
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • John Lee Mahin(written for the screen by)
      • Martin Rackin(written for the screen by)
      • Harold Sinclair(from the novel by)
    • Stars
      • John Wayne
      • William Holden
      • Constance Towers
    Top credits
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • John Lee Mahin(written for the screen by)
      • Martin Rackin(written for the screen by)
      • Harold Sinclair(from the novel by)
    • Stars
      • John Wayne
      • William Holden
      • Constance Towers
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 89User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:23
    Official Trailer

    Photos87

    John Wayne in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    John Wayne in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    Constance Towers in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    John Wayne, Chuck Hayward, William Leslie, and Constance Towers in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    William Holden and Constance Towers in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    John Wayne in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    William Holden and Constance Towers in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    William Holden and Constance Towers in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    William Holden, John Wayne, and Constance Towers in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    John Wayne in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    William Holden in The Horse Soldiers (1959)
    John Wayne in The Horse Soldiers (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Wayne
    John Wayne
    • Col. John Marlowe
    William Holden
    William Holden
    • Maj. Henry Kendall
    Constance Towers
    Constance Towers
    • Hannah Hunter
    Judson Pratt
    Judson Pratt
    • Sgt. Maj. Kirby
    Hoot Gibson
    Hoot Gibson
    • Sgt. Brown
    Ken Curtis
    Ken Curtis
    • Cpl. Wilkie
    Willis Bouchey
    Willis Bouchey
    • Col. Phil Secord
    Bing Russell
    Bing Russell
    • Dunker
    O.Z. Whitehead
    O.Z. Whitehead
    • Hoppy Hopkins
    Hank Worden
    Hank Worden
    • Deacon Clump
    Chuck Hayward
    Chuck Hayward
    • Union Captain
    Denver Pyle
    Denver Pyle
    • Jackie Jo
    Strother Martin
    Strother Martin
    • Virgil
    Basil Ruysdael
    Basil Ruysdael
    • Commandant
    Carleton Young
    Carleton Young
    • Col. Jonathan Miles
    William Leslie
    William Leslie
    • Maj. Richard Gray
    William Henry
    William Henry
    • Captain
    Walter Reed
    Walter Reed
    • Union Officer
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • John Lee Mahin(written for the screen by)
      • Martin Rackin(written for the screen by)
      • Harold Sinclair(from the novel by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film marked the beginning of mega-deals for Hollywood stars. John Wayne and William Holden received $775,000 each, plus 20% of the overall profits, an unheard-of sum for that time. The final contract involved six companies and numbered twice the pages of the movie's script. The film, however, was a financial failure, with no profits to be shared in the end.
    • Goofs
      In the shot right after Hank Worden throws the torch onto the cotton bales, look at the upper left of the screen. You will see an airplane flying from right to left.
    • Quotes

      Major Kendall: I don't understand a man like Miles giving up that easily.

      Col. John Marlowe: Maybe losing that arm took some of the fight out of him.

      Major Kendall: No... the man I knew could lose both arms and still try to kick you to death.

    • Connections
      Featured in Directed by John Ford (1971)
    • Soundtracks
      I Left My Love
      by Stan Jones

    User reviews89

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    William Holden and John Ford, in their first pairing...
    As the Civil War goes against the North, General Grant (Stan Jones) is unable to take the Confederate fortress of Vicksburg because the Confederates have it so well defended... He realizes necessity of cutting off that city's supply sources..

    Col. John Marlowe (John Wayne) is assigned to take a small brigade of cavalry from Tennessee, ride hundreds of miles into the Confederate territory and destroy the railroad at Newton Station, Mississippi, thereby cutting the supply line to Vicksburg... To do it, he will have to avoid all contact with rebel forces until he has reached his target...

    The first problem Marlowe encounters is Major Hank Kendall (William Holden), an obstinate surgeon who will be accompanying the force... Marlowe has the expected contempt of the combat soldier for his colleague who carries no arms... In addition, when Kendall asserts his rights as an officer in the medical corps to declare unfit any soldier he considers so, Marlowe and Kendall clash...

    The next problem is Marlowe's second in command, Col. Secord (Willis Bouchey), who makes no secret of his plans to use his military career to further his strong political ambitions...

    The third problem is the high-spirited belle Hannah Hunter (Constance Towers). This violent Southern patriot gives him an initial hard time... The Yankee soldiers stay at her plantation soon after they cross into the Confederacy... When Hannah learns their plans, Marlow is forced then to take her along with them for security reasons...

    Holden and Wayne (violently opposing strong personalities) perform their assignment with a consummate force, intensity, and expert teamwork... Constance Towers, too, registers a vital presence... At their first dinner, she passes Wayne a platter of chicken... As she leans over, threatening to divulge her engaging décolletage, she says: 'Oh come now, Colonel, a man with a great big frame like yours can't just nibble away like a little titmouse. Now what was your preference, the leg or the breast?'

    Incorrigibly sentimental and romantic in his big cavalry epic, Ford's motion picture is full of heroic cavalry on the skyline imagery... Among the more affecting scenes is that in which a harsh compassionate Wayne comforts a dying young soldier and the one in which he registers his love for Towers... There is also a compelling sequence, pure John Ford, in which a group of teenage cadets march out from a Southern military academy to take on the enemy, which makes manifest to battle boys and pulls a retreat, leaving the kids cheering...
    helpful•31
    14
    • Nazi_Fighter_David
    • Nov 14, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 1959 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Der letzte Befehl
    • Filming locations
      • Oakland Plantation, Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA
    • Production companies
      • The Mirisch Corporation
      • Mahin-Rackin
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,753,526
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours

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