The Undefeated (1969)

After the Civil War, ex-Confederate soldiers heading for a new life in Mexico run into ex-Union cavalrymen selling horses to the Mexican government but they must join forces to fight off Mexican bandits and revolutionaries.

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers:

James Lee Barrett (screenplay), Stanley Hough (story) (as Stanley L. Hough)

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 | cavalry | revolution | 

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Taglines:

Across 2000 miles of savage wasteland ... they lived a thundering adventure that rocked two nations !

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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:

Bavispe River, Sonora, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$7,115,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$8,000,000, 31 December 1969

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ending of the film was widely criticized as an anti-climax.

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Goofs

A number of times in the early part of the movie, reference is made to the surrender of Lee to Grant as the end of the war. Although the surrender of Lee is now seen as the effective end of the war, at the time it was not and would not have been considered such by most people (the Confederate major in the opening battle being an example). Organized military operations continued for more than a month after Lee's surrender.

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Quotes

Col. James Langdon: Y'all come back now... y'hear?

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Connections

Referenced in WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)

User Reviews

Duke and his Yankees bail out Hudson and his rebels.

The Civil War is over but certain Confederate units refuse to call it quits. Colonel John Henry Thomas (played by The Duke)and his gang encounters one such band of rebels at the start of this film. Then there is the unit led by Colonel James Langdon played by Rock Hudson. They accept the fact the war is over but decide rather than live under the stars and stripes head out lock stock and barrel for Mexico women and children included. Wayne and his men bid farewell to the Army and set out to make a buck or two rounding up and selling wild horses. Wayne and his men cross paths along the way with Hudson and his refugees which make up the bulk of the story.

It's a little easy to understand Thomas and his men but not so easy to understand the Langdon group. When they encounter trouble it's almost hard as a viewer to have any pity for them.

Wayne gets support from a number of actors who co-starred with him in several of his films. Veteran character actor Dub Taylor is along as a nasty Chuck Wagon driver. Former Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Roman Gabriel is cast as a native American who served for Wayne during the war and is now his main man when it comes to tracking, scouting etc. Gabriels Ram teammate Merlin Olsen is also featured as a Confederate soldier who hates to fist fight but is called upon to do so. Decent western John Wayne film all in all. The Confederates may have lost the war but in this film they certainly ate better than the Yankees do.