Le sergent noir

I first caught the tail end of this John Ford masterpiece on AMC during Black History month, and couldn't wait for it to pop up on the schedule again so I could see the whole thing. I couldn't believe I had never heard of this film before, and after I did some research and discovered how reviewers in 1960 had dismissed it, I understood why. They went expecting To Kill A Mockingbird and got Breaker Morant instead. Ford was WAY ahead of his time with this one. Woody Strode, who plays the title character, helped break the color barrier in professional football years before Jackie Robinson did so in baseball. And he broke some huge barriers in this film, too. Every young black man -- heck, every young American male today -- should be required to watch this film. As Strode later said, Ford and script writers "put classic words in my mouth." Words that would be echoed three years later by Dr. Martin Luther King in his immortal "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln memorial.

Excellent and landmark Western with a complex structure by means of flashback , being one of the best Ford films . It deals with a respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge (Woody Strode) who saves a damsel in distress (Constance Towers) who is besieged by Indians . Later on , he stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father , his superior commanding officer . As Rutledge on trial for rape and murder , as a tribunal presided by a good judge (Willis Bouchey) , there he is defended by a lieutenant lawyer (Jeffrey Hunter as defense attorney) and accused by a stiff prosecutor (Carleton Young) .

The tale of a court-martial told in flash-back , about a black cavalry officer on trail , well handled by master filmmaker Ford . Interesting and thought-provoking screenplay written by Willis Goldbeck , being based on James Warner Bellah novel , titled ¨Captain Buffalo¨ . This was a true landmark cavalry western , as it marked a strange occasion when a film from a major studio , Warner Brothers , depicted an African-American player as the central heroic figure . While the movie's stance on tackling racism is laudable , here there are lots of courtroom settings that proved to be claustrophobic . The courtroom is deliberately oppressed but does make the picture somewhat static ; however it includes an intriguing and twisted result to the end . Top-notch acting by Woody Strode , giving a moving performance as a heroic , yet human figure who refuses to be beaten by circumstances . Here Strode has his first main role , being usually a nice secondary actor . Support cast is frankly awesome , such as : Juano Hernandez , Willis Bouchey , Carleton Young , Rafer Johnson , final film of Billie Burke and Mae Marsh ; many of them are Ford's ordinaries .

Colorful and evocative cinematography by Bert Glennon filmed in Monument Valley , Arizona , of course . Stirring and thrilling musical score by Howard Jackson , including wonderful songs by Jay Livingstone . The motion picture was well directed by the master of the unspoken emotion , John Ford , who carries out a detailed look at covert and over racism ; however , John has to rely on long speeches to get his points across . Ford puts on the highest pedestal of human honor to an African-American , which by that time when the film was made , it resulted to be a heroism . It proved the false accusations against John Ford as a racist director . Along with his cavalry trilogy : ¨They wore yellow ribbons¨, ¨Rio Grande¨ , ¨Fort Apache¨ , and ¨Stagecoach¨, ¨Searchers¨, ¨The man who shot Liberty Valance¨, this ¨Sergeant Rutledge¨ turned to to be one of the best Westerns .

John Ford, ever the director of the under dog creates another masterpiece of forgotten American history.

Ford, who called himself a social democrat creates another film of nobility and personal convictions, both his and his characters. It is Fords great humanity and sense of justice which makes this film so appealing.

Some of the narrative is forced and the resolution is pat. What we do have is Fords beautiful colour camera in Monument Valley, ala "The Searchers ( 1956 )", broad humour, defined characterizations and attention to detail both individual and historical.

Jeffrey Hunter, always an underrated actor, is fine as the lead, but it is Woody Strode as the title character that is a stand out. His courtroom scene defending his beliefs and humanity is truly moving as is his scene as he rides back to save his troop. A " man mountain" he is ! Through his physical presence Ford coaxes out subtle nuances of character which give the role a ring of truth. Supporting him we have Fords usual wonderful stock players. Although not as poetic or thought out as some of Fords other films this is still miles ahead of other peoples efforts.

Up to now I have considered "The Searchers" the Best of Ford Westerns. It has better picture (VistaVision), and the legend of John Wayne to back it. Some of the secondary roles are better portrayed by more expert actors such as Ward Bond, just to mention one. Production is more lavish..

But the plot in "The Searchers" is unidirectional. It's just a story of white settlers against Indians.

Sergeant Rutledge goes much deeper, into the social "fabric" of America,

To avoid fastidious repetition, let me just point that the story goes into "American Problems" that endure 100 years after. Racism, young female behavior, that affects men of power, and old rich females who own perhaps more than 50% of the total assets (the wealth of the Nation) of the USA, and last but not least, the excessive power and "tricks" of legal professionals that always leads to corruption.

It is all there. If the actors were a bit upper-crust it would be the best, but Jack Warner did no provide the cash.

A must see...

One of two late career atonement projects, the other being "Cheyenne Autumn", from John Ford to make up for racism toward African and Native Americans in his earlier films. Of the two this is clearly the superior. It is crisply paced, as opposed to the too rambling and drawn out "Autumn", and darker as well since it introduces, on top of racial prejudice, the evil of sexual perversion, definitely uncharted territory for a film maker whose attitude toward women was protective and gallant to a fault. So it's interesting to see how Ford deals with this uncomfortable material which he does, in my opinion, fairly forthrightly, and without too much histrionics.

My criticism of this film is, like its pace, crisp: Too little Woody Strode, too much Jeffrey Hunter, and WAY too much Billie Burke (as in "go back to that Victor Fleming movie you wandered in from"). Give it a B.