Reviewed by bkoganbing Vote: 9/10/10 John Wayne's been given a critical job to do by none other than GeneralUlysses S. He's been ordered to take 3 brigades deep intoConfederate territory and destroy a critical rail supply station at aplace called Newton's Station and then get his troops out the best wayhe can. He's ordered to take along, an army surgeon played by WilliamHolden. Wayne's got what appears to be an unreasoning dislike of Holdenand their rivalry professional and personal is what drives the plot ofthe Horse Soldiers. John Ford always disparaged the films he made after Wings of Eagles,but in my opinion, The Horse Soldiers is one of his finest films. Alsoin my humble opinion he managed to get one of John Wayne's finest filmperformances. Wayne's a volunteer officer, in civilian life he rosefrom section hand on a railroad to an construction engineer. Holdencalls him 'section hand' as a term of derision after Wayne consistentlyrefers to him as 'croker.' Wayne and Holden were very close personal friends and friendly rivalsat the box office. That's part of the reason that The Horse Soldiers isso good, the chemistry between them. In fact when Wayne died in 1979,Holden was said to have gone on one legendary drinking binge. Who wouldhave suspected we'd have lost him as well two years later. Download The Horse Soldiers (1959) 1080p-H264-AAC Torrent from KAT The Kickass Torrent Search Engine. Hash_Key: KickassTorrents KAT. The Horse Soldiers Blu-ray (1959): Starring John Wayne, William Holden (I) and Constance Towers. A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength. ![]() ![]() Holden as the doctor has a less flamboyant part than Wayne, but hemakes the most of what he was given. I suspect knowing the relationshipbetween Wayne and John Ford, he knew going in his part would be less,but he did it anyway. Anyone who thinks John Wayne incapable of acting should see the scenein the saloon at Newton's Station after the Union forces repel aConfederate attack and are about their business destroying the railroadproperty. In a great drunk scene he reveals to Constance Towers thereason for his hatred of the medical profession. I won't reveal it, butit's something we can all understand. Wayne did this scene so well thatFord used an abbreviated version of it in The Man Who Shot LibertyValance. Ford makes marvelous use of music in there, weaving traditional CivilWar era songs with the song written by Stan Jones for the film, I LeftMy Love. That is one catchy and infectious ballad, one of the bestthings written for a John Ford movie. Incidentally Stan Jones makes abrief appearance in the film as Ulysses S. Grant and does well by him. There are two in the supporting cast that deserve mention. During theCivil War Lincoln had to deal with volunteer political generals, mostof whom were a flop. Willis Bouchey playing John Wayne's co-commanderin the expedition captures the phenomenon to perfection. He'sargumentative, arrogant, and a general pain in the butt to Wayne. It'sprobably Bouchey's finest screen performance. And Carleton Young also gives what I think is his finest screenperformance as the one armed Confederate colonel who tries in vain tostop Wayne from completing his plans. It's a role that requires dignityand strength and Carleton Young is marvelous. In fact the contrastbetween Bouchey and Young as soldiers is pretty obvious. The relationship between the Section Hand and The Croker evolves duringthe running time of The Horse Soldiers. It's a relationship well worthseeing develop. Reviewed by driver_8 Vote: 9/10/10 The Horse Soldiers is one of many John Ford and John Wayne collaborations. Moreover, it is one of their better. The story involves a daring mission byunion troops into the heart of the confederacy, in order to cut supply lines.Wayne is leading the daring plan. However, also going on the mission are an insolent surgeon (played by William Holden) and a Southern Belle, complete with slave (played by tennis star Althea Gibson). Where this film shines are in theexcellent performances turned in by the big two stars. Rumor was that this film hadmany shutdowns and stoppages, the kind of thing that can make someone hornery. Well, you see that in the relationship between the Holden and Wayne characters, they genuinely despise each other. To me, this was one ofWayne's most underrated performances. He shows real emotion in his rather complex character. As usual, Holden is excellent. Being a Ford film, the story and scenery are both epic. Moreover, it does not take the Hollywood path towards the obvious. I really enjoyed this film and was anxious to see just how itwould end. Reviewed by Jonathon Dabell ([email protected]) Vote: 8/10/10 General critical consensus seems to feel that John Ford's The HorseSoldiers is a bit of a let-down, at least by the dizzyingly highstandards of the director. However, it's quite liberating if you try toforget that you're watching a John Ford movie and just treat it as anAmerican Civil War movie like any other. Then, the film's qualitiesbecome more apparent. Yes, The Horse Soldiers is inferior to many ofthe other John Ford movies. But Ford working at half-speed is stillbetter than most directors working at the peak of their powers. And TheHorse Soldiers is still a fascinating, exciting and expertly told warfilm. Colonel John Marlowe (John Wayne) is ordered by the Union generals tolead his army 300 miles into the Confederacy, where they are tosabotage and disrupt the vital railway supply town of Newton Station asmuch as possible. After a disastrous few months of lost battles andheavy casualties, the Union generals are determined to swing the battleback in their favour before the arrival of winter. Marlowe is unhappyto learn that his orders include allowing army surgeon Major Kendall(William Holden) along on the mission. Since the death of his wife atthe hands of two blundering surgeons, Marlowe has had little respectfor those in the medical profession. To further complicate matters, afeisty Southern belle, Hannah Hunter (Constance Towers) withConfederate sympathies, overhears Marlowe informing his men that NewtonStation is the target, and that once the town has been raided the Unionforces plan to head for the safety of Baton Rouge. In order to secureher silence, Marlowe has to take her prisoner and suffer her sharpSouthern tongue (plus escape attempts) during the trip. The Horse Soldiers is filmed in loving detail, with gorgeous autumnalbackdrops. Its story is very interesting, especially the volatilerelationship between Wayne and Holden, and the mission itself providesexcitements along the way. In particular, a street battle at NewtonStation is memorable, as is a scene later in the film when the Unionsoldiers come under attack from an army of Confederate army cadetsstill at schoolboy age. Towers' character is written as a very cunningand feisty woman, who disguises her attributes by coming across as amelodramatic, gossipy airhead. Towers plays the part well, but becauseof how she's encouraged to handle the role she becomes ratherirritating too. One disappointing moment in the film comes when Wayneand Holden reach breaking-point with each other and ride off to asecluded glade to slug it out. The sequence is set to be a realhumdinger, but is curiously cut short by the arrival of the enemyforces. On the whole, though, The Horse Soldiers is a good, solid CivilWar entertainment, well worth a look.
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