Der Teufelshauptmann (1949)
48KDer Teufelshauptmann: Directed by John Ford. With John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson. Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
“The fact that the names of Captain Nathan Brittles and Sgts Tyree and Quincannon have passed, not just into the mythology of the American western, but of movies themselves is testament to the iconic status of Fordu0026#39;s 1949 masterpiece, the second and best of what became known as his cavalry trilogy. That their names are also burned into our collective cinematic consciousness is also testament to the performances of John Wayne, Ben Johnson and Victor McLaglen who are all at their best here and yet are only part of a great ensemble that also includes that very fine and undervalued actress Joanne Dru as well as Mildred Natwick, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr and Arthur Shields.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe period is the Indian Wars that followed from the massacre of General Custer and Ford filmed it mostly in his beloved Monument Valley. It is largely devoid of the sentimentality of u0026quot;Rio Grandeu0026quot; though it is never as dark nor as serious as u0026quot;Fort Apacheu0026quot;, (it straddles the middle-ground magnificently; even the comic fight scene doesnu0026#39;t sit uncomfortably), and while Ford may make the Indians the villains of the piece he nevertheless bestows on them a kind of dignity and some degree of respect. Fordu0026#39;s sentimentality isnu0026#39;t necessarily for the cavalry but for the passing of the u0026#39;oldu0026#39; West and the loss of Native American culture”
