She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Encyclopedia
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 Western
film directed by John Ford
and starring John Wayne
. The film was the second of Ford's trilogy of films focusing on the US Cavalry (and the only one in color); the other two films were Fort Apache
(1948
) and Rio Grande
(1950
). With a budget of $1.6 million, the film was one of the most expensive Westerns of the time, but became a major hit for RKO and remains a popular classic today.
Known for its breathtaking views of Monument Valley
located in the Navajo reservation, at the northern edge of Arizona; the cinematographer, Winton Hoch, won the 1950 Academy Award
for Best Color Cinematography
. Ford and Hoch based much of the film's imagery on the paintings and sculptures of Frederic Remington
.
The film is named after a song common in the U.S. military, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", which is still used today to keep marching cadence. It is a variant of the song "All Around My Hat
".
) is given one last patrol, to take his troop and deal with a breakout from the reservation by the Cheyenne
and Arapaho
following the defeat of George Armstrong Custer
. His task is complicated by being forced at the same time to deliver his commanding officer's wife and niece, Abby Allshard (Mildred Natwick
) and Olivia Dandridge (Joanne Dru
), to an east-bound stage, and by the need to avoid a new Indian war. His troop officers, 1st Lt. Flint Cohill (John Agar
) and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell (Harry Carey, Jr.
) meanwhile vie for the affections of Miss Dandridge while uneasily anticipating the retirement of their captain and mentor. Rounding out the cast are Capt. Brittles' chief scout, Sgt. Tyree (Ben Johnson
), a one-time Confederate cavalry officer; his First Sergeant, Quincannon (Victor McLaglen
); and Major Allshard (George O'Brien), long-time friend and commanding officer.
After apparently failing in both missions, Capt. Brittles returns with the troop to Fort Starke to retire. His lieutenants continue the mission in the field, joined by Capt. Brittles after "quitting the post and the Army". Unwilling to see more lives needlessly taken, Capt. Brittles takes it upon himself to try to make peace with Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree
). When that too fails, he devises a risky stratagem to avoid a bloody war by stampeding the Indians' horses out of their camp, forcing the renegades to return to their reservation.
The movie ends with Brittles being recalled to duty as chief of scouts with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and Miss Dandridge and Lieutenant Cohill becoming engaged.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film directed by John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
and starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
. The film was the second of Ford's trilogy of films focusing on the US Cavalry (and the only one in color); the other two films were Fort Apache
Fort Apache (film)
Fort Apache is a 1948 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande , both also starring Wayne...
(1948
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) and Rio Grande
Rio Grande (film)
Rio Grande is a 1950 Western film. It is the third installment of John Ford's "cavalry trilogy," following two RKO Pictures releases: Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ....
(1950
1950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
). With a budget of $1.6 million, the film was one of the most expensive Westerns of the time, but became a major hit for RKO and remains a popular classic today.
Known for its breathtaking views of Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the northern border of Arizona with southern Utah , near the Four Corners area...
located in the Navajo reservation, at the northern edge of Arizona; the cinematographer, Winton Hoch, won the 1950 Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Color Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
. Ford and Hoch based much of the film's imagery on the paintings and sculptures of Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
.
The film is named after a song common in the U.S. military, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", which is still used today to keep marching cadence. It is a variant of the song "All Around My Hat
All Around My Hat (song)
The song "All Around my Hat" is of nineteenth century English origin. In an early version, dating from the 1820s, a Cockney costermonger vowed to be true to his fiancee, who had been sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia for theft and to mourn his loss by wearing green willow...
".
Plot
On the verge of his retirement at Fort Starke, a one-troop cavalry post, the aging US Cavalry Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles (John WayneJohn Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
) is given one last patrol, to take his troop and deal with a breakout from the reservation by the Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
and Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
following the defeat of George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
. His task is complicated by being forced at the same time to deliver his commanding officer's wife and niece, Abby Allshard (Mildred Natwick
Mildred Natwick
Mildred Natwick was an American stage and film actress.- Early life :A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born to Joseph and Mildred Marion Dawes Natwick. She graduated from the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore...
) and Olivia Dandridge (Joanne Dru
Joanne Dru
Joanne Dru was an American film and television actress, known for such films as Red River and All the King's Men.-Career:...
), to an east-bound stage, and by the need to avoid a new Indian war. His troop officers, 1st Lt. Flint Cohill (John Agar
John Agar
John George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
) and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell (Harry Carey, Jr.
Harry Carey, Jr.
Harry Carey, Jr. is an American film actor. He appeared in over 90 films. He is mostly remembered for appearing in Western films — notably those by his friend John Ford — and in television programs.-Early life:...
) meanwhile vie for the affections of Miss Dandridge while uneasily anticipating the retirement of their captain and mentor. Rounding out the cast are Capt. Brittles' chief scout, Sgt. Tyree (Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (actor)
Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
), a one-time Confederate cavalry officer; his First Sergeant, Quincannon (Victor McLaglen
Victor McLaglen
Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:...
); and Major Allshard (George O'Brien), long-time friend and commanding officer.
After apparently failing in both missions, Capt. Brittles returns with the troop to Fort Starke to retire. His lieutenants continue the mission in the field, joined by Capt. Brittles after "quitting the post and the Army". Unwilling to see more lives needlessly taken, Capt. Brittles takes it upon himself to try to make peace with Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree
Chief John Big Tree
Chief John Big Tree , born Isaac Johnny John, was a member of the Seneca Nation and an actor who appeared in 59 films between 1915 and 1950....
). When that too fails, he devises a risky stratagem to avoid a bloody war by stampeding the Indians' horses out of their camp, forcing the renegades to return to their reservation.
The movie ends with Brittles being recalled to duty as chief of scouts with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and Miss Dandridge and Lieutenant Cohill becoming engaged.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Wayne John Wayne Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height... |
Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles |
| Joanne Dru Joanne Dru Joanne Dru was an American film and television actress, known for such films as Red River and All the King's Men.-Career:... |
Olivia Dandridge |
| John Agar John Agar John George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death... |
1st Lt. Flint Cohill |
| Ben Johnson Ben Johnson (actor) Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:... |
Sgt. Tyree (aka Captain CSA) |
| Harry Carey Jr. | 2nd Lt. Ross Penell |
| Victor McLaglen Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:... |
Sgt. Maj. Quincannon |
| Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick was an American stage and film actress.- Early life :A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born to Joseph and Mildred Marion Dawes Natwick. She graduated from the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore... |
Abby Allshard ("Old Iron Pants") |
| George O'Brien | Maj. Mac Allshard |
| Arthur Shields Arthur Shields Arthur Shields was an Irish stage and film actor.Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, he started acting in the Abbey Theatre when still a young man. He was the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Barry Fitzgerald. An Irish nationalist, he fought in the Easter Rising of... |
Dr. O'Laughlin |
| Michael Dugan | Sgt. Hochbauer |
| Chief John Big Tree Chief John Big Tree Chief John Big Tree , born Isaac Johnny John, was a member of the Seneca Nation and an actor who appeared in 59 films between 1915 and 1950.... |
Chief Pony That Walks |
| Fred Graham Fred Graham (actor) Fred Graham was an American actor and stuntman, who performed in scores of films from the 1930s. A semi-professional baseball player, Graham appeared mainly in Westerns, doing stunts and playing opposite John Wayne among others. He also featured alongside Wayne in several films with director... |
Sgt. Hench |
| Chief Sky Eagle | Chief Sky Eagle |
| Tom Tyler Tom Tyler Tom Tyler was an American actor in silent and sound motion pictures, best known for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the acclaimed 1941 movie serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel.-Biography:... |
Cpl. Mike Quayne |
| Noble Johnson Noble Johnson Noble Johnson was an African American actor and film producer.-Biography:Standing 6'2" at 215 pounds, his impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a character actor and bit player... |
Chief Red Shirt |
Other Cast
- Rudy Bowman as Trooper John Smith aka Brig. Gen. Rome Clay, CSA (uncredited)
- Lee Bradley as Interpreter (uncredited)
- Paul FixPaul FixPaul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
as Gun-runner (uncredited) - Francis FordFrancis Ford (actor)Francis Ford was a prolific film actor, writer, and director. He was the older brother of film director John Ford. He also appeared in many of John Ford's movies, including Young Mr. Lincoln and The Quiet Man.He starred in the 1912 two-reeler The Deserter by Thomas H. Ince and acted in over 400...
as Connelly, Fort Stark Suttlers Barman (uncredited) - Ray Hyke as Trooper McCarthy (uncredited)
- Billy Jones as Courier (uncredited)
- Fred Kennedy as Badger (uncredited)
- Fred Libby as Cpl. Krumrein (uncredited)
- Cliff LyonsCliff Lyons (actor)Clifford William Lyons was an American motion picture stuntman, second-unit director, and actor, primarily of Westerns, particularly the films of John Ford and John Wayne.Lyons, the son of Garrett Thomas Lyons and Wilhamena Johnson Lyons, was raised on a South Dakota farm,...
as Trooper Cliff (uncredited) - Frank McGrathFrank McGrathFrank McGrath was an American television actor who played the comical and optimistic cook, "Charlie Wooster", on the Western television series Wagon Train on, first, NBC and then ABC...
as Bugler / Indian (uncredited) - Peter Ortiz as Gun-runner (uncredited)
- Post Park as Officer (uncredited)
- Jack PennickJack PennickJack Pennick was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, he appeared in over 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was a leading member of the informal John Ford Stock Company, appearing in dozens of the director's films...
as Sergeant Major (uncredited) - Mickey SimpsonMickey SimpsonMickey Simpson was an American supporting actor of burly roles, probably most familiar as Sarge, the racist diner, who beats up Rock Hudson near the end of Giant.-Career:...
as Cpl. Wagner (blacksmith) (uncredited) - William SteeleWilliam Steele (actor)William Anton Gittinger , best known as William Steele, was an American actor of small roles in Westerns, particularly those of John Ford....
as Officer (uncredited) - Don Summers as Jenkins (uncredited)
- Dan WhiteDan White (actor)Dan White was an American actor, well known for appearing in several Western films.-Early life:Dan White was born to George and Orpha White in Falmouth, Florida, one of twelve siblings. The Whites moved to Lakeland during World War I. By age 14, White was in show business...
as Trooper (uncredited) - Harry WoodsHarry Woods (actor)Harry Woods was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 250 films between 1923 and 1958.He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and died in Los Angeles, California from uremia.-Selected filmography:* Tycoon...
as Licensed Suttler Karl Rynders (uncredited)