Review of Two Rode Together

This film has a reputation as a mediocre John Ford film. This is in part due to the story that Ford only made the movie for money and later made disparaging remarks about the film. Assuming this is true, consider two things: one, artists aren't always the best judges of their own work and two, Ford was always a cantankerous old cuss who blew a lot of smoke at the media.

I thought this was a very, very good movie, although it is not without serious flaws.

Here are some positives:

• Two great performances by James Stewart and Richard Widmark, who play "frenemies". The extended comedic banter between the two reminded me of the interplay between John Wayne and Kirk Douglas in "The War Wagon". There something comforting about watching two old pros at the top of their game. The famous extended "two shot" by the riverbank deserves its reputation.

• The comic relief in the movie is so pronounced that at times during the first half you start to wonder if it isn't an outright comedy. Andy Devine does the heavy lifting, but with solid contributions from Stewart, Widmark and the other supporting cast members.

• Stewart's character, Guthrie McCabe, is well drawn. He's a stereotyped "super scout" on the one hand, but a cynical, greedy, drunk on the other.

• The romantic lead, Shirley Jones, is a fully developed character, not just a gratuitous babe. She has a haunted past, due to her guilt over her kidnapped brother, and the plot resolves her conflict.

• I love John Ford because he rarely neglects my three favorite Western themes of Civil War, Mexican and Indian references. Nice extra touch here having a non-stereotyped Mexican character, Elena de la Madriaga, who is an aristocrat turned Indian captive.

• Always nice to see the familiar members of the Ford troupe, including Harry Carey Jr. and his mother, Ken Curtis and others. One of my favorite supporting actors, John McEntire, also puts in an appearance.

• Setting of the story moves nicely from place to place.

• Relatively little violence, with only one death by gunshot and a pretty horrific lynching.

There are a number of negative aspects to this movie that kept it from being better:

• The first third of the movie is great, as the characters of Gery and McCabe are introduced and they travel together to Fort Grant. It begins to go downhill when they reach the fort and it is revealed that the movie will be about the retrieval of white captives from the Commanches. It makes the movie feel like a retread of "The Searchers", especially since it seems like half the cast of that movie is in this one.

• Things get worse when they reach the Commanche camp, when we discover Henry Brandon virtually reprising his role of Scar in "The Searchers". If that's not bad enough, the plot becomes infested with holes and implausibilities, which I expect in an Anthony Mann movie, not a John Ford movie. I've listed a few of them at the end of the review.

• As it concludes, it degenerates into an uninspired and preachy"Civil Rights" Western, complete with an actual lynching.

• There are serious age differences in the romantic interests. Widmark's 45 years old and Shirley Jone's character is barely out of high school. I'm not sure Stewart's girl Elena is that much older, but at least she's been broken in by Stone Calf.

• Disappointing location shooting. I don't recall seeing so many sound stage scenes in a Ford Western. And when they go on location, little effort is made to have panoramic Western backdrops.

• Lack of a well defined, prominent heavy hurts the movie dramatically. Woody Strode's Stone Calf is under characterized.

Plot holes: Why don't they bring back the old woman and the young girl hostages from the Commanche camp? The father said he didn't mind if she had Indian children. I know she doesn't want to go, but neither did the teenage boy and they took him. Why does McCabe stay behind to confront Stone Calf? Why doesn't Stone Calf bring some warriors with him to retrieve his wife? We were told that Stone Calf believes that magic protects him from bullets, but couldn't he have made a more credible charge into into McCabe's camp? His wife grieves for Stone Calf's death enough to conduct an Indian burial ceremony, but two days later wants to marry the guy who killed him. I could go on.......