She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
John Ford’s ‘She Wore a Yellow Ribbon’
The summary: US Cavalry Captain Nathan Cutting Brittles (portrayed by John Wayne) is a week away from retirement as he commands his post at Fort Starke in the year 1876. For his last week of active duty, he is given one last task: to lead his troops and deal with the breakout from the reservation by the Cheyenne and Arapaho following the defeat of George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn as well as prevent any further war from happening. Things get more difficult when in addition to this, he must also bring along his commanding officer’s wife and niece so that he may drop them off at a safer location (of which he objects to). Two of his subordinates in the meantime are fighting for the affection of the niece, Olivia. Captain Brittles succeeds in securing the women to safety but fails in maintaining peace with the indigenous tribes as violence breaks out. Coming back to Fort Starke defeated and angry that his last mission as a Cavalryman failed, he persists in obtaining peace and goes back out against his officer’s commands. Captain Brittles finally avoids a bloody war by stampeding the tribes’ horses out of their camp, forcing the renegades to return to their reservation.
Thematic Elements: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon seems more a series of connected episodes, rather than purely narrative. Wayne’s Captain Brittles is the center of the film. Brittles, throughout the movie, must face up to his retirement and evaluate the necessity and purpose of the cavalry he is leaving behind. After the bloody Battle of Little Big Horn and the demise of Colonel Custer, it calls into question the morality of choosing sides in a violent war, especially with no discernable reason for the war other than for land and oppression. One of Ford’s most sentimental movies, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon sees Captain Brittles deal with emotions of loss and sadness, mostly over the passing of his wife. This leads Captain Brittles to care more fervently about the value of a human life, including his own. He spends the film connecting more with his cavalrymen, the indigenous people, the women he is escorting, and even himself.
Camerawork: The movie is most notable for its
stunning Technicolor photography. The beauty of the technicolor lends to the
beauty of the emotions of the film. Where most of Fords films are black and
white, utilizing the dark and light to convey dark or uncertain times, this
film utilizes the beauty of its colors to emphasize the beauty of the emotions
portrayed by John Wayne’s character. The depth of this emotion and his newly
deep-felt attitude toward the people and world around him are utilized by the
beauty of the colors and landscapes.
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