Dir. John Ford. Starring Tyrone Power, Maureen O’Hara, Betsy Palmer Some soldiers, just through luck or probability or God’s will, are doomed to be the ones to watch others die. Marty Maher (Power), though he enlists annually for decades on end and is in the service for both world wars, never actually goes to battle.… Read More The Long Gray Line (1955)
Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen. Starring Jimmy Stewart, Phillip Alford, Rosemary Forsyth One of my five favorite movies of all time is Gettysburg, a childhood favorite which I describe in that linked piece as having a “softness” concerning slavery but worlds of sympathy about the introspection of Confederate generals out to keep other men in chains.… Read More Shenandoah (1965)
Dir. John Ford. Starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Gilbert Roland There’s a shot in Cheyenne Autumn that my little heart took note of, either because I am very sensitive to bravado or because I am very partisan. Wright (Walter Baldwin), a Quaker ministering to the Cheyenne’s needs on the reservation as best he can, works with his… Read More Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Seeing Things Secondhand 