In my quest to see almost every John Wayne ever, I needed to see The Horse Soldiers. This movie is based on a book that's based on an event during the Civil War. It's like nesting dolls. The book was written by Harold Sinclair, and that book was based on the Grierson's Raid, a Federal cavalry campaign to interrupt the rail lines of the Confederacy.
John Wayne plays a colonel of the Union cavalry in charge of getting his men to Newton Station. After that, he's planning to take the unexpected route of heading south to Baton Rouge. When he makes his final decision, he discusses it in the home of Miss Hunter, a southern belle who is willing to spy and tell the Confederates the plan. Thus, the cavalry has two women along now.
Along the way, the colonel is at odds with the doctor, who seems determined to be irritating. Eventually, they'll either make it to Baton Rouge or they won't.
The really sad part of this movie was when the rebel guy went to the academy and pulled out all the troops. The highest ranking troop was a 16-year-old. They sent a bunch of children to the lines, and they were led by an old reverend. What the heck. The Civil War was brutal.
The movie itself was okay. It had moments of levity, and the woman wasn't totally in the way the whole time. Just parts of it. Wayne's character was complex and take-charge as usual, but I didn't see anything here that would raise this into one of my favorites. It might have something to do with the setting. The Civil War is a time period I don't watch or research very often, so that may have contributed to my enjoyment. The other thing is I was always worried about the horses. It's still a Good Movie!, it's just not one of my favorites.
Side Note - I really did love the song that went with this movie, especially the line about leaving a letter in the "holler" of the tree!
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