Two tough westerners bring home a group of settlers who have spent years as Comanche hostages.
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Truly Dreadful Film
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Two Rode Together is an uneventful mess of a western.This film is extremely dull and contains many nonsensical moments. What is the deal with Sgt. Posey? Is he suppose to add comic relief, because he did no such thing. Didn't mind the main two characters, the rest were bad though.
Marshal Guthrie McCabe had a cushy life in western town; getting a hundred dollars a month plus ten percent of the town's business; that is until his old friend 1st Lt. Jim Gary of the United States Army rides into town 'requesting' that he accompany him to a Fort forty miles away to undertake an unspecified task. When he gets there he learns that they want him to go into Comanche territory to bargain for the return of white prisoners, who were captured many years before; many of whom were young children at the time. Guthrie says that it is a fool's errand; any child will have grown up to live as a Comanche a will have forgotten their old life. The people are desperate though and eventually he agrees; if the price is right. Once in the Comanche camp he and Jim talk to the chief and he agrees to take one unwilling boy and a woman, Elena, back. He does not take an old woman who asked to be left and another young girl who had had children there; knowing their families will not welcome them back when they see how they have changed. Elena is a Mexican who had only been with then for five years and was married to a hot-headed brave. Once back at the camp things do not go well; the people treat Elena with contempt and things go even worse for the boy. There is also a romantic subplot involving Jim and Marty, a girl who is hoping to find her lost brother.I hadn't heard of this film until I saw it advertised but seeing as it stared the usually reliable James Stewart I thought I'd give it a go. I am glad that I did as it was pretty good; not as good as 'The Searcher', which covers similar themes, but still worth watching. James Stewart was good and surprisingly amusing as Marshal McCabe and Richard Widmark put in a solid performance as Jim Gary. The story was pretty decent and it was a relief that the Comanches weren't depicted as being any worse than the 'civilised' white people back at camp; although it was unfortunate that native actors weren't used; I know that is how things were done back then but it still seems a bit off. Coming from director John Ford I'd expected stunning vistas but the settings weren't that spectacular; the film still looked good enough in the countryside where it was set. Overall I'd say this wasn't a must see film but if you like westerns or the films of Jim Stewart it is certainly worth watching.
Two Rode Together (1961) *** (out of 4) Surprisingly pleasant Western about a Marshall (James Stewart) and military officer (Richard Widmark) who are sent by the government to Comanche territory where they want the Marshall to try and get back several white people who were kidnapped years earlier. While Widmark has good plans in his heart, Stewart on the other hand is simply in it for the cash. Many reviews have called this Ford film a "been there, done there" type of thing, which I'd somewhat agree with since this does contain elements of THE SEARCHERS. That's about all I'd agree with because I found the story to be quite poignant and the performances excellent. Those wanting 100% action are probably going to be disappointed because there's very little of that and instead we're treated to a very good story that will make you think. THE SEARCHERS dealt with some of the issues that might happen when young female kids are kidnapped by Indians but this film takes it up a few notches as Stewart, in a rather mean fashion, informs people that their 9-year-old daughters who went missing years ago are now used up women who probably have many half-breeds. The racial tensions are very high in the film as many of the white folks can't come to terms with this and this is just part of the film that tries to make you think. When one of the kidnapped victims are brought back, the white people's prejudices are much greater than the race they look down upon and Ford is very clever in how he gets his message across without being preachy. Stewart and Widmark are terrific together and their energy certainly helps keep things moving. The Stewart character is an interesting one because the first portion of the film we see that lovable Stewart as he tells funny stories, makes light of everything and is just an all around likable guy. The second half is when that darker character comes out and this is where Stewart really shines. The way he uses that brutal honesty to really put hopeful people in their place was very effective and the actor does a marvelous job with it. Widmark gets the lesser of the two characters but that stern and straight-forward nature of his comes through very effectively. Shirley Jones is quite good in the role of a woman searching for her brother and we get the one and only Andy Devine for some great comic relief. The banter between he and Stewart early on is priceless. The cast also includes Linda Cristal, John McIntire, Harry Carey, Jr. and Mae Marsh in a brief part. TWO RODE TOGETHER has a few dry moments that bog the film down but on the whole it's a pretty impressive feature that has been overlooked probably because it's not as grand as some of the director's other works.
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.......