I love this movie so much

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This film doesn't seem to garner much appreciation by other reviewers on this board but I thought it had an interesting concept. It reminded me of Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers", as the soldiers newly tapped for Congessional Medals of Honor were to then be used as a propaganda tool for the country's entrance into World War I. Even today, the idea of 'selling' a war seems like a foreign concept and not to be undertaken in a commercial manner.The film offers a lot of dichotomies to consider, chief among them the idea that a soldier attaining the rank of Major would have been chosen to operate as an Awards Officer even though he himself experienced cowardice in battle. That's Major Thorn's (Gary Cooper) task as he navigates his way through the situations and personalities that challenge his authority throughout the picture. I didn't get the sense that he was cowardly in any way and it required the story to play out in order to show his true colors.Interesting casting for this picture with the likes of Richard Conte, Dick York, Tab Hunter, and Van Heflin who looked like he packed on a few pounds since "Shane". I knew Rita Hayworth was in the cast but when she showed up a a blonde it didn't register. The resolution to the story didn't quite fit with everything that went before, leaving one to wonder what would happen once everyone finally set foot in Cordura. One of the reasons the picture merits it's weak reviews.

I always liked this movie, "They Came to Cordura". I've seen him several times and I have been following comments on it. Sometimes favorable, sometimes unfavorable (the majority), many of them criticizing the director Robert Rossen or the fact Gary Cooper be too old for the role. The film is about an unusual topic: the early twentieth century, in the times of Pancho Villa, U.S. military assigned to receive high honor Army, for bravery, form a squad under the command of Major Thorn (Gary Cooper) and will at desert, towards the base of Cordura. Along with them following the Mexican farmer, Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth), born American, to stand trial for treason, since it would collaborate with the enemy. Along the way discovers the fragility of Thorn, by knowing that he would have cowered in battle, causing mistrust of the group at his command, at the same time if the group shows, mostly, without character and capable of low and despicable acts. Here, then, it creates an interesting situation: the heroes reveal themselves men of bad character, unworthy, especially receiving a medal for bravery, while the coward becomes a hero, dignified, empathetic, courageous, generous. And the woman is a curious character: for she is dying as a mother; for decent still, a companion to the disqualified only object of desire, and Thorn, the woman he probably sought, able to understand it and understand the reasons that led him to be labeled a coward. Gary Cooper has a great performance. Would say that old for the role might even be true, but he plays with great skill. James Stewart also faced this problem in "The Man who shot Liberty Valance." They said it was old for the role, but spent so much time after shooting (1962), someone today would like to see another one in its place? Van Heflin has, with much certainty, the best performance of his career. The hero of "3: 10 to Yuma" and the bold and honest farmer "Shane" gave rise to negligible Chawk. Richard Conte (Trubee) and Dick York (Renziehausen) are great in their roles and Tab Hunter (Fowler), could have been better. An actor was booming at the time (1959) and I confess I expected more from him. Michael Callan (Hetherington) does little in the film, but has an understated performance, no compromises. Who stands undoubtedly is Rita Hayworth in late career. Still beautiful and huge screen presence, Rita, has a performance worthy of record. The story is rough, tough, as is the journey to Cordura, which reveals the hidden side of each, the true side of the supposed heroes, not as admirable as the moment of glory one lived. For Thorn, a sort of Christ, the journey is his redemption. When tying the rope "railroad handcar," the snared in her body and pulls, it's like finally carry his cross, even though it would only suffering. Gary Cooper does a great performance. They say that the film would be a reference source among homosexual characters of Gary Cooper and Tab Hunter. At least the copies I saw, never identified it. For me, a great movie. I want to see him still many other times.

Apart from "The Hustler" and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the over-rated "All the King's Men", Robert Rossen was never given his proper due, perhaps because his films straddled so many genres without ever finding a solid footing in any one. But he was certainly no jobbing director even if his voice was never as distinctive as a number of more highly acclaimed film-makers who worked during the same time. This large-scale, all-star 'contemporary' western, (it's set in 1916), is one of his most under-valued films. It's about heroism and cowardice and what makes a man choose one road or the other. In this case the men perform 'heroic' deeds but are deeply flawed as human beings. It's not a 'deep' movie but it is very well-crafted and Rossen certainly has a handle on the material.The central premise, (six men, five of whom are to receive the Congressional Medal of Honour for bravery, and one woman, their prisoner, journey across some particularly wild terrain together), is the stuff of cliché but Rossen keeps us interested in their plight and the cast are top-notch. Hunter, never reckoned to be much of an actor, is surprisingly good as the arrogant young lieutenant while Rita Hayworth, never reckoned to be much of an actress, fails to rise to the occasion here as well. It's also beautifully photographed by Burnett Guffey, who was later to win an Oscar for "Bonnie and Clyde", and it showed Rossen was just as capable of handling a large-scale action picture as he was of handling something as 'interior' as "The Hustler" or "Lilith".

A really good movie. Ultimately a redemption movie. Heroes can also be villains. A single act of cowardice or an act of courage does not mark the measure or the destiny of a man. Also, confidence in people can change them and reform them.The acting is superb throughout, and Gary Cooper captures wonderfully the gradual decline as he leads his motley crew on a trek to survival through the desert. An heroic performance to match the hero he portrays.This is movie that deserves more acclaim than it has received. In my book this is a must see. Great fare for Sunday afternoon on the couch!