Dark Command
by Raoul Walsh
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Claire Trevor, George 'Gabby' Hayes, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Walter PidgeonDirector: Raoul Walsh
Brand: Lions Gate
Cinematographer: Jack A. Marta
Producer: Sol C. Siegel
Writer: F. Hugh Herbert
Writer: Grover Jones
Writer: Jan Fortune
Writer: Lionel Houser
Writer: W.R. Burnett
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: Pan & Scan, 1.33:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-05-16
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Republic Pictures
Movie Reviews of Dark Command
Movie Review: Early Wayne A-Western for Republic with a big budget and production values to match.
Summary: 5 Stars
After Wayne hit the jackpot in John Ford's groundbreaking Western STAGECOACH (1939) he was quickly reunited with his co-star Claire Trevor in ALLEGHENY UPRISING (1939) and again here in the DARK COMMAND (1940). Directed by Raoul Walsh, the man who incidentally gave young Michael Morrison his first starring role as a very young "John Wayne" in THE BIG TRAIL (1929) but it was a box office failure and Wayne was relegated to mainly B-Westerns until rescued by John Ford.
The fact based story is from the period starting just before the outbreak of the American Civil War depicting growing tensions on the Kansas Missouri border leading up to the infamous William Quantrill and his guerrillas burning down the town of Laurence, Kansas on August 21 1863. Based on the novel by W R Burnett Will Cantrill (Walter Pidgeon) an ex-school teacher who organises a guerrilla band to carry out raids on the Kansas Missouri border country, whilst purporting to be on the side of the Confederates. Up against him is town marshal Bob Seaton (John Wayne) assisted by `Doc' Grunch (George `Gabby' Hayes). To complicate matters further Cantrill and Seaton are vying for the attention of local banker's daughter Mary McCloud (Claire Trevor), also caught up in the events is Mary's wayward trigger-happy brother Fletcher `Fletch' McCloud (Roy Rogers). The film climaxes with Cantrill and his band of guerrillas attacking the town of Laurence, defended by Seaton and the townsfolk.
This early black and white Republic Western was one of its most successful and expensive films with a budget of three-quarters of a million dollars. The most famous scene in the film is where Seaton (Wayne) and Grunch (Hayes) up front, plus two others in a wagon being chased by Cantrill's gang, the wagon and horses are driven by Seaton over a cliff into the lake below. The scene was actually filmed by second unit director Joseph Kane with Yakima Cannut and Cliff Lyons doubling for Wayne and Hayes respectively. Other less careful second unit directors and stunt men copied this, leading to the formation of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The film gathered two Oscar nominations one to John Victor Makay for black and white Art Direction and the other to Victor Young for the Musical Score. The film was also of interest to see Roy Rogers out of his normal series Western role and to his credit didn't seem out of place at all.
This 2006 DVD Release through Universal. Excellent DVD transfer, with sharp clear sixty-five year old black and white images. Plus an added bonus of an excellent documentary on Wayne's early career YOUNG DUKE (The making of a movie star) Hosted by Leonard Maltin.
Summary of Dark Command
In this pre-civil War saga, Walter Pigeon, as Confederate renegade William Cantrell, along with his raiders, clashes with the new marshal of Kansas City, Bob Seton (John Wayne). Their long-standing rivalry of love and power reaches dangerous proportions when Seton exposes Cantrell and his guerillas, who have been raiding both Union and Confederate lines. Roy Rogers co-stars in one of his earliest film roles.Historically dubious but vigorously entertaining, Dark Command is the best of John Wayne's many movies for Republic (not counting Wayne's lovely producing debut Angel and the Badman and those two John Ford films). Set in "Bleeding Kansas" just before and during the Civil War, it highlights the romantic triangle of amiable but unschooled Texan Wayne, banker's daughter Claire Trevor, and schoolmaster Walter Pidgeon--just long enough for the earnest pedagogue to become embittered, turn into bushwhacker William Quantrill (here Cantrell), and start wreaking havoc in the Border States. This was Republic's first star vehicle for Wayne, following his breakthrough in Stagecoach (away from Republic), and it's an uncharacteristically impressive production: good writers working from a W.R. Burnett novel, Raoul Walsh brought in to direct, music by Victor Young, and strong costars and supporting cast (Marjorie Main, Porter Hall, Raymond Walburn--and Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes!). Wayne himself is delightful. --Richard T. Jameson
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