Dark Command
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Claire Trevor, George 'Gabby' Hayes, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Walter Pidgeon Director: Raoul Walsh Brand: WAYNE,JOHN 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 (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 94 minutes DVD Release Date: 2000-05-16 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Republic Pictures |
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Movie Reviews of Dark Command
Movie Review: Popular Wayne Civil War -Era 'Western' Still Shines!
Summary: 4 Stars
"Dark Command" is a rip-roaring, entertaining 1940 John Wayne western with plenty of excitement, romance, and comedy, and it offers one of his most engaging pre-WWII performances, as illiterate but straight-shooting Texan 'Bob Seton', wooing Claire Trevor while defending Lawrence, Kansas as the Civil War erupts.
The film is significant in Wayne's career, as it acknowledged his emergence as a major star by the studio (Republic Pictures) who had produced the bulk of his 'quickie' westerns over the previous decade (in their previous incarnation, 'Lone Star' films). With the success of John Ford's "Stagecoach", Wayne's value to the young studio increased dramatically, as a commodity that could be 'loaned out' to major studios for a tidy profit, but without 'quality' Wayne films of their own, his 'bankability' wouldn't last, so Republic mounted a major production, with a top director (Warner's Raoul Walsh, who had helmed the Duke's ill-fated 'starring' debut, "The Big Trail", nearly a decade earlier), a first-class cast (including Trevor, in her third pairing with Wayne in less than two years, and MGM star Walter Pidgeon), and a terrific screenplay (based on a story by respected author W.R. Burnett). Wisely including their most popular character actor, Gabby Hayes, for comic relief, and rising star Roy Rogers (who, surprisingly, doesn't sing!) in support, the end result would not only build upon Wayne's rising status as a major star, but would give the studio credibility within the industry as more than a 'B' picture factory.
While the history covered in "Dark Command" is largely fabricated (with infamous mercenary William Quantrill reinvented as a more urbane, if equally dangerous 'William Cantrell', portrayed by Pidgeon), Walsh never lets the 'facts' interfere with the action, and the end result certainly delivers!
Definitely a 'keeper'!