The Undefeated
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.25 You Save: $7.73 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.58 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Undefeated
Movie Review: The Undefeated
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoyed this movie, a great group of actor's. A little taste of history, and beautiful country scenes through out. It takes you there.Movie Review: The Undefeated
Summary: 5 Stars
A true John Wayne classic. If you are fan of John Wayne and of Westerns in general, this is one movie you'll
enjoy immensely.
Movie Review: John Wayne and Rock Hudson together for the first/only time
Summary: 4 Stars
I have fond memories of this 1969 film because of the way that I first happened to see it. When my father was stationed in Japan we would have the opportunity every couple of months to go see a late show at the base theater. The movie to be screened was never announced; you just went and took your chances. One time it was "One More Time" (Peter Lawford plays Lord Sydney Pepper and Sammy Davis, Jr. was Charlie Salt) and another time it was "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (I guessed the movie on the basis of the opening shot of the waves coming ashore). One night we went and the movie starts off with a bunch of Confederate soldiers waiting for attack and then along comes John Wayne leading a Union cavalry charge and we got to see "The Undefeated" weeks before its normal rotation to our theater.
Actually, John Wayne is not the best part of this film. The opening scenes deal with the end of the Civil War. Wayne plays Colonel John Henry Thomas, whose men have followed him from Texas to fight for the Union and are not sick of soldiering and ready to go home. The plan is that they are going to put together a herd of wild horses and sell them to representatives of the Mexican government, who are offering the best price. Of course, Mexico might be about to have its own Civil War. Meanwhile, the defeat of the Confederacy and the arrival of Northern carpetbaggers have convinced Colonel James Langdon (Rock Hudson) and his men that there is nothing left for them in the South. So his plan is to lead his men and their families to Mexico to serve in the military for the government of the Emperor Maximillian trying to hold onto power.
The two groups of former enemies meet along the way and after fighting Indians together achieve something of a rapprochement, mainly because Rock and the Duke are manly men and hit it off. They two big stars acting together, with Rock upstaging an amiable Duke at just about every opportunity. The idea of what expatriate Confederates during after the Civil War is an interesting one, but the script only deals with that as a means of setting up the rest of the film.
Of course since the former Confederates are traveling with women and the ex-Union soldiers only brought horses, the romantic subplots involve overlooking the minor past differences of the war that killed a half million Americans. Colonel Langdon's sister-in-law (Marian McCargo) grudgingly sparks to John Henry, despite the fact his unit was as Shiloh where her husband was killed. But it is hard to pay attention to any notion of a mature relationship when young Charlotte Langdon (Melissa Newman), the Colonel's daughter takes an interest in Blue Boy (L.A. Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel), John Henry's Cherokee Indian adopted son, which does not sit well with her beau, Lt. Bubba Wilkes (Michael Vincent before he was Jan-Michael Vincent, and I swear I did not make up that "Bubba" name).
Another NFL player, a then relatively unknown Merlin Olsen, plays Corporal Little George, a gentle giant for gets to fight for the honor of the Confederacy from time to time. You will also see former Miss America Lee Meriwether as Colonel Langdon's wife along with veteran character actors Ben Johnson as Short Grub, Harry Carey, Jr. as on of Thomas' riders, and Royal Dano as a dignified Confederate officer.
This is really a 3.5 star movie. It is not as good as I remember and there are all sorts of problematic elements to the film simply because "The Undefeated" is pretty much doing things by the numbers. There are no big surprises here once you know the players and it is simply a question of watching it all play out. In the end I round up simply because of the scenes between Wayne and Hudson, and that is without getting into the fascinating sub-text of the personification of American machismo acting opposite the biggest Hollywood star in the closet. I have seen some evidence that the Duke knew about Rock's secret, but there is nothing in the film to suggest it bothered him.
Movie Review: If I can be permitted to point to the title...
Summary: 4 Stars
Boy, let me clear my eyes a minute and write about this movie.
I saw it today on a day off in summer on a TV channel. It might be a good one if you were thinking of hosting a round-up. First the title tells us quite a bit. John Wayne plays a former Yankee Colonel who is selling a huge herd of horses to Maximillian for the bucks. Three thousand, with his band of former Union fighting loyal men and adopted son Blueboy a Cherokee footballer (Roman Gabriel looking very handsome). Yes, initially what pulled me into the movie was Wayne calling this brave his adopted son and naming him Blueboy, that and my spending an hour trying to place him. It isn't terribly honorable to deal with Maximilian but they are tired of having nothing but war and pain I think.
On the way to Mexico to collect their cash for horses they are ambushed by a troop of bandits after meeting a Confederate troop that have suffered the loss of the war, this Confederate family and soldier band going to Maximilian now I guess for a new start? Unable to stay in America? This group includes Rock Hudson, his wife Mederidith Baxter, his daughter and he's playing a Colonel too.He and Wayne were fun to watch.
That made me think of the movie title because in a way both groups are dealing with defeat. Hudson's group unable to accept it, Wayne's feeling the sting of a way different kind of defeat. They've lost friends, fought, got nothing to show for it and are darn tired. So in this money racked horse deal they kind of have to work together fending off the bandits, then a big and rather stressing meeting up with Benito Juarez Mexican independence revolutionaries aiming to get those horses.They take the entire Conferate group for ransom and wayne and men give away the horses to save them ultimately. Talk about reconciliation!
Along the way each man, Wayne and Hudson reveal their honor. Their ability to accept defeat, to work together to save the families, to see the things they will fight for, it's pretty classic stuff. Blueboy is Wayne's adopted son, a real man of honor that gets wrapped up in his wanting the Southern Colonel's daughter. Wayne gets a love interest too in the form of the sister in law to this southern Colonel mourning her loses of her man killed at a Civil war battle Wayne has been involved in on the other side. It's really a movie about all of that -one side against another and how perspectives and situations frame who we are, what we do.
Yes, I cried. I got afraid it wasn't going to go well at the end and the scenes of execution got to me. As the dastardly freedom fighter says, "War is war."
And everyone is looking at the defeated and the notions of winning.
Movie Review: Excellent post Civil War western
Summary: 4 Stars
The Undefeated is an excellent western that teams John Wayne and Rock Hudson together for the first time. Set in the months after the Civil War, the story follows two groups as they venture into Mexico. One group led by Wayne's Colonel John Henry Thomas is driving 3,000 horses south to deliver to the forces of the French emperor, Maximillian. The other group is a wagon train of Confederate soldiers and their families who are moving to Mexico City under Maximillian's rule. Along the way, the two groups meet up and battle bandits, Juaristas, and even themselves. The action scenes are very well put together, especially the 4th of July fistfight and the bandit attack on the wagon train. John Wayne and Rock Hudson are great as two rival leaders, one Union and one Confederate, who must work together if they are to survive in Mexico. Their relationship has several funny moments as they discuss their involvement during the war. The Duke's crew includes Ben Johnson as Short Grub, Dub Taylor as Mr. McCartney, Roman Gabriel as Blue Boy, and several other Duke regulars. The rest of the impressive cast includes Tony Aguilar, Bruce Cabot, Merlin Olsen, Edward Faulkner, Harry Carey JR, Marian McCargo, Lee Meriwether, Melissa Newman, and Big John Hamilton. It was great to see this on DVD which offers widescreen presentation, several theatrical trailers including The Comancheros and North to Alaska as well as two in Spanish and Portuguese. In the trailer, look for a scene of Blue Boy's fellow riders capturing Rock Hudson as he rides to Wayne's camp that did not make it to the final copy. This is an excellent post Civil War western that all Duke fans will love! Do not miss!