The last command
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The last command |
| Original title | The Horse Soldiers |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1959 |
| length | 115 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script |
John Lee Mahin , Martin Rackin |
| production | John Lee Mahin, Martin Rackin |
| music | David Buttolph |
| camera | William H. Clothier |
| cut | Jack Murray |
| occupation | |
| |
The last command (original title: The Horse Soldiers ) is an American film by John Ford from 1959. The western is based on the book The Horse Soldiers by Harold Sinclair .
action
At the time of the American Civil War : The Northern states - Colonel John Marlowe leads his cavalry - Brigade behind enemy lines of Confederates to destroy a strategically important railway station and the local supply depot. Marlowe was a railroad engineer before the war; New to his unit is the doctor Hank Kendall, with whom Marlowe regularly collides. Both represent different worldviews and Marlowe has had a hatred of doctors since his former love died as a result of doctor botch.
In enemy territory, the brigade camps on the "Greenbriar" estate. There Marlowe explains to his officers their goal, and that he does not want to return north afterwards, but plans to advance further south in order to avoid Confederate troops as far as possible, in order to meet Union troops again at Baton Rouge . However, they are overheard by Hannah Hunter, who lives on the estate, who is hospitable even though she hates the Northerner, and her colored housekeeper Lukey. She is supported by Dr. Kendall caught. The rough-hewn Marlowe decides to take the two women with him as prisoners so that they cannot reveal his intentions to the enemy. On the way to the train station, Hannah tries to escape, which Marlowe is able to prevent. Marlowe, who tries to protect his soldiers, and Dr. Kendall, who meanwhile tries to alleviate the horrors of war and the injuries suffered by the soldiers, also clash in their efforts to get Hannah Hunter.
The train station was successfully taken, incoming southern reinforcements fought down, railroad facilities and warehouses burned down. This and in particular the personally accompanied death of a young soldier in the hospital affects the former railroad worker Marlowe very much. On the further way south, Lukey is shot, hit by the scattered southerners. Hannah Hunter, who has a friendly, conspiratorial relationship with her maid, remains inconsolable. Later, the cavalry unit withdrew before the approach to a cadet institute that was still trained in baroque pre-civil war doctrine. The cadets in the first ranks kneel down in a column and shoot a volley with their muskets at the Union soldiers, who sometimes seem disturbed by this life-despising courage. It would be easy for the war-trained cavalrymen to eliminate these youngsters immediately, but Marlowe orders a retreat in order to save the lives of the cadets who are intoxicated for their cause.
In order to escape the troops of the southern states who are now pursuing them, the Union cavalry has to leave the paved road and ride through marshland. At a bridge there is a decisive battle that is won with a loss. But shortly after the battle, the pursuers approach. Marlowe lets his regiment ride over the bridge in safety and is the last man to blow up the structure. Kendall decides to stay behind with the injured and thus goes into captivity. Marlowe confesses his love to Hannah shortly before the outbreak. Hannah stays behind with Kendall and watches Marlowe as the southern troops ride in. A Confederate officer immediately offers Kendall the help of his troop doctor, which Kendall gratefully accepts.
background
The film is based on the book The Horse Soldiers by the writer Harold Sinclair , which tells the true story of Colonel Benjamin Grierson , who had to do a similar job as Colonel Marlowe during the Second Vicksburg Campaign in 1863 . John Ford shot the film in the American state of Louisiana .
The end of the film came abruptly as John Ford stopped filming soon after the death of stuntman Fred Kennedy. The 48-year-old Kennedy had a fatal accident in a stunt in which he should fall from the saddle in a battle. The scene was used anyway and was only removed in the later video version. Kennedy had worked regularly as a stuntman for Ford since The Devil's Captain (1949). Ford blamed himself for Kennedy's death for not forbidding the experienced but physically out of shape stuntman to stunt despite bad premonitions. Ford then lost interest in the film project. A sequence planned as the end of the script, in which Marlowe and his troupe entered Baton Rouge , was never filmed.
The scene with the cadets was inspired by the real battle at New Market .
Althea Gibson , the first African-American Wimbledon winner , can be seen in a supporting role . Gibson was initially supposed to speak her role with an African American accent based on the script, which she found offensive. She successfully campaigned for Ford to eradicate the African American accent.
music
The main musical motif running through the film with the title "I Left My Love", which is also sung by the Union cavalrymen, was created by the composer David Buttolph . In many other places two contemporary songs of the civil war era are used, which are supposed to characterize the appearance of the Union troops on the one hand and the southerners on the other. " When Johnny Comes Marching Home " was composed by Patrick Gilmore , who was on the side of the Northern States, while " The Bonnie Blue Flag " was one of the most sung songs in the Confederate.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films found, "[the] Western focuses less on the armed conflicts than on the personal friction between the commanding colonel, a military doctor and a captured patriot". Nevertheless, the film is "thanks to careful character drawing and good photography above the average of the genre". For the television magazine Prisma , The last command was "[e] in typical cavalry westerns from director John Ford, who already lets the bitterness and despair echo through that two years later in his civil war film That was the wild west. " .
Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz rated the film less well in their lexicon “Films on TV” : “John Ford's only civil war film drags along with continuous dialogues and epic sequences; despite some action scenes and good environmental studies, average in the overall work of the great director. "(Rating: 2 stars = average)
The conclusion of the Evangelical film observer was: “Heroism and patriotism in the American Civil War, viewed from a perspective that makes the film amusing, if not superficial entertainment. Well suited for friends of the adventurous genre from the age of 12. "
literature
- Dirk C. Loew: Attempt on John Ford. The Western Films 1939–1964 . BoD, Norderstedt 2005, ISBN 3-8334-2124-X ; Pp. 254-270.
- Peter Osteried: The great John Wayne book . MPW, Hille 2010, ISBN 978-3-931608-99-6 , pp. 322-333.
- YES Place: The Westerns of John Ford (AKA: The Western Films of John Ford ). Citadel film books from Goldmann, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-442-10221-9 , pp. 187-197.
- Mark Ricci, Boris Zmijewsky, Steve Zmijewsky: John Wayne and his films (Original title: The Films of John Wayne ). Goldmann, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-442-10202-2 , pp. 200-201.
- Harold Sinclair : The Horse Soldiers . Harper, New York 1956, 336 pp. (English).
Web links
- The last command in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The last command at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- The last command in the online movie database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fred Kennedy IMDb. Retrieved May 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Ronald L. Davis: John Ford: Hollywood's Old Master . University of Oklahoma Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-8061-2916-7 ( google.de [accessed January 19, 2020]).
- ^ Gray, FC; Lamb, YR. Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson John Wiley & Sons (2004), pp. 120-121. ISBN 978-0471471653
- ↑ The last command. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ See prisma.de
- ^ Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz: Lexicon "Films on TV" (extended new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 491.
- ↑ Ev. Munich Press Association, Review No. 48/1960.