With this Ford film, we’ll continue the themes from rugged wilderness and racism as discussed in my coverage of THE SEARCHERS, into similar territory in SERGEANT RUTLEDGE. We will take a closer look at the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ of the U.S. Cavalry history, but with the suspense of a courtroom drama.
For discussion of this film’s story, it’s important to note the historical relevance of Black soldiers during this time and place in history. So called by Indigenous tribes, the “Buffalo Soldiers” were the African American troops of the United States Army. Supposedly The American Plains Native Americans (sources also claim Apache, Comanche, and Cheyenne nations) coined the name in respect for the Black troops’ fierce fighting while wearing buffalo coats during winters and in reference to the appearance of their hair to a bison’s coat.
Active from 1866 to 1951, the origin troop began in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment. This would grow to include the following African American troops at that time: 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments, and the Second 38th Infantry Regiment. Most of the military posts covered the Southwest and Great Plains. Of course, during the Civil War several African American troops were formed as a segment of the Union Army. However, after the war ended these troops disbanded. Then Congress established the Buffalo Soldier units to assist during ‘peacetime’ (not very peaceful for the Native American tribes) during the post-Civil War western expansion (“Indian Wars” aka the Native American genocide).
During the late 1800s, they were tasked with protecting western territories, quelling tensions and violence, escorting US mail deliveries, and fighting in military campaigns that would eventually expand to the Spanish- American War, the Philippine-American War, WWI, and beyond. The first African American West Point graduate, who was also the first Black commissioned officer to lead the Buffalo Soldiers, was Henry O Flipper in 1877.
To give perspective of their contribution in service, out of the total 25,000 serving in the US Army from 1870 to 1898, Black soldiers represented about ten to twenty percent (varying across Infantry and Cavalry regiments). Over 400 Black soldiers earned the distinguished Medal of Honor, which many believe could’ve been much higher, if not for facing prejudice and often being posted remotely. Mark Matthews was the oldest surviving Buffalo Soldier, who died at the age of 111 years-old on September 6, 2005. He is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.
At the center of today’s film discussion is the extraordinary actor, Woody Strode, who portrays a Buffalo Soldier accused of and stands trial for rape and murder. Ford had good fortune when he used two different athletes-turned-actors, formerly from the UCLA football team- John Wayne and Ward Bond. Woody Strode would be his third.
Nicknamed the “Jackie Robinson of cinema,” Strode pioneered in both sports and film. Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode was born in Los Angeles (1914 – 1994). He exceled in football and running track at UCLA. But he would follow-up his college athletics by breaking the color barrier in not just one but two sports, prior to his strong film career. In addition to his groundbreaking wrestling career, Strode would plow through segregation in football, when he and running back Kenny Jackson signed up with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League in 1946. He continued in sports (mostly football and some wrestling) until a serious injury forced early retirement in 1949. He also served in the United States Army Air Corps during WWII.
His African American mother was the daughter of a slave and his stonemason father was the son of Creek and Blackfoot Native American heritage. Both parents originated from New Orleans but moved to LA a few years prior to Woody’s birth. He would later say that living in LA area offered him a race bubble of confidence and that he didn’t experience true acts of racism until as an adult traveling outside that area. This mixed with his blended background gave him an advantage to play a variety of third-world ethnicities in film roles.
His acting career began with small roles across film and tv, starting in 1950 when he got an opportunity to play a role in a Tarzan flick. He was asked to shave his head which he felt was demeaning, but quickly changed his mind when it came with a $500/week offer. But the year 1960 was a huge leap. He would soon go from racial stereotype small parts in jungle films to significantly meatier roles when he stood out in a film- Lewis Milestone’s Korean War film, PORK CHOP HILL (1959). The film tackles wartime racial segregation tensions and John Ford took notice of Strode’s performance.
Ford called him up and offered him the lead in his next film, SERGEANT RUTLEDGE. Initially, Strode was so overwhelmed he assumed it was a prank. Warner Brothers preferred bigger names like Sidney Poitier or Harry Belafonte to fill the title role. But Ford wanted someone of a much tougher physicality. He insisted only Strode would fit perfectly. Woody had just completed filming as Kirk Douglas’s gladiator sparring partner in an action-packed sequence in SPARTACUS (1960). Ford needed an actor who didn’t need a stunt double. Strode could more than deliver.
But his acting experience was lacking. Ford worked out scenes with him in preparation, attempting to teach Strode to behave relaxed and confident for the camera. But for a pivotal scene that required raw emotion, Jack pulled the same trick on Woody as he did many years before with Victor McLaglen in THE INFORMER. He got him drunk the night before (at his son Pat’s house) so that he was thoroughly hungover; with Jack barking at him the next morning on set to better get his lines right. Explicably, just like with McLaglen, it worked, and in only one take. Strode called it, “the truest moment I ever had on a screen.”**
Strode married the Hawaiian princess and actress, Luuikialuana Kaliealoa (descendent of the last queen of Hawaii) in 1940 with 2 children that followed. Strode would be in 3 more films for Ford: TWO RODE TOGETHER (1961), THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962), and SEVEN WOMEN (1966). Strode continued acting, including popular Italian westerns, right up until his death in 1994 from lung cancer. But among them all, “I’ve never gotten over ‘Sergeant Rutledge,” Strode said. “That was a classic. It had dignity. John Ford put classic words in my mouth.” Strode went on to describe the significant symbolism of this film, “You never seen a Negro come off a mountain like John Wayne before. I had the greatest Glory Hallelujah ride across the Pecos River that any Black man ever had on the screen. And I did it myself. I carried the whole Black race across the river.”*
Woody Strode and John Ford remained close friends from filming SERGEANT RUTLEDGE until Ford’s last day on August 31, 1973. During their friendship, Woody seemed to fill the son role to Pappy Jack role as Wayne was now busy doing his own projects and busy with family. In his last months, Ford’s body shrunk to less than 100 pounds, wasted way by years of poor health choices, and he spent his time in bed with occasional visitors. One of his most frequent visitors was Woody. After Jack took his last breath, son Pat, his sister, and Woody toasted to the old man and draped an American flag over him. Strode remained at his bedside the hours until the coroner arrived.
This would be Jeffrey Hunter’s third and final Ford film. Hunter would continue to work in films and tv, most notably as Jesus in KING OF KINGS (1961) and as Captain Pike in the “Star Trek” original pilot. But his films with Ford stand out as his best. Sadly, in 1969 at age 43 years-old, Hunter suffered a stroke, fell, hit his head and died with a brain hemorrhage. Co-star Constance Towers has led a long career in film and mostly television, including spending the last 25 years as the same role on “General Hospital.” At age 90 years old, she is still with us.
One of the best yet understated performances in SERGEANT RUTLEDGE comes from Afro-Puerto-Rican stage and film actor Juano Hernandez (1896 – 1970) as “Skidmore.” Although he rarely received big roles in his career, he consistently stole every scene. My personal favorite is another ‘race-problem’ picture, INTRUDER IN THE DUST (1949).
Another athlete extraordinaire-turned-actor in this film was Rafer Johnson (1933 – 2020). His jaw-dropping, Hall of Famer, impressive list of athletic accomplishments runs longer than my arm. He’s yet another athlete Ford plucked from a UCLA sports team. Johnson, along with Rosie Grier, are famed for tackling/capturing the assassin of Robert F Kennedy. Johnson was known to visit with Ford frequently and they’d mostly chat about film and sports.
Johnson recalled, “We never spoke specifically about race, but in terms of how he handled that film, and us, John Ford might have been a little ahead of his time in terms of looking at the issue, and the problems that existed between society and people of color. That film, and the Rutledge character, showed what Ford really was- a man who respected our people and was concerned about what was going on in our country. John Ford was speaking through that film.”**
The rest of the cast includes familiar Ford stock players such as Mae Marsh, Hank Borden, and even a few moments of Jack Pennick. Veteran actress Billie Burke as “Cordelia Fosgate” is an interesting choice for comedy relief because she plays her part well as the delicate yet dizzy wife, but she is a full generation older than the actor who portrays her husband, Willis Bouchey as “Col. Otis Thornton Fosgate.” You may also notice a few familiar names from prior Ford films- “Hightower,” “Lucy,” and “Jorgensen” (all from THE SEARCHERS).
While SERGEANT RUTLEDGE may not be well known in the John Ford canon, nor for star power like a Duke, Stewart, or Fonda film. But it does stand out as a Ford film with a strong, well-paced plot within a courtroom drama (although some similarities could be found in THE INFORMER). Some touches feel familiar – like the U.S. Cavalry and military honor, Monument Valley landscape, a journey met with obstacles, touches of humor, Yankee vs Confederacy historical relations, tensions of a young couple falling in love. But the ‘ah ha twist’ is quite refreshing for a Ford film. And its forthright perspective of African American racism was very pioneering for this time, especially for a western.
By now, you have probably begun to see many examples and patterns of what constitutes a ‘Ford film.’ In this film- what examples do you see that feel like a Ford film, and what feels differently?
Cast and Crew:
Jeffrey Hunter – Lt. Tom Cantrell
Constance Towers – Mary Beecher
Billie Burke – Mrs. Cordelia Fosgate
Woody Strode – 1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge
Juano Hernandez – Sgt. Matthew Luke Skidmore
Willis Bouchey – Col. Otis Fosgate
Carleton Young – Capt. Shattuck
Judson Pratt – Lt. Mulqueen
Plus other uncredited, including Hank Worden (Laredo), William Wellman Jr (Court Guard), Mae Marsh (Mrs. Nellie Hackett), Jack Pennick (court Sergeant)
Directed by: John Ford
Produced by: Patrick Ford, Willis Goldbeck
Writing by: James Warner Bellah (novel by and written by), Willis Goldbeck (written by)
Music by: Howard Jackson
Cinematography by: Bert Glennon
Film Editing by: Jack Murray
Art Direction by: Eddie Imazu
Release date: May 25, 1960
Production: Warner Bros, John Ford Productions
Filming locations: Monument Valley, Mexican Hat in Utah, several locales in Arizona
SOURCES:
*”Woody Strode? He Wasn’t the Star but He Stole the Movie,” New York Times, by Charlayne Hunter, September 19, 1971
**”Print The Legend, The Life and Times of John Ford,” Scott Eyman (1999)
“The Man Who Made the Stars Shine Brighter: An Interview with Woody Strode” by Frank Manchel
“Goal Dust,” Woody Strode and Sam Young, Madison Books (1990)
“That Distinguished Negro Star”: Juano Hernandez in Hollywood Cinema” by Roberto Carlos Ortiz/ Centro Voices (Dec, 4, 2015)
(The above article was included in my JOHN FORD course that I taught in the spring of 2023)