Sergeant Rutledge

Director: John Ford John Ford

Overview

John Ford directed this distinguished movie, the first mainstream western to feature an African-American hero. The tale opens as 9th-Cavalry Sergeant Rutledge is tried for raping his commanding officer's daughter and then killing the CO. His tale is then told in flashback. The story is an interesting examination of subtle racism and it is also a tribute to the courageous black men who rode in the 9th Cavalry.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/06/2016
UPC:	0888574454012
Original Release:	1960
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround EX]
Language:	English
Time:	1:51:00
Sales rank:	2,656

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Woody Strode	Sgt. Braxton Rutledge
Jeffrey Hunter	Lt. Tom Cantrell
Constance Towers	Mary Beecher
Billie Burke	Mrs. Cordelia Fosgate
Juano Hernandez	Sgt. Matthew Luke Skidmore
Willis Bouchey	Col. Otis Fosgate,Col. Otis Fosgate
Carleton Young	Capt. Shattuck
Judson Pratt	Lt. Mulqueen
William Henry	Capt. Dwyer,Capt. Dwyer
Walter Reed	Capt. MacAfee
Chuck Hayward	Capt. Dickinson
Mae Marsh	Nellie
Fred Libby	Chandler Hubble
Charles Seel	Dr. C.J. Eckner
Toby Richards	Lucy Dabney
Jan Styne	Chris Hubble
Cliff Lyons	Sam Beecher
Jack Pennick	Sergeant
Estelle Winwood	Spectator
Eva Novak	Spectator
George Fisher	Mr. Owens
Chuck Roberson	Juror
Hank Worden	Laredo
Mario Arteaga	Mexican
Toby Michaels	Lucy Dabney
Brandon Beach	Courtroom Spectator
Oscar Blanke	Courtroom Spectator
Naaman Brown	Trooper
Jane Crowley	Courtroom Spectator
Jack Kenny	Courtroom Spectator
Mike Lally	Courtroom Spectator
Jan Stine	Chris Hubble
Howard Jackson	Composer

Technical Credits

Willis Goldbeck

James Warner Bellah

James Warner

John Ford	Director,Producer,Producer
Willis Goldbeck	Screenwriter,Producer
James Warner Bellah	Screenwriter
James Warner	Screenwriter
M.A. Merrick	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Taking on Western racism just as the civil rights movement was gaining strength, John Ford's Sergeant Rutledge (1960) explores the case of an African-American cavalry soldier accused of raping and murdering a white girl. Part courtroom drama, part Western, the film reveals the facts about the crime in flashbacks as witnesses take the stand. Even as Woody Strode's formidable Rutledge proves his sterling character in taut sequences of cavalry clashes against the Apaches, the expressionistic use of light and color, particularly during Rutledge's encounter with a sympathetic female witness, points to the repressed sexual terror that drives the case against him. Strode's masterful performance imbues Rutledge with dignity as he defends himself in the courtroom scenes, and Ford also gives him a John Wayne-type star moment as he rides into Ford's signature Monument Valley to do his duty as a Western hero. Though Sergeant Rutledge was not one of Ford's popular successes, Strode's place as a breakthrough Western icon was confirmed by his brief yet evocative appearances in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Posse (1993).