Having checked this DVD out of the library several weeks ago, I finally decided to watch it on Memorial Day since it has soldiers as depicted during the post-Civil War era. The title character is played by Woody Strode who is African-American and as such is on trial for the actions involving a dead white girl and her father. Jeffrey Hunter is his lieutenant who's defending him and Constance Towers is his lady friend who also says Strode's innocent. There's also Willis Bouchey as the presiding court-martial president and Carleton Young as the prosecutor. And two more players worth mentioning are Billie Burke-in her last film role-as Bouchey's wife who provides some comic relief and Juano Hernandez-perhaps best known as the lead in Intruder in the Dust-as another ranking officer. All of them are fine under the direction of the great John Ford. Sure, some romantic scenes between Hunter and Towers might not be completely necessary and some sequences lean toward the sentimental side but that's Ford for you. Otherwise, he gets fine atmospheric drama and action and brings a good social message without heavy-handing it making Sergeant Rutledge one of his more underrated works. So on that note, I highly recommend it.
Review of Sergeant Rutledge
