She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

This is another of those films that people who say, 'John Wayne couldn't act', should be tied to a chair and forced to view. Under heavy make-up that ages him some twenty years, the Duke gives a wonderful and sensitive performance as a cavalry officer in the last weeks of his service. This film is a masterpiece of mood with director, John Ford painting the canvas with broad assured strokes.

And this time in blazing technicolor.

Set after Custer's defeat at The Little Big Horn the film centers on Captain Nathan Brittles (The Duke) as he deals with a looming Indian uprising and his forthcoming compulsory retirement. There are some tender moments of genuine pathos - Brittle visiting his wife's grave, the burial of a Confederate general who ended up serving out his final days as a common trooper and of course Brittles farewell to his troop. It is in the latter scene that Wayne's performance is so full of subtle nuance that it steps away from mere performance and becomes a kind of reality in itself.

At $1.6 million the film was in its time, one of the most expensive westerns ever made. However it was a huge hit for the studio, RKO and is an acknowledged classic today.

TRIVIA: A plot problem sees it being referenced that Pony Express riders were concerned for their safety after Custer's defeat. And yet in reality the Pony Express shut up shop some 15 years before Custer's death.