More on John Ford’s Fort Apache (1948)…A poignant moment is when the regiment along with Capt. Sam Collingwood played by George O’Brien- hero of Ford’s landmark western The Iron Horse (1924) -is heroically marching out to face great adversity and his wife (Anna Lee in a great performance) receives an expected telegram confirming Collingwood’s transfer away from danger knows that her husband would refuse to be called back-“I can’t see him…just see the flags!
For me the Robert Osborne interview of Kim Novak live from the 2013 TCMFF reran on TCM this afternoon 3/18/17 was the most loving and genuine soul searching of a movie star ever – After hearing what Kim said the dynamics of how she felt about her role as Madeleine/Judy I am motivated to see Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) another 100 times! I miss Robert Osborne so much!
From the opening credits over preview vignettes to the ending Fort Apache (1948) (perfectly cast with John Wayne as the savvy Captain York; Henry Fonda cast against type as by the book Lt. Col. Thursday with Shirley Temple as his daughter; the great Ward Bond as Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Maj. O’Rourke with John Agar as his son 2nd Lt. O’Rourke) is a cinematic masterpiece set in the primordial Monument Valley, Utah where John Ford artistically composes every shot of his characters within this vast landscape to tell us about the passing of a generation within a military tradition. Love the sequence where Agar courts Shirley (his then real life wife) in defiance of her snobbish father Fonda by taking her out riding in this vast landscape and the Fordian choreography/music scoring in the noncommissioned officers dance event which artistically defines Fort Apache society.
Lawrence of Cinema 