''Dark Command'' is a 1940 Western film starring

Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

and Walter Pidgeon loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He w ...

from the novel by W. R. Burnett, ''Dark Command'' is the only film in which western icons John Wayne and Roy Rogers appear together, and was the only film Wayne and Raoul Walsh made together since Walsh discovered Wayne working as a prop mover, renamed him, and gave him his first leading role in the epic

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

Western ''

The Big Trail ''The Big Trail'' is a 1930 American pre-Code Western early widescreen film shot on location across the American West starring 23-year-old John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh. In 2006, the United States Library of ...

'' a decade before. The film also features George "Gabby" Hayes as Wayne's character's sidekick. The film was nominated for two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Original Score and

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

John Victor Mackay John Victor Mackay (July 13, 1891 – September 8, 1945) was an American art director. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 97 films between 1937 and 1943. Selected filmography Mackay ...

Plot

Mary McCloud marries the seemingly peaceful

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

schoolteacher William Cantrell, before finding out that he harbours a dark secret. He is actually an outlaw leader who attacks both sides in the Civil War for his own profit. After capturing a wagon loaded with Confederate uniforms, he decides to pass himself off as a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

officer. Her naive, idealistic brother Fletcher joins what he believes is a Rebel guerrilla force. Meanwhile, Cantrell's stern but loving mother refuses to accept any of her son's ill-gotten loot. A former suitor of Mary's, Union supporter Bob Seton, is captured by Cantrell and scheduled for execution. After being rescued by a disillusioned Fletcher McCloud, Seton and Mary Cantrell race to the town of Lawrence (site of an actual infamous Quantrill-led massacre) to warn the residents of an impending attack by Cantrell's gang.

Cast

as Mary McCloud *

as Bob Seton * Walter Pidgeon as William "Will" Cantrell * Roy Rogers as Fletcher "Fletch" McCloud * George "Gabby" Hayes as Andrew "Doc" Grunch * Porter Hall as Angus McCloud * Marjorie Main as Mrs. Cantrell, aka Mrs. Adams * Raymond Walburn as Judge Buckner * Joe Sawyer as Bushropp (guerrilla) * Helen MacKellar as Mrs. Hale *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Dave (gunrunner) *

Trevor Bardette Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of '' Adventures of S ...

as Mr. Hale

Production

W.R. Burnett's novel was published in 1938 and became a best seller. It was a rare historical novel from Burnett, who was better known for modern day crime stories. Film rights were purchased by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

who announced the film in May 1939 as part of their slate for 1939–40. Director Raoul Walsh had discovered John Wayne in 1929 when Wayne was a 23-year-old prop man named Marion "Duke" Morrison. Walsh was reading a biography of General "Mad Anthony" Wayne at the time and gave the prop boy the last name "Wayne" after casting him as the lead in ''

'' (1930), a 70 mm Grandeur

epic shot on location all across the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. ''Dark Command'' remains the only other film upon which both Walsh and Wayne collaborated during their lengthy careers. The film was financed on a larger budget than Republic normally provided. It was a similar scale to a successful historical drama they had made the year before, '' Man of Conquest''. Walter Pidgeon was borrowed from MGM. Filming started November 1939. ''Dark Command'' was the second film John Wayne made with Claire Trevor after ''

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

'', the other being '' Allegheny Uprising'' (1939). Roy Rogers was given a key support role in ''Dark Command'', the only time John Wayne and Roy Rogers made a movie together.

Historical Inaccuracies

The pistols used by some of the cast are Colt single action army, SAA guns, not made until 1873. The movie is set at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1860 when cap and ball pistols were used such as the Colt 1858 Navy. John Wayne carries a Colt Peacemaker not made until 1873.

Release

''Dark Command'' premiered in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

. It received favourable reviews and box office, and encouraged Republic to continue to allocate more money for John Wayne films.

References

External links

* * * * {{Raoul Walsh Films directed by Raoul Walsh 1940 films American Civil War films Films scored by Victor Young Films based on American novels Films based on works by W. R. Burnett Films set in Kansas Republic Pictures films 1940s English-language films 1940 Western (genre) films Films produced by Sol C. Siegel Films with screenplays by F. Hugh Herbert American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films 1940s American films