She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

John Ford's new and finest picture of the fighting cavalry!
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
7.2/10
22 194
—
no scores
6.9/10
423
7.2/10
21000
Rate the movie:
Release date
Budget
$1 600 000
Revenue
$5 400 000
Director
Scenario
James Warner Bellah
Author
Composer
Photo Richard Hageman
Richard Hageman
Producer
Actors
Photo John Wayne
John Wayne
Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
Photo Joanne Dru
Joanne Dru
Olivia Dandridge
Photo John Agar
John Agar
Lt. Flint Cohill
Photo Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson
Sgt. Tyree
Photo Harry Carey, Jr.
Harry Carey, Jr.
2nd Lt. Ross Pennell
Photo Victor McLaglen
Victor McLaglen
First Sergeant Quincannon
Photo Mildred Natwick
Mildred Natwick
Abby Allshard
Photo George O’Brien
George O’Brien
Maj. Mac Allshard
All actors and roles (10)

Short description

Set in 1876, shortly after the destruction of Custer's regiment, this Western follows Captain Nathan Brittles, a veteran cavalry officer only days away from retirement. With Indian tribes preparing for war, Brittles is sent on one last patrol. He is also ordered to evacuate the fort commander's wife and her niece, and he becomes aware that a trader intends to sell guns to the tribes. Olivia Dandridge, the niece, has drawn the attention of two young officers, and the yellow ribbon she wears in her hair signals a suitor in the cavalry, though she will not say which man she favors.

John Ford directed, working from a screenplay by Laurence Stallings and Frank S. Nugent, with Merian C. Cooper producing. It was Ford's thirteenth film as director in chronological order, following 3 Godfathers and preceding Rio Grande. John Wayne plays Brittles, heading a cast that includes Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr. and Victor McLaglen.

Made for about two million dollars, the film returned roughly five million worldwide. It holds a 7.2 rating on IMDb from around 21,000 votes and a 6.9 on TMDB from 418 votes, while a critics' rating of 7.9 from 24 reviews places it above both audience scores.

What's left behind the scenes

  • In Monument Valley, the actors and crew working on the film lived without much comfort, practically in camping conditions. They had to sleep in primitive structures with earthen floors and a communal shower with only cold water.
  • Ben Johnson rode a horse in this film that had appeared in many Westerns of the 1940s and 1950s. It was a large bay stallion named Steel, and it belonged to Johnson's father-in-law, who ran a stable in Hollywood and rented horses to filmmakers.

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