Two Flags West

This is an action packed cavalry film set during the Civil War.

It begins with our protagonist, Joseph Cotton's character, a Confederate officer rotting in a Union prison with 43 of his men. They are offered a chance to fight Indians in the West, an act guaranteed not to hurt the Southern cause. When Cotton's character puts it to a vote to his men, it is deadlocked 21-21, with the tying vote a dying man who passes away before he can voice an opinion.

Cotton grabs the chance, and becomes a cavalry man, befriended by Cornel Wilde, a Union officer. Jeff Chandler plays the commander of the fort he is taken to. The star studded cast includes some great character actors, and their talents aren't wasted.

At the fort, Chandler quickly becomes the antagonist. His character resembles Henry Fonda's commander in FORT APACHE, obviously on purpose. In ways, this is almost a remake as far as characters go, but with a different story line.

A damsel in distress, the widow of Chandler's brother, killed in a battle in which Cotton took part, makes for high tension and high drama.

Later on, Chandler captures the head honcho Apache's son, and when the Apache chief demands his son's release, Chandler kills the son.

The other parts of the plot, I won't spoil. What we get are very identifiable three dimensional characters in great Western action. The fifties were the golden age for good reason. Great characters. This is a prime example. The two main antagonists both climax with acts of honor, one in supreme sacrifice, and one in relenting against a massacre for the sake of justice.

Compare these characters to the one dimensional clichés of Leone debacles, cardboard cutouts who do nothing but hate and kill, of the caricatures of "Tombstone" and other garbage, and there's no comparison. This film is so superior, it boggles the mind.

It took Hollywood four decades to realize their mistake, and now we at least see some Westerns that deal with credible characters, such as the ones you'll see Robert Duvall in. The difference is that this golden age dealt in splendor, scenery, and cinema, while the modern Western aims for total realism. While the modern Western has value, I still prefer the spectacle of cinematic glory and color to the modern dullness and dust. Both are good, but this type is more uplifting, and gives you the energy to get more done, so I give these films an edge.

Excellent acting, great scenery, directing, everything you could want, but my two chief criteria, writing and characters, are both of high quality here, too. This film is an example of "great characters make great films".

Civil War rivalries were popular story material for Westerns of this period. Here, the rivalry is used more effectively than usual. A contingent of Confederate pow's is sent west to help Yankees fight the Indians. Okay, but what guarantees that the Johnny Rebs won't desert to rejoin their Southern comrades. Well, nothing really, except the Southern commander Col. Tucker (Cotton) does have a sense of honor. He's going to need it since the Yankee fort commander (Chandler) is given to temper tantrums, to say the least. Throw in some angry Apaches and a lovely widow (Darnell) who'll do anything to get to California, and you've got some strong dramatic material.

It's a well-mounted movie from big budget TCF, with a great battle sequence and a surprising outcome. There's also realistic attention to battle detail inside the fort that helps lift the sequence. Then too, the wide open New Mexico locations convey the kind of scenic sense that I think Western fans so love. Meanwhile, Cotten and Wilde, a Union officer, play off one another effectively, signifying the opportunity for post-war reconciliation between North and South. It's also a fine supporting cast with a number of familiar faces, such as Hunnicutt and Beery Jr. But how did pudgy glad-hander Harry von Zell escape TV's Burns and Allen show to turn up in a Western, of all places. Nonetheless, he's shrewdly cast in what can only be called a slippery role.

Not all are aces. The complex narrative sometimes meanders, along with a few believability stretches. Nonetheless, add 'em all up and it's still a solid entry in the A-Western category.

JEFF CHANDLER does a creditable job as tough Army Major Kenniston at Fort Thorn with a hatred of Confederate rebels. His sister-in-law LINDA DARNELL wants to go back to California from the New Mexico fort, but Chandler is smitten with her and tries to prevent the strong-willed lady from having her own way.

Meantime, two other men have their eyes on Linda--Confederate Col. Clay Tucker (JOSEPH COTTEN) and dashing Capt. Mark Bradford (CORNEL WILDE), both of whom fall for Major Kenniston's sister-in-law.

Seems the Yankees are willing to free Confederate prisoners if they're willing to help them fight off the Indians surrounding the fort. While this is the major plot driven device, the romantic sub-plots involving Chandler, Darnell, Wilde and Cotten get a fair share of time too.

It all comes together as an above average cavalry western under the crisp direction of Robert Wise, who makes the most of some excellent camera work in the rugged western settings. The story has some interesting components but takes time in setting up the various conflicts. Nevertheless, enough action and a little romance to satisfy most viewers of the genre.

Two Flags West begins with Confederate colonel Joseph Cotten given an offer to have his men get paroled from prison if they'll serve in the union army out west where the troops are stretched pretty thin. Over some objections he takes the offer from Captain Cornel Wilde.

Wilde takes Cotten and his men to Fort Thorn in the Southwest which is commanded by rebel hating and Indian hating Jeff Chandler. There's a good reason why this guy is in a backwater command as you'll see as the film unfolds. In addition there's Linda Darnell, wife of Chandler's late brother who was killed in the Civil War and who all three guys have their eyes on. But Chandler scares Darnell as well he should.

It was interesting to see Chandler whose career role was Cochise playing an Indian hater. But he does successfully put over the character. His Indian hating causes a lot of tragedy before the film is over.

Two Flags West is a brooding kind of western that's not for the squeamish. It's an exceptionally violent film that I'm not sure how it got through the Code. It's one of Jeff Chandler's best early roles, too bad Universal didn't cast him in more films like Two Flags West.

You only have to look at the production credits to see that this western has the promise of being an above average yarn. And it is. When my Brother in Law asked me if I wanted to see this film, I hesitated, expecting another run-of-the-mill Cavalry show. After noting the impressive cast and behind the scenes crew, just had to take a look.

For it's year, it's a surprise in both story elements and production handling. Not having before seen Jeff Chandler take a lead role in an 'A' grade feature (and this being quite early in his tragically short career) I had not realised he was such a professional performer. It seems his Universal International years may have sold him short. His performance as an embittered commanding officer in this film is a powerful one.

For me, Multi Award winning Director Robert Wise has always been a favorite, and this western is further proof of his skillful hand. Helping Mr Wise is another multi Award winner, Director of Photography: Leon Shamroy. I was surprised that Fox did not use Techicolor for this outdoor epic, but pleased they did not. The powerful on-location settings, featuring low horizon shots and huge dramatic sky scape's, dwarf the humans as they strive to survive this hostile environment. The wonderful use of quality black and white stock, evokes the visual poetry of a John Ford classic.

Cornel Wilde, does what Wilde does best, and Cotton is reliable as always. The cast is good right down to the support players. Linda Darnell is convincing as the sole female lead and the reason for her character to be in this situation is fully believable. This beautiful woman also had a tragically short career, both Chandler and Darnell died within months of the same age (Chandler only 42 through Medical 'misadventure' ~ Darnell 41 following a house fire) The original story is above average (founded on some historical facts) it was co-written by Curtis Kenyon and Frank S. Nugent ~ two writers also known for their screenplays. Their story was then honed into a tight adaptation for the screen by the great Casey Robinson ('Kings Row' etc) Robinson also Produced this film, so had a strong interest in it's success. If you enjoy character driven action entertainment, then this could be a western for you.

The Music credits are also interesting, with Fox's resident composer, the marvelous Alfred Newman taking a back seat as: Musical Director to composer: Hugo Friedhofer (although Newman contributed some incidental music) The score adds handsomely to the powerful images. Much of the dramatic action is surprisingly graphic and superbly staged, showing considerable time and care had been taken in all areas.

I have heard 20th Century Fox sadly junked many of their B/W Negatives when the studio foolishly made the decision to make 95% of their later films in CinemaScope and Color (a poor move in terms of artistic creativity) For the DVD release, they have at least produced a good digital master from available fine-grains and release prints. Recommended, and worth buying.