She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Movie Review

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

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Written by: James Warner Bellah (story), Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings (screenplay), James Warner Bellah (short stories: "The Big Hunt" and "War Party") (uncredited)
Directed by: John Ford
Starring: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar
Rated: Passed [PG]
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Plot
Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.

Verdict
I find the classic movies difficult to enjoy. Many of them feel too performative. I can appreciate this movie and what John Wayne does in it, but I don't like the movie. For a western it's light on action. Any action occurs off screen which leaves this as a lot of talking.
It depends.

Review
This was one of the most expensive Westerns produced at the time. Ford initially wanted to cast anyone but John Wayne for the lead role due to the age disparity between Wayne and the character, but changed his mind upon seeing Red River, exclaiming that Wayne actually could act.

Captain Brittles (John Wayne) is counting down the days until retirement at his post near the frontier. It's a small post, but not without some risk with its location. Despite his looming retirement Brittles gets a mission to meet with Native Americans to broker peace and transport his commanding officer's wife and daughter to a stagecoach.

John Wayne plays Captain Nathan Brittles

I'm too far past classic movies to enjoy them. I appreciate what they do, but the style and sensibility is a bit slow. This movie is a lot of walking and talking. That's not a bad thing, I like a lot of movies that are walking and talking, but this dialog doesn't do anything to engage or go deeper. It's a straightforward plot about a cavalry troop, but we don't see much action despite the premise. I have the same complaint with nearly all of the classic movies. I don't find them engaging as they're too stagey and performative. Part of that is how this implies danger while showing very little. We don't see anyone get injured, just a man with an arm sling. That's a well used trope now and cartoonish. That's solely attributed to how far film has advanced since this movie released. It's just a slow movie.

A lot of reviews talk about the vibrant colors when color films were relatively new. The colors are vibrant, and a stark contrast to the grays of movies today, but they're too bright. This seems like a cartoon.

John Wayne is solid while playing a character twenty years older than his age. You can't help but like his character. Despite his retirement he wants to complete the mission and broker peace.