The Command (1954 film)

Last updated

The Command
The Command FilmPoster.jpeg
Original film poster
Directed by David Butler
Screenplay by Samuel Fuller
Russell S. Hughes
Based onThe White Invader
1950 novel in The Saturday Evening Post
by James Warner Bellah
Produced by David Weisbart
Starring Guy Madison
Joan Weldon
James Whitmore
Cinematography Wilfred M. Cline
Edited by Irene Morra
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • January 15, 1954 (1954-01-15)(Los Angeles/New York)
[1]
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.5 million (US/Canada rentals) [2]

The Command is a 1954 American CinemaScope Western film directed by David Butler. It stars Guy Madison and James Whitmore. [3] It was based on the novel Rear Guard by James Warner Bellah and features a screenplay by Sam Fuller.

Contents

Plot

When the commanding officer of a cavalry patrol was wounded and dying, he asks the surviving ranking officer of the patrol who is an army doctor to take over and lead the patrol back to their fort. On the way back to their fort, the cavalry troop passes a town where two companies of infantry troops commanded by a colonel were temporarily taking a breather from their duty of escorting a wagon train of settlers. When the colonel learned of the presence of the cavalry troop, he orders the attachment of the cavalry troop to his command with the specific duty of screening the main body of infantry troops and the wagon train. This attachment resulted in the cavalry troop being involved in several encounters with the native Indians who kept attacking the wagon train. During the trip, the colonel suffers a mild heart attack and is now unable to command. The infantry officers asks the cavalry officer to take over command from the incapacitated infantry colonel. The cavalry doctor-officer took over and lead the combined troops of infantry and cavalry in defeating the Indians.

Cast

Production

The film was originally due to star Gary Cooper under the title Rear Guard. [1] The film was announced to be made in 3-D but Warner Bros. later announced that it was to be made in WarnerSuperScope using Warner's new All-Media camera with no mention of 3-D. Warner Bros. also announced a deal with Zeiss Opton to produce lenses for them but The Command was the only Warner Bros. film to use them. [4]

Warner's camera and new system was never used and The Command was shot in Vistarama although, in agreement with 20th Century Fox, it was publicly released as Warner's first film in CinemaScope. [5] [1] It was also the first Western to be billed as in CinemaScope. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 2nd Dragoons, is an active Stryker infantry and cavalry regiment of the United States Army. The Second Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army Europe and Africa, with its garrison at the Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany. It can trace its lineage back to the early part of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor General's Horse Guards</span> Regiment in the Canadian Army Primary Reserve

The Governor General's Horse Guards is an armoured cavalry regiment in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group and is based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the most senior reserve regiment in Canada, and the only household cavalry regiment of Canada's three household units.

<i>Von Ryans Express</i> 1965 film by Mark Robson

Von Ryan's Express is a 1965 World War II adventure film starring Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, and Raffaella Carrà, and directed by Mark Robson. Produced in CinemaScope, the film depicts a group of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) who conduct a daring escape by hijacking the freight train carrying the POWs and fleeing through German-occupied Italy to Switzerland. Based on the 1964 novel by David Westheimer, the film changes several aspects of the novel, most notably the ending, which is considerably more upbeat in the book. Financially, it became one of Sinatra's most successful films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons". While they were the First Regiment of Dragoons another unit designated the 1st Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1855 and in 1861 was re-designated as the 4th Cavalry Regiment. The First Dragoons became the 1st Cavalry Regiment since they were the oldest mounted regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 9th Cavalry Regiment is a parent cavalry regiment of the United States Army. Historically, it was one of the Army's four segregated African-American regiments and was part of what was known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The regiment saw combat during the Indian and Spanish–American Wars. During Westward Expansion, the regiment provided escort for the early western settlers and maintained peace on the American frontier.

<i>She Wore a Yellow Ribbon</i> 1949 film

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 American Technicolor Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. It is the second film in Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", along with Fort Apache (1948) and Rio Grande (1950). With a budget of $1.6 million, the film was one of the most expensive Westerns made up to that time. It was a major hit for RKO. The film is named after "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", a song popular with the US military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essex Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Essex Yeomanry was a Reserve unit of the British Army that originated in 1797 as local Yeomanry Cavalry Troops in Essex. Reformed after the experience gained in the Second Boer War, it saw active service as cavalry in World War I and as artillery in World War II. Its lineage is maintained by 36 Signal Squadron, part of 71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exists as separate squadrons within the U.S. Army. The 1st Squadron of the 4th Cavalry's official nickname is "Quarterhorse", which alludes to its 1/4 Cav designation. The 3rd Squadron of the 4th Cavalry's official nickname is "Raiders". Today, the "1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry" and "5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry" are parts of the 1st Infantry Division, while the "3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry" serves as part of the 25th Infantry Division. On 23 September 2009, the "4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry" officially stood up at Fort Riley, Kansas as part of the 1st "Devil" Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. On 28 March 2008, the "5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry" officially stood up at Fort Riley, Kansas as part of the 2nd "Dagger" Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. The 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry served as part of the recently inactivated 1st Infantry Division, 3rd "Duke" Brigade, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The 1st and 5th Squadrons are assigned to their respective Brigade Combat Teams in the 1st Infantry Division. The 4th Squadron was inactivated in October 2015. The 3rd Squadron is assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in the 25th Infantry Division.

<i>They Died with Their Boots On</i> 1941 film

They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 American Biographical western film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Fellows, directed by Raoul Walsh, that stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during the Indian Wars in the western United States, the Spanish–American War in Cuba, Philippine–American War and Mexican Revolution. The regiment was trained as a combat unit but later relegated to non-combat duty and served in that capacity in World War II until its deactivation in 1944.

Nicholas Purcell, 13th Baron of Loughmoe was the son of James Purcell of Loughmoe and the maternal nephew of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton's Legion</span> Military unit

Hampton's Legion was an American Civil War military unit of the Confederate States of America, organized and partially financed by wealthy South Carolina planter Wade Hampton III. Initially composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery battalions, elements of Hampton's Legion participated in virtually every major campaign in the Eastern Theater, from the first to the last battle.

<i>Two Flags West</i> 1950 film by Robert Wise

Two Flags West is a 1950 Western drama set during the American Civil War, directed by Robert Wise and starring Joseph Cotten, Jeff Chandler, Linda Darnell, and Cornel Wilde. The opening credits contain the following statement:

On December 8th, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a Special Proclamation, whereby Confederate Prisoners of War might gain their freedom, provided they would join the Union Army to defend the frontier West against the Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertfordshire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army that could trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing mounted service in the Second Boer War and World War I, it subsequently converted to artillery. Three regiments saw service in World War II, one of which was captured at the fall of Singapore. It continued through various postwar amalgamations and its lineage was maintained by 201 Battery, 100th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery until that unit was placed in suspended animation in 2014.

<i>The McConnell Story</i> 1955 film by Gordon Douglas

The McConnell Story is a 1955 dramatization of the life and career of United States Air Force (USAF) pilot Joseph C. McConnell (1922–1954) directed by Gordon Douglas. McConnell served as a navigator in World War II before becoming the top American ace during the Korean War and was killed on August 25, 1954, while serving as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, California. The Warner Brothers production, filmed in CinemaScope and Warner Color, stars Alan Ladd as McConnell and June Allyson as his wife. Longtime Warners staff composer Max Steiner wrote the musical score for the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tucumán</span>

The Battle of Tucumán was a battle fought on 24 and 25 September 1812 near the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, commanded by General Manuel Belgrano, defeated the royalist troops commanded by General Pío de Tristán, who had a two-to-one advantage in numbers, halting the royalist advance on Argentina's northwest. Together with the Battle of Salta, on 20 February 1813, the victory at Tucumán allowed the Argentine troops to reaffirm the borders under their control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis H. Carpenter</span> 19th and early 20th-century US Army brigadier general

Louis Henry Carpenter was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas M. Nolan</span> United States Army major

Nicholas Merritt Nolan was a United States Army major. An Irish immigrant, he began his military career in New York on December 9, 1852, with the 4th Artillery, and subsequently served in New York's 2nd Dragoons. He enlisted as a private and rose through the ranks becoming a first sergeant. He was commissioned an officer in late 1862 in the Regular Army, while serving with the 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiment during the American Civil War. He participated in 16 campaigns with the 6th and most of its battles. He was slightly wounded at the Battle of Fairfield and seriously wounded at the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House. He was brevetted twice and noted at least twice for gallantry during combat. He was slightly wounded when captured at the end of March 1865, and was later paroled. After the Civil War, he served with the 10th U.S. Cavalry, known as the Buffalo Soldiers, for 14 years. Nolan is also noted for his pluses and minuses during the Buffalo Soldier tragedy of 1877 that made headlines in the Eastern United States. He was the commanding officer of Henry O. Flipper in 1878, the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He commanded several frontier forts before his untimely death in 1883.

<i>Pillars of the Sky</i> 1956 American film

Pillars of the Sky is a 1956 American CinemaScope western film directed by George Marshall and starring Jeff Chandler, Dorothy Malone and Ward Bond. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 The Command at the American Film Institute Catalog
  2. "1954 Boxoffice Champs". Variety . January 5, 1955. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  3. "The Command (1954) - David Butler | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  4. "Warners Seen Quietly Dropping 3-D As Studio Hops on Scope Wagon". Variety . August 26, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved March 14, 2024 via Internet Archive.
  5. "Comparing WarnerSuperScope with CinemaScope". Widescreen Museum. Retrieved March 14, 2024.