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That was an excellent one.

So much average

Fresh and Exciting

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

. . . it immediately began cutting corners. Republic replaced GONE WITH THE WIND's lavish color with often murky black & white film (especially the many Dark-O-Vision night scenes straining the eyes of DARK COMMAND viewers). Instead of a rousing Max Steiner original musical score, DARK COMMAND's audience is treated to a repetitious and often anachronistic stew of over-used oldies, such as "Camptown Races." With a running time less than half GWTW's, there's not a chance of straining even the tiniest bladders in attendance. Compared with GWTW, DARK COMMAND's cast is made up of strictly "B-Listers," with John Wayne assuming the Rhett Butler role, "Mr. Miniver" (Walter Pidgeon) trying to inject some gumption into his version of Ashley Wilkes, Claire Trevor giving us a Scarlett O'Hara without a single "Fiddle-Dee-Dee" (or chuckle of any sort), and Roy Rogers oozing into the Melanie Wilkes space in a bit of gender-blind casting. This sorry quartet play a pack of Fifth Column Losers who try to spread the venom of the Old South's Lazy Racist Black Slavery into a hotbed of Freedom Fighters in Lawrence, KS. (Which, of course, they manage to burn to the ground, as most of the population is slain.) Wayne personally knocks out the teeth of 17-plus Abolitionists, and Rogers guns down an unarmed 18th Union Backer in his haste to jump into Satan's Surrey. Wayne proposes Bigamy to Ms. Trevor, and it takes a Nasty-Gram from the U.S. Production Code Administration to keep Rogers from doing it with Trigger.

The plot is decent, the acting is good. The historical accuracy is terrible. John Wayne plays a guy named Seton who runs for and is elected sheriff over Walter Pidgeon, who plays the infamous butcher Cantrell, (not the correct spelling). Cantrell starts out with apparently high ideals but is drawn down by his defeat for sheriff. The fact that the real Quantrill was a scum sucking, back shooting, woman and children killing, monster is not shown in this movie. Claire Trevor, with the strange voice, plays the love interest for both of the main protagonists and of course John Wayne's character wins her. This further estranges Cantrell from, I guess, reality. Finally there is the end scene, however wrong it was, where Lawrence, Kansas is spared, unlike in history. This is not a bad movie other than the many historical inaccuracies.

When you consider that W.R. Burnett was the author of the novel on which this was based, and that the great Raoul Walsh was behind the camera as director, it's no wonder that DARK COMMAND is a far better than average western, especially one coming from a studio like Republic.JOHN WAYNE, CLAIRE TREVOR and WALTER PIDGEON are top-billed and each does an excellent job. In fact, the chemistry between Wayne and Trevor is on the level of their most famous pairing in STAGECOACH, perhaps even better.The story is vaguely suggested by the true-life tale of Quantrill's Raiders, with Pidgeon as Cantrell, a man who uses the strife between north and south to be a plunderer, robbing from both sides and setting himself up in luxurious surroundings. CLAIRE TREVOR is the woman who becomes his bride, reluctantly, and then discovers that it's really JOHN WAYNE that she loves. That's about the gist of the story, but it's given some good western elements, even extending to the inclusion of GEORGE 'GABBY' HAYES as a doctor a bit out of practice and ROY ROGERS in a straight dramatic role as Trevor's brother. Even MARJORIE MAIN has a strong dramatic role as Pidgeon's unhappy mother.Walsh keeps things going at a fast clip, the production values are excellent and it's probably a film Republic was proud of, with good reason.

John Wayne (as Bob Seton) stars in a Civil War-era film wherein he runs for Marshall of a Kansas town, against wicked schoolteacher Walter Pidgeon (as Will Cantrell). Of course, they are rivals for the attention of a woman - beautiful Claire Trevor (as Mary McCloud). Roy Rogers adds additional charm as brother McCloud. The story is rather more ordinary than intriguing, but the western scores on several fronts… First, the direction by Raoul Walsh is outstanding. The production is well-mounted; it includes the expected exciting climax, but that's not all... Even better than the climatic ending is a spectacular sequence involving a stagecoach. Don't miss it! The indoor scenes are great, too. Watch the scenes in the Barber Shop, for example: witness the sets, direction, and photography. The placement of characters and objects, along with the great street outdoors, provide terrific visual depth.The story doesn't do the production justice, however. And, some of the performances are merely adequate; and, sometimes they seem unfocused. Mr. Pidgeon's is probably the most consistent of the main players. Mr. Wayne and some of the players might have improved with some additional worked on their characterizations; and, if the story was sharper, "Dark Command" might have been a truer classic. ******* Dark Command (1940) Raoul Walsh ~ John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Walter Pidgeon