Known for its breathtaking views of Monument Valley located on the southern border of Utah; the cinematographer, Winton Hoch, won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography. Ford and Hoch based much of the film’s imagery on the paintings and sculptures of Frederic Remington.

Ford demonstrated a number of standard Cavalry procedures in horse management in this and other movies. Strict rotation between walk, trot, and leading the horses made them last as long as possible. They were still no match for the lightly burdened Indian horses for endurance, but US Cavalry horses were fed grain (when available), and this helped even the odds a bit.

The film is named after a song common in the U.S. military, “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”, which is still used today to keep marching cadence. It is a variant of the song “All Around My Hat”.

Plot

On the verge of his retirement, the aging Cavalry Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles (John Wayne) deals with a series of attacks by the Cheyenne following the defeat of George Armstrong Custer. Unwilling to see more lives needlessly taken, Brittles takes it upon himself to try to make peace with Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree).

Errors

The movie’s narrator references Pony Express rider’s concerns over George Custer’s defeat. Custer was killed in 1876, whereas the pony express made its last ride fifteen years earlier in 1861 after only a year of service.

Cast

• John Wayne     Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
• Joanne Dru     Olivia Dandridge
• John Agar     1st Lt. Flint Cohill
• Ben Johnson     Sgt. Tyree
• Harry Carey Jr.     2nd Lt. Ross Penell
• Victor McLaglen     Sgt. Quincannon
• Mildred Natwick     Abby Allshard (“Old Iron Pants”}
• George O’Brien     Maj. Mac Allshard
• Arthur Shields     Dr. O’Laughlin
• Michael Dugan     Sgt. Hochbauer