Rent Two Rode Together (1961)

Obscure Ford Western - Two Rode Together review by GI

A bit of an oddity in director John Ford's work especially his westerns, indeed he described it as a 'piece of crap' but it's a film worthy of a re-evaluation where it yields some interesting delights. As a western made at a time when the genre was at it's height but arguably beginning to wane this is narratively an unusual film. James Stewart (in his first film with Ford) plays against type as a cynical and corrupt town Marshall who is pressurised by his army friend, Jim (Richard Widmark), to help recover white captives from the Comanches. In this story thread their are obvious links to Ford's The Searchers (1956) and the racism is there but here roundly condemned by Ford in his portrayal of the bigoted white settlers desperate to recover their lost children but unprepared for the changes captivity has brought. It's the reintegration of these young people that forms the central theme of the film and the usual genre tropes are mostly absent, in fact there's only one real scene of gunplay and it's over in a flash and hardly registers. This is mostly a character study about male camaraderie and Ford's comedy prowess is riddled throughout the film. But it's because it's such an unusual western that makes it worth checking out today. The cinematography reveals a brow beaten west with subdued colours that gives the film a deliberate melancholy feel and the cynicism of the characters to their lives and futures reflects the slow drift into a new age for America. If you are a western fan and/or committed to cinema as art then this is a film that will be of interest and it's worth comparing it to Ford's next film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), where Ford effectively closed the door on the traditional western mythology.

Mediocre Western. - Two Rode Together review by Steve

Unsatisfactory John Ford western which awkwardly blends broad comedy with the ham-fisted presentation of more serious themes. Where can the director go if before 20 minutes have elapsed, he's already done his humorous drunken sketch and the comical punch-up?

Obviously, the solution is a typically partisan rerun of the conflict between frontier settlers and native Americans. As with the more highly rated The Searchers (1956), it portrays immigrant child hostages who grow up in the indigenous tribes. Though this potentially interesting subject is merely exploited for unconvincing melodrama.

James Stewart and Richard Widmark give landmark foolish performances as the scouts who negotiate with the tribal leader for the return of the lost children. Both are too old, and Jimmy is allowed to hee-haw shamefully, like the director didn't really care. Andy Devine as an idiotic cavalry soldier is present for a plethora of fat jokes.

Ford had no time for the film, though it isn't in essence much different from his classics. Except there is no vocal harmonising by the Irish troops. The late Victor McLaglen is no longer available to comically drill the new recruits. There's Technicolor, and some attractive photography, but little apparent reason for even the director's super-fans to defend this one.