Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . 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.

zardoz-13 Wandering Texas cowpoke Bob Seton (John Wayne) and a bewhiskered dentist, Dr. Grunch (George 'Gabby' Hayes), have a neat racket going for them when they ride into Lawrence, Kansas. You see, Bob baits people into brawls, usually about politics, slugs them, and they wind up going to see Dr. Grunch to have their damaged teeth pulled. When they ride into Lawrence, Bob has been assuring Grunch that he wants to see mountains. No sooner has Bob made himself clear about his destination than he lays his eyes on pretty Mary McCloud (Claire Trevor of "Stagecoach") as she is trying to cross the street. As it turns out, Bob and Dr. Grunch are blocking her way because they have paused at the local school house. Bob loves the sound of children warbling a patriotic song. The local school teacher William Cantrell (Walter Pidgeon) leaves his class room to see Mary. Suddenly, Bob's itchy-footed desire to go west is vanquished by Mary's beauty. She is the daughter of the local banker, Angus McCloud (Porter Hall), and she and Cantrell are sweethearts. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in Lawrence between the anti-slavery fraction and the pro-slavery fraction. This contentiousness prompts the town to seek a sheriff. The literate Cantrell runs for office and Mary believes that he will triumph over the opposition, Bob Seton, who is illiterate. Initially, Bob goes to Cantrell to get him to teach him. During the political campaign, Cantrell boasts about Bob's honesty and courage, but Bob knows that he is just trying to make himself look like a more appealing candidate. Bob tells the populace that Cantrell has paid him a left-handed compliment, and explains that Cantrell is referring to his illiteracy. Bob turns the tables on Cantrell and uses simple, homespun humor to win the election. An embittered Cantrell decides to hit the outlaw trail rather than remain honest. Eventually, when he isn't freeing slaves and having his henchmen resell the over the border, Cantrell goes into the gun-running business. At one point, Cantrell's men confiscate uniforms for the Fifth Confederate Army, and they wear the outfits when they mount their marauding campaign of terrorism against the locals. Mary's brother Fletch (Roy Rogers) shoots a man during a fight, and Cantrell defends him at trial. Before the jury has a chance to bring in a verdict, Cantrell has scoured the countryside and threatened everything with death and violence if they don't bring in the correct verdict to free him. Late, in this 94 minute Raoul Walsh directed western, Cantrell and Bob shoot it out in his home after his mother has died. Nevertheless, Lawrence, Kansas, goes up in flames. This historical opus qualifies as an above-average sagebrusher. Walsh also directed Wayne in his first starring role in "The Big Trail" back in 1930.

rsternesq I have always liked westerns and this is a great one. Older westerns were closer in time to the events portrayed and even where the production values were not as stunning as those evident in newer film, these older westerns often brought an understanding of the people and the circumstances that is not the same thing as historical accuracy. It may have a character use the wrong kind of gun or an event portrayed may have ended differently but, as to the important things, older westerns get it right and that includes the nature of the people and the cadence of their lives. This is a wonderful movie and a portrayal of the mid-nineteenth century American that resonates even now. The older I get the more I enjoy and appreciate John Wayne's film persona. Whatever his real life behavior,the character he consistently portrayed was the kind of man who did build this country and is the kind of man I would have wanted to know and to introduce to my children. By speech and action, he was decent, gallant and manly --all in short supply in current film. This is a movie that deserves our time and our respect.

wes-connors 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