Although the American Civil War officially broke out in 1861, armed hostilities between supporters and opponents of slavery had been going on for several years prior to that in some parts of the USA, especially in Missouri and Kansas, which became known as "bleeding Kansas". "Dark Command" is a film which explores this period of American history.
The main character is a young man named Bob Seton who arrives in the town of Lawrence, Kansas some time in the late 1850s. The first part of the film is dull and slow-moving, dealing with Seton's unsuccessful courtship of Mary McCloud, the pretty daughter of the town's Scottish- born banker, and his attempt to start a political career by running for Marshal. He also makes the acquaintance of the local schoolmaster William Cantrell who is his rival in both love and politics. Things start to get more exciting when Seton wins the election; John Wayne was always more convincing as an action hero than as a screen lover and as Marshal Seton has plenty of work on his plate. Disappointed by the failure of his hopes for a career in law enforcement, Cantrell decides to take up a career in law breaking and forms his own gang of outlaws to terrorise the district. He is careful, however, to ensure that his identity is never discovered so remains a mild-mannered teacher by day, an audacious bandit chief by night. (Cantrell, as his name might suggest, is based on a real historical figure, William Quantrill).
The area is sharply divided between pro-Northern and pro-Southern factions, and matters come to a head when Mary's hot-headed pro-slavery brother Fletcher shoots a man dead in an argument about politics. Mary offers to marry Seton if he will grant her brother bail, but he has too much integrity to agree, knowing that Fletcher will abscond if given the chance. In desperation Mary turns to Cantrell who manages to secure Fletcher's acquittal, partly through his eloquence but mostly through the simpler expedient of intimidating the jurymen.
Most films from this period with a Civil War theme tended to sit on the fence politically in order to avoid alienating either Northern or Southern audiences; an exception is "Belle Starr" from the following year which is quite disgracefully pro-Southern. "Dark Command" is never quite as biased, but even so the film-makers tend to distort history to make their film more acceptable south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The real Quantrill was a Rebel guerrilla whose activities were initially sanctioned by the Confederate high command. (They eventually disowned him because of his brutal methods). Here Cantrell is simply an opportunist robber with no connection to the Confederate forces but who dresses his men in stolen Confederate uniforms as a disguise. The murderous Fletcher McCloud, who for a time joins Cantrell's gang, is allowed to redeem himself by joining the good guys. (A rare example, during the Production Code era, of a murderer getting away with his crime unpunished and a rare example of the normally clean-cut Roy Rogers playing a criminal). The hero Seton himself turns out to be from Texas, although Wayne does not attempt a Texan accent. (Rogers does give Fletcher a Southern accent, but his efforts are undermined by the fact that Claire Trevor as his supposed sister sounds Northern and Porter Hall as their father Angus is definitely Scottish).
This was the only film which Wayne and Rogers, both major Western icons, made together. It was also the only film Wayne made with director Raoul Walsh apart from "The Big Trail", Wayne's first leading role, from ten years earlier. It has its moments such as the scene near the end when Cantrell's gang attack the town of Lawrence, recreating an actual attack by Quantrill's Raiders. Too much time, however, is taken up with the romantic subplot, especially as Mary never seems a very sympathetic character. Seton may be prepared to overlook her obvious flaws such as her blatant attempts to pervert the course of justice to save her worthless brother or the lack of judgement which leads her to accept Cantrell as a husband. Audiences may be less charitable. In my view this will never really count as a major entry in Wayne's filmography. 5/10
The main character is a young man named Bob Seton who arrives in the town of Lawrence, Kansas some time in the late 1850s. The first part of the film is dull and slow-moving, dealing with Seton's unsuccessful courtship of Mary McCloud, the pretty daughter of the town's Scottish- born banker, and his attempt to start a political career by running for Marshal. He also makes the acquaintance of the local schoolmaster William Cantrell who is his rival in both love and politics. Things start to get more exciting when Seton wins the election; John Wayne was always more convincing as an action hero than as a screen lover and as Marshal Seton has plenty of work on his plate. Disappointed by the failure of his hopes for a career in law enforcement, Cantrell decides to take up a career in law breaking and forms his own gang of outlaws to terrorise the district. He is careful, however, to ensure that his identity is never discovered so remains a mild-mannered teacher by day, an audacious bandit chief by night. (Cantrell, as his name might suggest, is based on a real historical figure, William Quantrill).
The area is sharply divided between pro-Northern and pro-Southern factions, and matters come to a head when Mary's hot-headed pro-slavery brother Fletcher shoots a man dead in an argument about politics. Mary offers to marry Seton if he will grant her brother bail, but he has too much integrity to agree, knowing that Fletcher will abscond if given the chance. In desperation Mary turns to Cantrell who manages to secure Fletcher's acquittal, partly through his eloquence but mostly through the simpler expedient of intimidating the jurymen.
Most films from this period with a Civil War theme tended to sit on the fence politically in order to avoid alienating either Northern or Southern audiences; an exception is "Belle Starr" from the following year which is quite disgracefully pro-Southern. "Dark Command" is never quite as biased, but even so the film-makers tend to distort history to make their film more acceptable south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The real Quantrill was a Rebel guerrilla whose activities were initially sanctioned by the Confederate high command. (They eventually disowned him because of his brutal methods). Here Cantrell is simply an opportunist robber with no connection to the Confederate forces but who dresses his men in stolen Confederate uniforms as a disguise. The murderous Fletcher McCloud, who for a time joins Cantrell's gang, is allowed to redeem himself by joining the good guys. (A rare example, during the Production Code era, of a murderer getting away with his crime unpunished and a rare example of the normally clean-cut Roy Rogers playing a criminal). The hero Seton himself turns out to be from Texas, although Wayne does not attempt a Texan accent. (Rogers does give Fletcher a Southern accent, but his efforts are undermined by the fact that Claire Trevor as his supposed sister sounds Northern and Porter Hall as their father Angus is definitely Scottish).
This was the only film which Wayne and Rogers, both major Western icons, made together. It was also the only film Wayne made with director Raoul Walsh apart from "The Big Trail", Wayne's first leading role, from ten years earlier. It has its moments such as the scene near the end when Cantrell's gang attack the town of Lawrence, recreating an actual attack by Quantrill's Raiders. Too much time, however, is taken up with the romantic subplot, especially as Mary never seems a very sympathetic character. Seton may be prepared to overlook her obvious flaws such as her blatant attempts to pervert the course of justice to save her worthless brother or the lack of judgement which leads her to accept Cantrell as a husband. Audiences may be less charitable. In my view this will never really count as a major entry in Wayne's filmography. 5/10