Sergeant Rutledge

1960
Approved
1h 51m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

5.5K

YOUR RATING

Jeffrey Hunter and Constance Towers in Sergeant Rutledge (1960)

Trailer this classic western suspense film

Play trailer2:28

1 Video

35 Photos

Classical Western Legal Drama Crime Drama Western

Respected Black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.Respected Black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.Respected Black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

5.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations

Court Guard
(uncredited)

Mario Arteaga

Mexican
(uncredited)

Gertrude Astor

Courtroom Spectator
(uncredited)

Brandon Beach

Courtroom Spectator
(uncredited)

Oscar Blank

Courtroom Spectator
(uncredited)

Clifton Brandon

Trooper
(uncredited)

Naaman Brown

Trooper
(uncredited)

Louis Byrd

Trooper
(uncredited)

Ruth Clifford

Officer's Wife
(uncredited)

Jane Crowley

Courtroom Spectator
(uncredited)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Unsatisfied with Woody Strode's rehearsal of bullet-wounded drowsiness, director John Ford took his own steps to make Strode appear authentically weary for Rutledge's gunshot early on in the film. The day before the scene was to be shot, Ford got Strode drunk early in the day and had an assistant follow him around for the rest of the day to make sure he stayed that way. When the time came for Strode to shoot the scene with Constance Towers, his hangover gave him the perfect (for Ford) appearance of a man who had been shot.

Goofs
The US Cavalry officer saber shown throughout the movie appears to be the straight blade, double edge M1913 Patton style saber which wasn't adapted by the military until 1913. Since the movie appears to be set before 1900, the cavalry would still be using the swept back single edge Model 1860 Light Cavalry saber.

Quotes
Capt. Shattuck: You are trying to trade your murderer's bravery for the mercy of the court! Isn't that it?
1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge: No, sir, that is not it at all!
Capt. Shattuck: All right, Rutledge, if that isn't it, what was it?
1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge: It was because the Ninth Cavalry was my home, my real freedom, and my self-respect, and the way I was desertin' it, I wasn't
[voice cracking]
1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge: nuthin' worse than a swamp-runnin' nigger, and I ain't that! Do you hear me? I'm a man!

Connections
Edited into John Ford: The Man Who Invented America (2019)

Soundtracks
Captain Buffalo
Words and Music by Mack David and Jerry Livingston

User reviews53

Review

Featured review

10/10

Perhaps the Best John Ford Western

Up to now I have considered "The Searchers" the Best of Ford Westerns. It has better picture (VistaVision), and the legend of John Wayne to back it. Some of the secondary roles are better portrayed by more expert actors such as Ward Bond, just to mention one. Production is more lavish..

But the plot in "The Searchers" is unidirectional. It's just a story of white settlers against Indians.

Sergeant Rutledge goes much deeper, into the social "fabric" of America,

To avoid fastidious repetition, let me just point that the story goes into "American Problems" that endure 100 years after. Racism, young female behavior, that affects men of power, and old rich females who own perhaps more than 50% of the total assets (the wealth of the Nation) of the USA, and last but not least, the excessive power and "tricks" of legal professionals that always leads to corruption.

It is all there. If the actors were a bit upper-crust it would be the best, but Jack Warner did no provide the cash.

A must see...