Dark Command
| Dark Command | |
|---|---|
1940 film poster
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| Directed by | Raoul Walsh |
| Produced by | Sol C. Siegel |
| Written by |
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| Based on |
The Dark Command 1938 novel by W.R. Burnett |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Victor Young |
| Cinematography | Jack A. Marta |
| Edited by | William Morgan |
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Production
company |
Republic Pictures
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| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $750,000 |
Dark Command is a 1940 Western film starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne and Walter Pidgeon loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders during the American Civil War. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W.R. Burnett, Dark Command is the only film in which western icons John Wayne and Roy Rogers appear together, and was the only film Wayne and Raoul Walsh made together since Walsh discovered Wayne working as a prop mover, renamed him, and gave him his first leading role in the widescreen western The Big Trail a decade before.
The film also features George "Gabby" Hayes as Wayne's character's sidekick.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction by John Victor Mackay.
Mary McCloud (Claire Trevor) marries a seemingly peaceful Kansas schoolteacher William Cantrell (Walter Pidgeon), before finding out that he harbors a dark secret. He is actually an outlaw leader who attacks both sides in the Civil War for his own profit. After capturing a wagon loaded with Confederate uniforms, he decides to pass himself off as a Confederate officer. Her naive, idealistic brother Fletcher (Roy Rogers) joins what he believes is a Rebel guerrilla force. Meanwhile, Cantrell's stern, but loving mother (Marjorie Main) refuses to accept any of her son's ill-gotten loot.
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Wikipedia