[Discontinued] The Horse Soldiers, Directed by John Ford: Restored Cinema Library

Brand new, unopened. Retail price: 2,200 yen.

"Sergeant Rutledge" directed by John Ford

A monumental work of unprecedented ambition, born from the master's intense passion and nostalgia!
A supreme Western epic that far surpasses "The Cavalry"!

Lieutenant Cantrell (J. Hunter) of the 9th U.S. Cavalry volunteers to defend Sergeant Rutledge (W. Strode) at a court-martial presided over by Colonel Fosgate (B. Burke). Rutledge, an excellent soldier and well-respected by his comrades, is accused of raping and strangling 16-year-old Lucy, and then shooting her father, Major Dabney. The courtroom audience demands the death penalty because Rutledge is black. The first witness is Mary (C. Towers). She met Cantrell on a train returning to her home in Arizona and testifies that Rutledge saved her life by repelling an Apache attack at the station. The next witness is Colonel Fosgate's wife. She testifies that she met Lucy at the town's general store, Hubble's, and that Rutledge was there. Doctor Eckner testifies that the cross Lucy was wearing was taken from her neck. Then, Cantrell takes the stand himself. He testifies that after Major Dabney was killed, he captured Rutledge, and on the way to Mary's ranch, they found the body of a young man burned by the Apache, that Rutledge, who had initially fled, returned after learning of an Apache ambush and fought alongside them, and that Lucy's cross was found on an Apache corpse. Despite being berated by Prosecutor Captain Shattuck as unfit to be a defense attorney, Cantrell arrives at a certain deduction.

A unique Western by John Ford, following "The Cavalry." While centered on a courtroom suspense of who the real culprit is, it depicts the exploits of the black cavalry, known as the "Buffalo Soldiers," through flashbacks and cutbacks.