In Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders.In Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders.In Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 nominations total
George 'Gabby' Hayes
- Doc Grunch
- (as George Hayes)
Joe Sawyer
- Bushropp
- (as Joseph Sawyer)
Ernie Adams
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Richard Alexander
- Phil - Guerrilla Guarding Seton
- (uncredited)
Earl Askam
- Guerrilla
- (uncredited)
Ray Bennett
- Guerrilla
- (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone
- Tough
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWilliam Cantrell is based on William Quantrill. Like Cantrell, Quantrill was born in Ohio, taught school, became a guerrilla fighter, and burned Lawrence, Kansas to the ground. However, the Confederacy eventually revoked Quantrill's commission and disowned him because of the atrocities committed by him and his band (which included Frank and Jesse James) against soldiers and civilians. The real Quantrill died after an ambush by a Union cavalry unit at Wakefield Farm. Kentucky. Unable to escape, he was shot in the back and paralyzed from the chest down. He was taken to a military prison hospital in Louisville where he died on June 6, 1865, at the age of 27.
- GoofsThroughout the film, Colt Single Action Army revolvers (commonly known as Peacemakers) are used by various actors including John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and George 'Gabby' Hayes. This revolver was not produced until the 1870s. The film is set in the late 1850s and 1860s. The Colt is the 1873 model so it could not have been in the Civil War.
- Quotes
William Cantrell: I know what I'm doing, Ma. I'll be running Kansas yet. I'm going clear up to the top. But I'm not going for the climb or the view.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: In those years, 1859 and on, in the dusk before the nation plunged into the red night of civil warfare, the plains of Kansas were an earlier battleground. Down from the north, down to Kansas: up from the south, up to Kansas, came hordes - each bent on voting the territory into the Union as its own. The battle cry of the day was - - "On to Kansas."
- Alternate versionsAlso available in a computer colorized version.
- ConnectionsEdited into Law of the Golden West (1949)
Featured review
"We've got a saying down in Texas, ma'am. . ."
John Wayne's first "A" film at Republic is a good story carried by a strong cast. One year after Stagecoach, he still takes second billing after Claire Trevor in their third of four pairings together. They worked extremely well together, and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Walter Pigeon is given the part of the heavy, Roy Rogers gives the finest acting performance of his entire career, and veteran character actors Gabby Hayes and Marjorie Main round out the cast. Veteran director Raoul Walsh keeps the story moving and gives emotional depth to the characters that was unusual for Republic films at the time.
Set in pre-Civil War Kansas, when both Northerners and Southerners were scrambling to settle Kansas and decide its political position on slavery, the story revolves around an uneducated Texas cowboy, Bob Seton (Wayne), who finds himself in conflict with local schoolteacher Will Cantrell (Pidgeon) over both the job of Marshall in Lawrence, Kansas, and the hand of the local Southern banker's daughter, Miss Mary McCloud (Trevor). When Seton appears to have won not only the job, but also Mary's heart, Cantrell decides that the way to power lies through lawlessness, and forms a band of freebooters who ravage both Northern and Southern settlements, causing destruction and terror in Kansas.
While the film is not totally historically accurate, it does do a good job of portraying the viciousness and ruthlessness of pre-Civil War Kansas. It is told from the Northern point of view, and is a nice contrast to Errol Flynn's Santa Fe Trail, which came out the same year (1940) and portrays similar events in "bleeding Kansas" from a Southern point of view.
Part-Western, part-Civil War movie, Dark Command is one of Wayne's best early starring roles. Fans of his, or of the genre's will not be disappointed.
Set in pre-Civil War Kansas, when both Northerners and Southerners were scrambling to settle Kansas and decide its political position on slavery, the story revolves around an uneducated Texas cowboy, Bob Seton (Wayne), who finds himself in conflict with local schoolteacher Will Cantrell (Pidgeon) over both the job of Marshall in Lawrence, Kansas, and the hand of the local Southern banker's daughter, Miss Mary McCloud (Trevor). When Seton appears to have won not only the job, but also Mary's heart, Cantrell decides that the way to power lies through lawlessness, and forms a band of freebooters who ravage both Northern and Southern settlements, causing destruction and terror in Kansas.
While the film is not totally historically accurate, it does do a good job of portraying the viciousness and ruthlessness of pre-Civil War Kansas. It is told from the Northern point of view, and is a nice contrast to Errol Flynn's Santa Fe Trail, which came out the same year (1940) and portrays similar events in "bleeding Kansas" from a Southern point of view.
Part-Western, part-Civil War movie, Dark Command is one of Wayne's best early starring roles. Fans of his, or of the genre's will not be disappointed.
helpful•391
- ejgreen77
- Mar 14, 2005
- How long is Dark Command?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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