source: They Came to Cordura

The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa from 1916 to 1917 during the Mexican Revolution. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villa's attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, and was the most remembered event of the Border War. The expeditions had one objective: to capture Villa dead or alive and put a stop to any future forays by his paramilitary forces on American soil. After contact with the enemy, and after losing many men, five men were nominated for the Medal of Honor. Since the army needed living heroes to prepare the nation for its likely entry into WWI, Major Thomas Thorn (Gary Cooper), an awards officer, escorts the nominees, Lt. William Fowler (Tab Hunter), Sgt. John Chawk (Van Heflin), Cpl. Milo Trubee (Richard Conte), Pvt. Andrew Hetherington (Michael Callan), and Pvt. Renziehausen (Dick York), back to headquarters. This film is the story of that journey, and Thorn's exploration of the character of heroes. Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth), an American woman who owns the ranch where the battle was fought, is sent back with them on charge of treason for aiding Villistas against American soldiers, even though she had no choice. Although Hayworth and Cooper both gave impressive performances, Van Heflin was the standout as a brutish sergeant, especially since he was acting against type, having played decent men forced into heroism during his best-known films, Shane (1953) and 3:10 to Yuma (1957).

This is a Gary Cooper film that most likely won't be remembered by most fans, and that isn't such a bad thing. It isn't that this is a bad film, but it certainly isn't a good one since its central message is so muddled and over-done. The film is set during the unofficial American invasion of Northern Mexico in 1915-1916 as a response to incursions by Pancho Villa and his revolutionary army. It seems that some higher ups in the military or government are desperate to turn this minor skirmish into a quest for glory. This is because while Europe is embroiled in WWI, the US is still neutral and some boneheads feel left out! So, the plan is to give out several Congressional Medals of Honor (America's highest military honor) regardless of the actual heroism of the recipients! In other words, the standards were lessened considerably to allow a prescribed number of medals to be awarded before the engagement actually occurred for which 4 of the 5 were nominated! The job of investigating and nominating men for the award was given to "award officer" Cooper--himself branded as a coward in a previous engagement with Villa! Because he carried so much baggage, he has tunnel vision--seeing extreme heroism and yet ignoring evidence that these men were also extreme 'screw ups'. This is all a very interesting idea for a movie and SHOULD have been a lot better. However, the characters were written terribly--and I truly think most high school students could have done a better job writing the parts! Instead of being real people, they were mostly all 'Jeckyl and Hyde' personalities--with no gray area at all. One by one, with the exception of the evangelist's son who is too sick to be involved with the malarkey, they all show that instead of receiving the Medal of Honor, it might be more appropriate to have them all shot for insubordination and treason!! This polarized aspect to all the men (including Cooper and prisoner Rita Hayworth) just seemed like one huge cliché and as a result, none of the characters seemed real or engaging! A great story idea ruined by lousy writing.

This particular Western deals with human conflicts about courage and cowardice . On March 8, 1916, Pancho Villa and his army crossed the border, destroying the city of Columbus, the state of New Mexico. The U.S. government in retaliation launches a punitive operation, which only meets resistance at the ranch called ¨Guerrero¨ . An army officer (Gary Cooper), himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommended soldiers (Van Heflin , Richard Conte , Dick York , Michael Callan, Tab Hunter ) for the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Mexican Border Incursion of 1916 . Meanwhile , they meet on the way a suspicious lady (Rita Hayworth) with dark secrets . Coooper is pretty well as an Army major sent to find five men worthy of Medal of Honor and Rita Hayworth is attractive as a shady lady . Robert Rossen directed this unusual Western that explores human conflicts in an intelligent way as representative of this genre such as cowardice and bravery of the soldiers , but is paced with some flaws and gaps , including an unfairly adulterated final . A phrase of Rita Hayworth is developing the evolution of the movie : ¨The man who once was a coward not to say that it is all his life and the man who once was a brave does not mean that all his life living as such". Human conflicts designed by the screen-writers turn tiring , repetitive and somewhat artificial as well as the plot progresses . The search for the contrast between valor and cowardice and reflections on the protagonists results to be forced and unnatural , some discussions are inappropriate for its intended significance . Nice and emotive musical score by Elie Siegmaster with ordinary conductor Morris Stoloff . Colorful and evocative cinematography by magnificent cameraman Burnett Guffey and mostly filmed in Mexico where is set the action . The motion picture is professionally directed by Robert Rossen , though in ups and downs . Rossen was a prestigious writer and filmmaker , directing notorious actors and various successful titles of all kind genres as Noir film as ¨Body and soul¨ with John Garfield , ¨Johnny O'Clock¨ with Dick Powell ; Drama as ¨Mambo¨ with Silvana Mangano, ¨Brave Bulls¨ with Anthony Quinn, ¨Island in the sun¨ with James Mason , ¨Lilith¨ with Jean Seberg , Epic as ¨Alexander Magnus¨ with Richard Burton . His greatest hits were ¨The political¨ in which won Oscar for Broderick Crawford ¨and ¨The hustler¨ with Paul Newman . The real events in which are based this film are the following : For a time Villa,who seemed in line for leadership of Mexico ,enjoyed the sympathetic interest of the US government who then dropped Villa and supported his rival,Carranza.Villa's resentment resulted in the vengeance raid on Columbus.Villa slapped the United States in the face by mounting a surprise raid on the town of Columbus,New Mexico,on 9 march 1916, killing eight American soldiers and ten civilians.In retaliation,President Woodrow Wilson sent General Pershing and a Punitive Expedition into Mexico in hot pursuit of Villa . General Pershing's column included the Seventh Cavalry and Apache scouts,chased Villa deep into Mexico,the Americans captured and killed several of Villa's lieutenants but failed to catch the guerrilla leader.Because of Mexican protests,Pershing's command returned to the US.Villa was assassinated in 1923 when gunman ambushed his car.

The premise is interesting enough (though somewhat predictable), but the execution here is pretty lackluster. It goes on far too long (over 2 hours!), and it makes its point way before the end. The end is pretty bad - not only is it utterly unbelievable after what we have just seen, but it's too quick, too pat. The production is surprisingly sloppy at times, with awkward camera movements and abrupt editing. With all this to slog through, I could understand the agony the characters were going through on their journey.

A really good movie. Ultimately a redemption movie. Heroes can also be villains. A single act of cowardice or an act of courage does not mark the measure or the destiny of a man. Also, confidence in people can change them and reform them. The acting is superb throughout, and Gary Cooper captures wonderfully the gradual decline as he leads his motley crew on a trek to survival through the desert. An heroic performance to match the hero he portrays. This is movie that deserves more acclaim than it has received. In my book this is a must see. Great fare for Sunday afternoon on the couch!

On the night of March 18th, 1916, a large mounted force of Mexican rebels under Pancho Villa crossed the American border and attacked the town of Columbus, killing both civilians and soldiers. As a result of this action, the United States Army sent an expedition into Mexico with orders to capture Villa and disperse his forces. It was during this campaign that one man, a United States Army officer, was forced to come face to face with two of the great fundamental questions that affect mankind. What is courage? What is cowardice? This is the story of his search for an answer. That summary is the opening text from this oddly {to me} divisive picture from Robert Rossen and Ivan Moffat. Divisive because there are conflicts about it's technical aspects, its length {which cut is original?}, it's talky nature, and if it's splendid cast did the material justice? Well the dispute about the technical aspects being poor certainly don't stand up to the version I saw of the picture, lovely widescreen CinemaScope with Burnett Guffey's photography astutely and rightly oppressive as the story unfolds. As for its length, the version I viewed was two hours long, is this a restored cut or is there still another half hour of Rossen footage lurking somewhere? Either way, the complaint about there being gaps in the film are not evident in this two hour cut. All characters are fully fleshed and every minute of this picture was engrossing and perpetually watchable. The cast are also on fine form, Gary Cooper is perfectly cast as Maj. Thomas Thorn, the man who's moment of weakness hangs heavy round his neck like a curse. Van Heflin, Rita Hayworth, Dick York, Richard Conte and Tab Hunter all help to make this a fine character driven piece. Above all else it's the story that works the best, Thorn is carrying around a burden as he strives to take these heroes to safety and ensure they receive their medals of honour. But the perilous journey proves to alter each man's attributes, be it despicable or otherwise, something that to me personally makes this a thematically excellent picture, the kind we could do with more of in the modern era. It may well be cynical at times, but really that is no bad thing in my eyes, it's a cop out of sorts I know, but this film isn't for everyone. After a fine battle sequence has been and gone, the film shifts in tone and becomes a picture about the complexities of man and his own personal hang ups, the result of which left me very much rewarded. 8/10

Angered by the US President Wilson's increasing support the rising Mexican political leader General Carranaza, the former US darling Francisco Villa sends his group of rebels to raid a town in New Mexico before coming back over the border. Enraged by the audacity of the man, Wilson orders his troops across the border to catch and/or kill Villa. Part of the group he sends is Major Thomas Thorn, who has been given the job of assessing the men for possible awards – a comfortable job given to him by Colonel Rogers, a friend of his father. Fascinated by the nature of heroes, Thorn finds himself given command of a small group of them when he refuses to put Rogers forward for a citation. Thorn is keen to get to know more of the men but, with a captured woman in tow, the men are not as simple as their proposed medals would suggest. Despite pretty much ignoring the interesting history that serves as a backdrop to this film, this is actually still quite an interesting film that was a lot rawer than I expected it to be, given the period in which it was made. In the early stages it was too basic and I worried that the whole thing would be as clunky as Thorn's early questioning of some of his "heroes", but gradually it got better as it went on and simple lines such as hero and coward were eroded away. This is not to say it is brilliant because it most certainly is not but it is certainly interesting for what it tries to do. It doesn't help that the script really labours the surface but lacks the ability to go significantly deep to really make an impact. However even with this, it was still interesting enough to hold me and I did enjoy the solid if simplistic moral debate that it delivered. Rossen and his cinematography do great work with the wide-open landscapes but the former must also carry the can for not bringing more emotion out of the script consistently. As a result the cast do well without really excelling – with nobody guiding them deeper, this is really what I could have expected. Cooper is as solid as usual with what I suppose was a brave role for him to take. He deals with it well but perhaps wasn't good enough to really convince in layers – although he is superficially good enough. Hayworth doesn't have that great a character and her delivery occasionally gets a bit too over-the-top when asked to deliver more emotionally charged material, she has impact but I was looking for more pain and fear. The support cast work well with what they have been given to do. Conte, Heflin, Keith and Hunter are among those giving solid turns in support of Cooper and the raw story. Overall then this is not a great film but it is an interesting one. Despite being over 45 years old it is surprising raw and willing to turn away from the simple lines of courageous and cowardly towards something that is much realer and well conceived. It doesn't go deep enough but it is strong on the surface – could easily have been tighter and dropped 20-30 minutes from the running time but is still worth a look for what it does do well.

Two of filmdom's biggest stars pair up in this rugged 'message western' that tries so hard to delineate the duality of human nature that it almost forgets to be an entertaining movie. Cooper plays a Cavalry major in 1916 who is assigned the task of finding five noteworthy men to receive Congressional Medals of Honor in a bid to increase the country's morale before inevitably entering into WWI. He has one man already, young Callan, from a previous skirmish and quickly finds more when the Colonel he is stationed with heads a battle plan that goes awry. In minutes, he witnesses the gallant heroism of four men as they take serious risks in order to turn the tide of the battle at hand. He is assigned to escort his five men to Cordura, keeping them out of danger, until they can have their commendations approved and awarded to them. Unfortunately, Cooper must also escort Hayworth to the town, so that she can be punished for offering comfort and lodging to the men of Pancho Villa. Her feminine assets, along with her penchants for drinking tequila and smoking, bring out the worst in these men who have been deprived of all three pleasures for over a month. Soon, it is revealed that Cooper is in his position because he, himself, was a coward, yet the men he is rewarding are not exactly heroes in every department themselves. Oddly, most of the men do not want their medal anyway! Personalities clash as the men bicker over the best way to handle the terrain and a remaining gaggle of Villa's men. Cooper looks a bit tired here and it's not easy to watch a man two years away from death take on the type of abuse he suffers. His performance is solid, but awfully underplayed at times. Hayworth does an admirable job through most of the film, especially towards the end. She does have one drunk scene which is horrible and almost embarrassing, but once she casts aside her character's airs and acts from the heart, her performance improves considerably. She still had quite an attractive figure at this late date, as well. Heflin is appropriately despicable and forges a strong, villainous characterization. Conte does well also, as does York. Callan spends much of the film unconscious, which may not be a bad thing considering his fairly drippy character. Hunter, who is at just about his most handsome here, shows a nice amount of range as he goes from obedient soldier to enraged powder keg, though he does take it just a tad too far at the end. There are definite moments of insight and interest in the film, but it tends to wear down the viewer with its nearly relentless cynicism and unpleasantness. The characters at times seem more like stand-in's for various philosophies or points of view rather than real people. This material probably worked a bit more effectively as a book. Still, there's a nice, world-weary chemistry between Cooper and Hayworth and some remarkable Mexican scenery. Fans of theirs will likely get more enjoyment out of it than the casual viewer.

Take Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, surround them with a core of actors who are still well-known today, add beautiful scenery, tackle a very interesting philosophical question. What's not to like? As it turns out, there's a lot not to like. Coop's role is to portray a world-weary, duty-bound officer, obsessed with heroism. Diappointingly, "wooden" would best describe his take on the role. Hayworth, as tequila-drinking, cigarette-smoking, comforter-of-America's-enemies is, at times, over the top. She's still got the sexy sizzle she's known for, but the sexual tension between her and the men isn't compelling. The supporting members of the cast are supposed to devolve from heroes to louts, but their hand is tipped so early in the movie, that their later actions are expected--not deplored. It's a dark western that would appear to be yin to "The Magnificent Seven"'s yang. Heroes become brutes--brutes become heroes. The later is a lot more entertaining and--a lot more satisfying.