Sergeant Rutledge

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1960. Vintage reference photograph from the 1960 Western film. With the stamp of Dell Publishing Company Photo Library to the verso, noting the title of the film, the type of photograph ("STILL"), and a date of APR 11 1960.

The first big-budget Western to feature an African American hero (Woody Strode), released just as the US Civil Rights movement was taking hold. Strode masterfully plays an innocent cavalry sergeant accused of killing his commander and the commander's daughter. Though the rest of the cavalry is quick to express its deep-seated racism by the accusation, Strode proves himself the better man by warning them of an upcoming Apache attack. Though it was not one of director John Ford's most popular films, it remains a breakthrough film worthy of his oeuvre.

Shot on location in Monument Valley and Mexican Hat, Utah.

10 x 8 inches. Very Good plus, with slight wear to the corners and faint soil to the top right corner.

Pitts 3776.

[Book #148167]