Very well executed

the audience applauded

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I like John Wayne, regardless. he was a real good actor for war movies and for westerns like this one. The Undefeated is a nice post-Civil War western with Wayne and Hudson as main stars, and they both deliver excellent parts, as a Union and a Confederate officers, respectively. This is not any new story, down in Mexico, with all the bandits, wild horses, Mexican troops, deserts, shoot-outs, women, Indians, cactuses, dances and all. Nothing very new, but this movie really works well and all 120 minutes it is a nice and fast sunny dry Mexican drama. Some phrases and dialog lines are very cool and deeply humorous, too. Why 8, and not 10? As I wrote above, rather predictable plot, looks often like many Mexico border westerns so far. Often, smacks of some other Wayne films, but generally, still, a very enjoyable, fast, often hilarious movie full of action and events. Good for all western buffs and Civil war aficionados like me/ Recommended

After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas (John Wayne) is leading his horses to be sold to the Mexican government. In the meanwhile, ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon (Rock Hudson) is leading a rag-tag group of southerners who are going south to escape the Yankee mob. Both groups decide to join up as they fight off bandits and revolutionaries.This is a southerners wet dream. The southern forces are noble, honorable, and full of hospitality. They are fighting off arrogant Yankee carpetbaggers with their uppity blacks. Meanwhile their slaves are obedient, quietly waiting for the future as the master gives a family heirloom to an old slave.This is through and through an old fashion western where men are men. They have a good old fight after a good stiff drink. There is an impressive herd of horses. If you're willing to live with the hokey story, then this is definitely watchable.

(6/10) John Wayne's other movie from 1969. Often incorrectly labeled as one of Duke's weakest Westerns, I found this to be a clever and fun albeit unspectacular western. I liked how the film bordered on the friendly hostility edge between Wayne's Union troops and Hudson's Confederates. The conflict was always in flux, never turning too animistic or friendly which all comes together in the entertaining fourth of July brawl scene which was undoubtedly the film's best moment. First Rock Hudson film I ever saw, I was extremely impressed by his acting ability. Seeing one of the most famous openly homosexual actors work alongside the conservative Duke is entertaining for nostalgia's sake. The ending was too anti-climatic for me and the film was uneven at times, but it was a good watch with some good historical background.

"The Undefeated" is a Western featuring one of the American cinema's strongest leading men, John Wayne, and directed by the usually dependable Andrew V. McLaglen, who also worked with Wayne on other, much better Westerns such as "Chisum" and "McLintock!". But this is one of the lesser entries in either of their filmographies. It's hardly a bad movie – but it's certainly shy of being a good picture and it has just about imagination put into it as does the name of the John Wayne character: John Henry Thomas (his friends call him John Henry).The movie is set right after the Civil War. Wayne is a former Union colonel now driving thousands of horses with his former command down to Mexico. At the same time, a group of surviving Confederates led by Rock Hudson pack up their families and belongings and head through the same area seeking new homes. And when the two groups cross paths, well, the rest is fairly predictable.The problem with "The Undefeated" is that it does not have much originality in its otherwise workable premise. It's the standard friend-enemy story with the Union and Confederate soldiers hating each other then growing on each other and later depending on each other. It's a very familiar story. And at the same time, the movie also fails (but not majorly) because it seems very watered down and that's a shame because of it boasts such a strong cast: John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Ben Johnson, Bruce Cabot, Harry Carey, Jr. and so on. The characters are also quite flat without one I particularly cared for. They are well portrayed, of course, with the exception of Ramon Gabriel who is supposed to be a Native American, but I'm afraid even with the makeup on is as poor an excuse for one as Chuck Connors was in "Geronimo." At the same time, there are a lot of subplots, such as a budding romantic interest between Wayne and one of the Confederate widows that never goes anyway and really does not serve a purpose other than to fill up time. And a scene that looks like it was modeled after a hilarious moment in "McLintock!" fails to stir up even so much as a generous chuckle."The Undefeated" is not one of the landmarks or milestones in John Wayne's legendary career. As a matter of fact, it's not even a good picture. It's passable, but nothing more than that. It just plods dully along to its anticlimax of an ending and leaves its audience feeling a little wish-washy.