This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Great Film overall

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

I always liked this movie, "They Came to Cordura". I've seen him several times and I have been following comments on it. Sometimes favorable, sometimes unfavorable (the majority), many of them criticizing the director Robert Rossen or the fact Gary Cooper be too old for the role. The film is about an unusual topic: the early twentieth century, in the times of Pancho Villa, U.S. military assigned to receive high honor Army, for bravery, form a squad under the command of Major Thorn (Gary Cooper) and will at desert, towards the base of Cordura. Along with them following the Mexican farmer, Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth), born American, to stand trial for treason, since it would collaborate with the enemy. Along the way discovers the fragility of Thorn, by knowing that he would have cowered in battle, causing mistrust of the group at his command, at the same time if the group shows, mostly, without character and capable of low and despicable acts. Here, then, it creates an interesting situation: the heroes reveal themselves men of bad character, unworthy, especially receiving a medal for bravery, while the coward becomes a hero, dignified, empathetic, courageous, generous. And the woman is a curious character: for she is dying as a mother; for decent still, a companion to the disqualified only object of desire, and Thorn, the woman he probably sought, able to understand it and understand the reasons that led him to be labeled a coward. Gary Cooper has a great performance. Would say that old for the role might even be true, but he plays with great skill. James Stewart also faced this problem in "The Man who shot Liberty Valance." They said it was old for the role, but spent so much time after shooting (1962), someone today would like to see another one in its place? Van Heflin has, with much certainty, the best performance of his career. The hero of "3: 10 to Yuma" and the bold and honest farmer "Shane" gave rise to negligible Chawk. Richard Conte (Trubee) and Dick York (Renziehausen) are great in their roles and Tab Hunter (Fowler), could have been better. An actor was booming at the time (1959) and I confess I expected more from him. Michael Callan (Hetherington) does little in the film, but has an understated performance, no compromises. Who stands undoubtedly is Rita Hayworth in late career. Still beautiful and huge screen presence, Rita, has a performance worthy of record. The story is rough, tough, as is the journey to Cordura, which reveals the hidden side of each, the true side of the supposed heroes, not as admirable as the moment of glory one lived. For Thorn, a sort of Christ, the journey is his redemption. When tying the rope "railroad handcar," the snared in her body and pulls, it's like finally carry his cross, even though it would only suffering. Gary Cooper does a great performance. They say that the film would be a reference source among homosexual characters of Gary Cooper and Tab Hunter. At least the copies I saw, never identified it. For me, a great movie. I want to see him still many other times.

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).

Apart from "The Hustler" and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the over-rated "All the King's Men", Robert Rossen was never given his proper due, perhaps because his films straddled so many genres without ever finding a solid footing in any one. But he was certainly no jobbing director even if his voice was never as distinctive as a number of more highly acclaimed film-makers who worked during the same time. This large-scale, all-star 'contemporary' western, (it's set in 1916), is one of his most under-valued films. It's about heroism and cowardice and what makes a man choose one road or the other. In this case the men perform 'heroic' deeds but are deeply flawed as human beings. It's not a 'deep' movie but it is very well-crafted and Rossen certainly has a handle on the material.The central premise, (six men, five of whom are to receive the Congressional Medal of Honour for bravery, and one woman, their prisoner, journey across some particularly wild terrain together), is the stuff of cliché but Rossen keeps us interested in their plight and the cast are top-notch. Hunter, never reckoned to be much of an actor, is surprisingly good as the arrogant young lieutenant while Rita Hayworth, never reckoned to be much of an actress, fails to rise to the occasion here as well. It's also beautifully photographed by Burnett Guffey, who was later to win an Oscar for "Bonnie and Clyde", and it showed Rossen was just as capable of handling a large-scale action picture as he was of handling something as 'interior' as "The Hustler" or "Lilith".

This movie contains some good acting by all the cast. Overall the story is a good idea for a psychological Western, which could have been a really good dramatic movie. However, it is not written well, or maybe it was chopped up in editing. Story-wise its more like a book but with the deep thinking not effectively translated onto the screen, or at least Capt.Thorn's motivations not explained believably enough for me.The drama is done in a rather non-dynamic style, seeming more like just a collection of individual characters rather than an ensemble. Also, the ending is a bit abrupt and it puzzles me from a character standpoint. Cooper performs his usual good understated acting and notable screen presence, but he has aged considerably and his health is obviously in decline to the point where you don't believe he could either chase Pancho Villa or handle the rigors of this story's long journey. Rita Hayworth gives a fine performance- too bad its pretty much wasted in this movie. The supporting actors are also very good, especially Van Heflin, Dick York and Richard Conte.Good wide-screen scenery of rugged Utah and Mexico locations. All of the production values are first-rate.Can't really recommend this movie except for the opportunity to see a fine Rita Hayworth dramatic performance. This is definitely one of Cooper's weaker films, but he was able to courageously overcome health issues to make two outstanding late films- "Wreck of the Mary Deare" and "The Hanging Tree". Look for them to see proof that he still had the right stuff, despite "They Came to Cordura".