Here are two unimpeachable truths – John Ford was the greatest director of westerns in history, and John Wayne the best actor to ever work in the genre. There’s a third truth that combines them both, in the form of the fact that when Ford and Wayne worked together, no one could come close to their level of brilliance, at least in terms of defining a genre that may have undergone several changes (as a result of the inevitable ebb and flow in popularity every genre will inevitably experience), but was singularly-commanded by their incredible work. Undeniably, the work that is most commonly discussed as their best is The Searchers, which is also the frequent choice when listing the greatest entries into the western genre. However, there is something to be said about many of their other collaborations, with The Quiet Man and They Were Expendable (which veered away from the western genre, but still saw the two men operating at their artistic peak) nothing being anything to scoff it. It is heartening to see another film gradually work its way into the cultural consciousness as another high-point in their collaborative career, with She Wore a Yellow Ribbon slowly coming to be viewed as one of their many masterpieces, and rightly so. The story of a skilled army commander spending his final days in dedicated service in the aftermath of the violence wrought in the well-known Battle of the Little Bighorn before he is forced into retirement, is one of Ford’s most melancholy efforts, a simple but beautifully poetic story of the many inevitabilities associated with life, and how we are all undergoing a particular journey that will end up in the same place, with the difference being how each of us endures it slightly differently, which makes every individual portrayal so much more interesting.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is an evocative and soulful piece of cinema that defies expectations and actually manages to be quite effectively complex, which is not something many of us may have expected from the two central artists, not because they weren’t supremely gifted, but rather because they were at a point in their careers where telling a story about ageing and the prospect of death being on the horizon almost seemed too premature, since they were both at the prime of their careers, and clearly still had so much to show, which they certainly did in the forthcoming decades. Ford may have been a director capable of working in a wide range of genres, mastering all of them with an earnest dedication that has made him such an iconic figure of American cinema – his work ethic was impeccable, as was his steadfast dedication to quietly telling revolutionary stories (no pun intended) in a way that had never been done before, making him something of a pioneer in terms of both form and content. When he is cited as arguably the finest American filmmaker to ever work in the medium, this is less a statement on his skills as a director as it is a testament to his incredible dedication to experimenting with the form in ways that don’t immediately announce themselves as wholly unique, but instead gradually, and with incredible consistency, test the boundaries of the form, telling stories that may appear simple on the surface, but contain multitudes of ideas and visual details that would otherwise be missing had someone with as fervent a vision as Ford not been at the helm – and throughout She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, we see many striking ideas, not only in the gorgeous Technicolor in which it is made, but also the intricate details of the story, which is much more enduring than it would appear at first.

The role of Captain Nathan Brittles is written to be played by someone who could feasibly be very close to the age of retirement, since so much of the story revolves around his imminent discharge from his duties on the frontier. Despite Ford being very clear in his decision to have the role occupied by someone of appropriate age, he still ultimately ended up casting Wayne, who was not only far too young for the part by several decades, but also someone who was not known for playing more complex roles. He was a movie star more than he was a very gifted dramatic actor, and even when doing exceptionally well in certain roles, most of them were constructed to be very close to Wayne’s own valiant personality. Not known for character-based work, he was not someone we’d have expected to take on this role, at least not at this point in his career. However, the enormous surprise here is that Wayne still turned in a remarkable performance, with She Wore a Yellow Ribbon being arguably his finest performance (not necessarily the one that best defined him as an actor, but rather the one where he voyaged the furthest from convention). His work here is incredible – despite being much younger than required, the actor captures the heartbreaking melancholy of a man reflecting on the past, while ruminating on the future that is ahead of him, which is a much more intimidating task than he would like to admit, especially when he has dedicated his entire life to devoted servitude for his country. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is padded with several terrific actors, such as Ben Johnson and Victor McLaglen (who contribute significantly to the authentic landscape of the story), but it’s Wayne who anchors the film and makes it such a wonderfully unique and enduring work of character-based storytelling.

Ford was very good at what he did, so its hardly surprising that She Wore a Yellow Ribbon would be an absolute triumph from beginning to end – and a lot of what makes this such a special film is how, despite seeming like a relatively conventional western film, it manages to look at a few much deeper ideas that go beyond the boundaries of the genre. There are some very impressive setpieces (and the location shooting throughout the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Colorado lends the film a level of gravitas, only made more effective considering the production details of the film prove how Ford, the crew and the cast all stayed in relatively paltry conditions for the sake of maintaining a level of authenticity), and the cinematography, shepherded by Winton C. Hoch, is absolutely stunning. The collision between a gorgeous visual landscape, and a story that is deeply meaningful on its own terms, makes for an enthralling story. Yet, there’s so much more to be explored about this film, especially in how carefully it questions matters surrounding masculinity and ageing, two major themes that were present in western films at the time, but rarely addressed as directly as they are here. It’s not enough to present Wayne as some heroic, all-American hero, but rather the film needs to go in search of the elements that make him such an enigmatic and admirable figure. There’s a sensitivity presented throughout She Wore a Yellow Ribbon that makes it such a beautifully poetic ode to the past, carefully constructed by someone who knew how to mount a spectacle, but never at the expense of the smaller, more human details that are lurking beneath the story, which Ford knew how to capture without it becoming heavy-handed or inappropriately sentimental, while still resonating emotionally.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is not often remembered when looking at Ford’s extensive career, but it is certainly far from his most obscure effort. By virtue of the Technicolor photography alone, which was slightly more rare for the era in which the film was made, the film is definitely worth watching, having some of the most striking images from any western produced at the time. There’s a lot of value in how Ford handles this story, constantly avoiding sentimentality, but not making it entirely void of emotion – he understands that the way to touch a viewer’s heart is to combine spectacle and genuine fondness for the material, which gives us something to hold onto and carefully piece together. It makes She Wore a Yellow Ribbon such a stunningly precise and interesting experience, where the intimate details gradually coalesce in a hauntingly beautiful exploration of the human condition, facilitated by someone who has a genuine fondness for not only the material with which he is working, but the entire genre in which it takes place. There are few joys more potent than watching a collaboration by the director-actor duo often referred to affectionately as “Pappy and the Duke”, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is undeniably one of their best films together, a magical and intimate character study that has so much respect for the story it tells, we too can’t help but fall hopelessly in love with these characters, which only make for a truly captivating and often quite enchanting 100 minutes of pure cinematic beauty.