Two Flags West
Encyclopedia
Two Flags West is a 1950
Western
drama set during the American Civil War
, directed by Robert Wise
and starring Joseph Cotton
, Jeff Chandler
, Linda Darnell
, and Cornell Wilde. The opening credits contain the following statement:
Based on the historical service of "Galvanized Yankees
", the film tells the story of a company of imprisoned Confederate Army cavalry
troopers given such amnesty. The company of Georgia
veterans journeys to a remote New Mexico
post commanded by an embittered, Southerner-hating major who expects them to desert
at the first opportunity. The fulfillment of that expectation is challenged by an attack on the fort itself by Kiowa
.
Two Flags West was one of a wave of Civil War reconciliation-themed Westerns in the early 1950s, in which soldiers from North and South combine against a common foe, that included Rocky Mountain
(1950), The Last Outpost (1951), and Escape from Fort Bravo
(1953).
are among the prisoners in the Union prisoner of war
camp at Rock Island, Illinois
. Commanded by Colonel Clay Tucker (Joseph Cotton
), the Confederates
are sick and dying in deplorable conditions, but despite the end of prisoner exchanges, find a chance for survival. Union
Captain Mark Bradford (Cornel Wilde
), recovering from a battle wound, offers them parole
and release from "this stinking pesthole" if they will join the Army of the Republic
to garrison a fort on the western frontier
. The outpost is undermanned because its able-bodied regulars have been sent east, leaving either "greenhorns or casualties" like Bradford to fight Indians. Although promised that they will not be compelled to fight against their own, many of the Confederates resist the offer. Agreeing to decide the matter by vote, the issue is deadlocked when the last soldier dies before he can choose. Compassion for his men forces a reluctant Col. Tucker to break the tie by agreeing to the conditions, based on Bradford's sincerity.
With Tucker given a lieutenant
's commission as their officer, the troop arrives at Fort Thorn, New Mexico
, a small outpost of the 3rd Cavalry. Their welcome from the post commander, Major Henry Kenniston (Jeff Chandler
), is stern and provocative. The bitter Kenniston walks with a limp, the result of a wound at the First Battle of Bull Run
that relegated him to Fort Thorn early in the war. Lt. Tucker dines that night with Kenniston, his officers, and civilian guests, and is put on edge by their patronizing comments. Among the guests is Kenniston's sister-in-law Elena (Linda Darnell
), the widow of his brother Richard. Tension becomes high when Tucker reveals that he led the cavalry charge at the Battle of Chancellorsville
in which Elena's husband was killed. Elena has been stranded for months at Fort Thorn on her way home to Monterey, California
, and is uneasy with her brother-in-law's protectiveness, suspecting rightly that he is in love with her and thinks of himself as his late brother's surrogate.
Friction between the two factions nearly erupts in violence after Tucker checks the barracks
to see to the welfare of his men, halted only when Capt. Bradford sternly intervenes. On their first patrol together, the Southern troopers pursue a band of Indians into a canyon
but Kenniston orders "Recall
" sounded. When they mock what they see as Yankee irresoluteness, Kenniston rebukes Tucker in front of his men, informing them that he had stopped them from riding headlong into an ambush
. Kenniston assigns Tucker to execute two civilians convicted of running guns and liquor to the Indians. Informed that the pair are actually Confederate agents, his objection to the order as a violation of the promises under which his men were recruited falls on deaf ears. Tucker begins plotting to desert the command and escape to Texas
when the opportunity presents itself. Kenniston shrewdly deduces their intent and assigns them to escort the next wagon train
headed west, knowing they will deliver their charges before escaping. He removes Elena from the departing train, but she conceals herself in a wagon. Tucker discovers her but remains silent, and the two strike a friendship. The night before the planned desertion, one of the civilians, Ephraim Strong (Harry Von Zell
), reveals himself to be a Confederate agent and enlists Tucker and his men in a plan to link California with the South. He asks Tucker not only to return to Fort Thorn, but to bring back Elena to gain Kenniston's confidence. Kenniston has an angry reunion with Elena, and while surprised by Tucker's actions, continues to be wary of him.
The troop is divided into two detachments, commanded by Bradford and Lt. Reynolds, to look for the source of mysterious wagon tracks. In the meantime, a patrol captures a Kiowa warrior. When the warrior's father, chief Satank, appears at Fort Thorn demanding release of his son, Kenniston shoots the prisoner as a "rebel and a traitor", then sends forth the body. Tucker receives his orders to join the confederates that day, January 8, and on the pretext of needing an interpreter for the prisoner, sends Reynolds back to the post. When they catch up with Bradford, he is made a prisoner but escorted back to Thorn by Sgt. Pickens (Arthur Hunnicutt
). Late that night, they return to report that the fort is under siege
by hundreds of Kiowa warriors. Despite strong misgivings, Tucker decides to return. The troop fights its way into the fort, but can only delay the inevitable. Bradford is killed and the garrison and its families are forced back into a corner of the stockade, saved from annihilation only by the setting of the sun. Knowing they will be wiped out in the morning, Kenniston decides to offer himself as a sacrifice. Ironically, he turns over the command to Tucker. In the morning his body is found dead outside the walls and the Kiowa gone. A few days later a dispatch rider arrives with news that Gen. Sherman
has completed his march to the sea
, spelling doom for the Confederacy. Elena tries to comfort a despairing Tucker with the hope that things will seem better tomorrow.
or Richard Basehart
, but Joseph Cotten was cast at the last minute, loaned to Fox by Selznick International Pictures
.
, using buildings of the Pueblo for those of the Fort Thorn, and on the nearby Shipman Ranch near Black Mesa
, which is seen prominently in the film. The local Tewa inhabitants agreed to use of their community, some of whose buildings dated back 400 years, when director Robert Wise promised that filming would remain clear of the tribal kiva (underground council room), cemetery, and sacred shrines.
in 1948. During research, Nugent consulted historians Dee Brown and Martin F. Schmitt, authors of Fighting Indians of the West, for sources of information about the use of "Galvanized Yankees", and learned that Confederate plans to connect El Paso, Texas
with California were made in late 1864. He submitted his story, The Yankee From Georgia, to Metro Goldwyn Mayer but did not receive an offer. The project for Fox began with the working title, Trumpet to the Morn.
The historical Fort Thorn was built in December 1853 on the west bank of the Rio Grande River, 45 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico
, (near present-day Hatch
) to defend local settlements against raids by Apache
Indians, primarily those of the Mescalero
band. Fort Thorn became the eastern terminus of a road built in 1856 across Arizona
from Fort Yuma
until 1860, when the post closed as a permanent garrison.
In 1861 it was reoccupied as a forward outpost when the Civil War began and Texas organized an expeditionary force to seize New Mexico as part of its Arizona Territory
. Union troops withdrew from Fort Thorn in August after a defeat at Mesilla
at the other end of the valley. Confederate forces occupied the site in January 1862 to stage for an advance north, but in April were forced to withdraw from New Mexico. Fort Thorn again became a Union post on July 4, 1862.
Union forces stationed at Fort Thorn were companies of the 3rd Infantry and Regiment of Mounted Riflemen (which became the 3rd Cavalry in 1861) between 1855 and 1860, and the 5th Infantry
. Detachments of the 3rd Cavalry continued to operated from Fort Thorn, as depicted, until September 1862, when that regiment was sent east to fight against the Confederacy. Although Fort Thorn was likely not occupied after that time, the 5th Infantry remained in New Mexico throughout the Civil War, and its forces could have been augmented by "Galvanized Yankees".
The 5th Georgia Cavalry was an actual unit of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee
but saw service exclusively in the war's Western Theater, not with Jeb Stuart as depicted. Satank was an actual personage, but his notoriety was primarily post-bellum of the Civil War, and in Texas.
.
1950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
drama set during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, directed by Robert Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
and starring Joseph Cotton
Joseph Cotton
Joseph Cotton aka Jah Walton is a reggae deejay active since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
, Jeff Chandler
Jeff Chandler (actor)
Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities...
, Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
, and Cornell Wilde. The opening credits contain the following statement:
On December 8th, 1863, President Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
issued a Special Proclamation, whereby Confederate Prisoners of War might gain their freedom, provided they would join the Union Army to defend the frontier West against the Indians.
Based on the historical service of "Galvanized Yankees
Galvanized Yankees
Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War used to refer to former Confederate prisoners of war who had sworn allegiance to the Union. Due to doubts about their ultimate loyalty, Galvanized Yankees were generally assigned to garrison forts far from the Civil War battlefields or in...
", the film tells the story of a company of imprisoned Confederate Army cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
troopers given such amnesty. The company of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
veterans journeys to a remote New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
post commanded by an embittered, Southerner-hating major who expects them to desert
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
at the first opportunity. The fulfillment of that expectation is challenged by an attack on the fort itself by Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
.
Two Flags West was one of a wave of Civil War reconciliation-themed Westerns in the early 1950s, in which soldiers from North and South combine against a common foe, that included Rocky Mountain
Rocky Mountain (film)
Rocky Mountain is a 1950 war film directed by William Keighley and starring Errol Flynn. It takes place during the American Civil War.-Plot:...
(1950), The Last Outpost (1951), and Escape from Fort Bravo
Escape from Fort Bravo
Escape from Fort Bravo is a 1953 western film set during the American Civil War. It stars William Holden, Eleanor Parker, and John Forsythe.-Plot:...
(1953).
Synopsis
In the autumn of 1864, remnants of the 5th Georgia Cavalry5th Georgia Cavalry
The 5th Georgia Cavalry was a cavalry regiment in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was composed of enlistees from the state of Georgia and served entirely in the Western Theater.-History:...
are among the prisoners in the Union prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp at Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
. Commanded by Colonel Clay Tucker (Joseph Cotton
Joseph Cotton
Joseph Cotton aka Jah Walton is a reggae deejay active since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
), the Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
are sick and dying in deplorable conditions, but despite the end of prisoner exchanges, find a chance for survival. Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
Captain Mark Bradford (Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde was an American actor and film director.-Early life:Kornél Lajos Weisz was born in 1912 in Prievidza, Hungary , although his year and place of birth are usually and inaccurately given as 1915 in New York City...
), recovering from a battle wound, offers them parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
and release from "this stinking pesthole" if they will join the Army of the Republic
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
to garrison a fort on the western frontier
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
. The outpost is undermanned because its able-bodied regulars have been sent east, leaving either "greenhorns or casualties" like Bradford to fight Indians. Although promised that they will not be compelled to fight against their own, many of the Confederates resist the offer. Agreeing to decide the matter by vote, the issue is deadlocked when the last soldier dies before he can choose. Compassion for his men forces a reluctant Col. Tucker to break the tie by agreeing to the conditions, based on Bradford's sincerity.
With Tucker given a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
's commission as their officer, the troop arrives at Fort Thorn, New Mexico
Fort Thorn, New Mexico
Fort Thorn was a settlement and outpost located near present day Hatch, New Mexico, United States. An agency for the Apache Indians operated nearby. The post was built of adobe and opened in 1853 before being closed in 1859. It was located near an extensive marsh, and malaria was a serious problem...
, a small outpost of the 3rd Cavalry. Their welcome from the post commander, Major Henry Kenniston (Jeff Chandler
Jeff Chandler (actor)
Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities...
), is stern and provocative. The bitter Kenniston walks with a limp, the result of a wound at the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
that relegated him to Fort Thorn early in the war. Lt. Tucker dines that night with Kenniston, his officers, and civilian guests, and is put on edge by their patronizing comments. Among the guests is Kenniston's sister-in-law Elena (Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
), the widow of his brother Richard. Tension becomes high when Tucker reveals that he led the cavalry charge at the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
in which Elena's husband was killed. Elena has been stranded for months at Fort Thorn on her way home to Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, and is uneasy with her brother-in-law's protectiveness, suspecting rightly that he is in love with her and thinks of himself as his late brother's surrogate.
Friction between the two factions nearly erupts in violence after Tucker checks the barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
to see to the welfare of his men, halted only when Capt. Bradford sternly intervenes. On their first patrol together, the Southern troopers pursue a band of Indians into a canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
but Kenniston orders "Recall
Recall (bugle call)
Recall is a bugle call used to signals to soldiers that duties or drills are to cease, or to indicate that a period of relaxation should end. Outside of a military context, it is used to signal when a game should end, such as a game of capture the flag among scouts.-History:Like other bugle calls,...
" sounded. When they mock what they see as Yankee irresoluteness, Kenniston rebukes Tucker in front of his men, informing them that he had stopped them from riding headlong into an ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
. Kenniston assigns Tucker to execute two civilians convicted of running guns and liquor to the Indians. Informed that the pair are actually Confederate agents, his objection to the order as a violation of the promises under which his men were recruited falls on deaf ears. Tucker begins plotting to desert the command and escape to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
when the opportunity presents itself. Kenniston shrewdly deduces their intent and assigns them to escort the next wagon train
Wagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
headed west, knowing they will deliver their charges before escaping. He removes Elena from the departing train, but she conceals herself in a wagon. Tucker discovers her but remains silent, and the two strike a friendship. The night before the planned desertion, one of the civilians, Ephraim Strong (Harry Von Zell
Harry von Zell
Harry von Zell , born in Indianapolis, made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows....
), reveals himself to be a Confederate agent and enlists Tucker and his men in a plan to link California with the South. He asks Tucker not only to return to Fort Thorn, but to bring back Elena to gain Kenniston's confidence. Kenniston has an angry reunion with Elena, and while surprised by Tucker's actions, continues to be wary of him.
The troop is divided into two detachments, commanded by Bradford and Lt. Reynolds, to look for the source of mysterious wagon tracks. In the meantime, a patrol captures a Kiowa warrior. When the warrior's father, chief Satank, appears at Fort Thorn demanding release of his son, Kenniston shoots the prisoner as a "rebel and a traitor", then sends forth the body. Tucker receives his orders to join the confederates that day, January 8, and on the pretext of needing an interpreter for the prisoner, sends Reynolds back to the post. When they catch up with Bradford, he is made a prisoner but escorted back to Thorn by Sgt. Pickens (Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
). Late that night, they return to report that the fort is under siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
by hundreds of Kiowa warriors. Despite strong misgivings, Tucker decides to return. The troop fights its way into the fort, but can only delay the inevitable. Bradford is killed and the garrison and its families are forced back into a corner of the stockade, saved from annihilation only by the setting of the sun. Knowing they will be wiped out in the morning, Kenniston decides to offer himself as a sacrifice. Ironically, he turns over the command to Tucker. In the morning his body is found dead outside the walls and the Kiowa gone. A few days later a dispatch rider arrives with news that Gen. Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
has completed his march to the sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
, spelling doom for the Confederacy. Elena tries to comfort a despairing Tucker with the hope that things will seem better tomorrow.
Cast
- Joseph CottenJoseph CottenJoseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
... Col. (later Lt.) Clay Tucker - Linda DarnellLinda DarnellLinda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
... Elena Kenniston - Jeff ChandlerJeff Chandler (actor)Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities...
... Maj. Henry Kenniston - Cornel WildeCornel WildeCornel Wilde was an American actor and film director.-Early life:Kornél Lajos Weisz was born in 1912 in Prievidza, Hungary , although his year and place of birth are usually and inaccurately given as 1915 in New York City...
... Capt. Mark Bradford - Dale RobertsonDale RobertsonDayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse, often appearing as the deceptively thoughtful but...
... Lem - Jay C. FlippenJay C. FlippenJay C. Flippen is an American character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s/'50s....
... Sgt. Duffy - Noah Beery Jr. ... Corp. Cy Davis (as Noah Beery)
- Harry von ZellHarry von ZellHarry von Zell , born in Indianapolis, made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows....
... Ephraim Strong - Johnny Sands ... Lt. Adams (as John Sands)
- Arthur HunnicuttArthur HunnicuttArthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
... Sgt. Pickens
Casting notes
Fox had originally intended the role of "Col. Clay Tucker" to be played by either Victor MatureVictor Mature
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...
or Richard Basehart
Richard Basehart
John Richard Basehart was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson.-Career:...
, but Joseph Cotten was cast at the last minute, loaned to Fox by Selznick International Pictures
Selznick International Pictures
-Origin:It was founded in 1935 by producer David O. Selznick and investor John Hay "Jock" Whitney after Selznick left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and leased a section of the RKO Pictures lot in Culver City, California...
.
Locations
The movie was filmed on location at San Ildefonso Pueblo, New MexicoSan Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
San Ildefonso Pueblo is a census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 458 at the 2000 census...
, using buildings of the Pueblo for those of the Fort Thorn, and on the nearby Shipman Ranch near Black Mesa
Black Mesa
Black Mesa may refer to:Places in the United States:* Black Mesa , in Colorado, New Mexico, and the highest point in Oklahoma* Black Mesa Test Range, a United States Army rocket testing facility...
, which is seen prominently in the film. The local Tewa inhabitants agreed to use of their community, some of whose buildings dated back 400 years, when director Robert Wise promised that filming would remain clear of the tribal kiva (underground council room), cemetery, and sacred shrines.
Historical basis
Screenwriter Frank S. Nugent developed the concept for the film while writing the screenplay for She Wore a Yellow RibbonShe Wore a Yellow Ribbon
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. The film was the second of Ford's trilogy of films focusing on the US Cavalry ; the other two films were Fort Apache and Rio Grande...
in 1948. During research, Nugent consulted historians Dee Brown and Martin F. Schmitt, authors of Fighting Indians of the West, for sources of information about the use of "Galvanized Yankees", and learned that Confederate plans to connect El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
with California were made in late 1864. He submitted his story, The Yankee From Georgia, to Metro Goldwyn Mayer but did not receive an offer. The project for Fox began with the working title, Trumpet to the Morn.
The historical Fort Thorn was built in December 1853 on the west bank of the Rio Grande River, 45 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as "The City of the Crosses", is the county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 97,618 in 2010 according to the 2010 Census, making it the second largest city in the state....
, (near present-day Hatch
Hatch, New Mexico
Hatch is a village in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,673 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is experiencing moderate growth, along with its outliers of Salem, Arrey, Derry, and Rincon...
) to defend local settlements against raids by Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
Indians, primarily those of the Mescalero
Mescalero
Mescalero is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southcentral New Mexico...
band. Fort Thorn became the eastern terminus of a road built in 1856 across Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
from Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...
until 1860, when the post closed as a permanent garrison.
In 1861 it was reoccupied as a forward outpost when the Civil War began and Texas organized an expeditionary force to seize New Mexico as part of its Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory (CSA)
The Territory of Arizona was a territory claimed by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1865. It consisted of the portion of the New Mexico Territory south of the 34th parallel north including parts of the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona. Its...
. Union troops withdrew from Fort Thorn in August after a defeat at Mesilla
Mesilla, New Mexico
Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...
at the other end of the valley. Confederate forces occupied the site in January 1862 to stage for an advance north, but in April were forced to withdraw from New Mexico. Fort Thorn again became a Union post on July 4, 1862.
Union forces stationed at Fort Thorn were companies of the 3rd Infantry and Regiment of Mounted Riflemen (which became the 3rd Cavalry in 1861) between 1855 and 1860, and the 5th Infantry
5th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 5th Infantry Regiment is the third-oldest infantry regiment of the United States Army, tracing its origins to 1808...
. Detachments of the 3rd Cavalry continued to operated from Fort Thorn, as depicted, until September 1862, when that regiment was sent east to fight against the Confederacy. Although Fort Thorn was likely not occupied after that time, the 5th Infantry remained in New Mexico throughout the Civil War, and its forces could have been augmented by "Galvanized Yankees".
The 5th Georgia Cavalry was an actual unit of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
but saw service exclusively in the war's Western Theater, not with Jeb Stuart as depicted. Satank was an actual personage, but his notoriety was primarily post-bellum of the Civil War, and in Texas.
Reception
Two Flags West opened October 14, 1950, at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, to a favorable review from New York Times critic Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
.