She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

A masterpiece of mood and heroics, this second film in director John Ford's renowned cavalry trilogy (Fort Apache and Rio Grande are the others) features one of John Wayne's most moving performances, as a cavalry officer in his final week of service on the frontier. Under makeup aging him some 20 years, he inhabits the role of a wily veteran who knows the sting of war and vows to make his last mission one of peace. The ritual of outpost life, the sweep of battle, the advance of the patrol beneath ominous skies: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, an Academy Award"' winner* for its color cinematography, paints a memorable portrait of the honor, duty and courage in the finest tradition of the cavalry. And of Ford filmmaking.

• western