Blogging By Cinema-light: Don't Make a Scene: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Don't Make a Scene: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

The Story: A short scene today, continuing on a Western theme (and completely ignoring Easter, other than to say "Happy Easter!").

This has been on the docket for awhile and is here to show the economy of director John Ford and how he got a lot done with seemingly little effort.

The scene (from John Ford's She Wore a Yellow Ribbon) involves some Cavalry officers who are watching white men being tortured by Natives. Now, back up your offended urges a moment. The Cavalry is under the command of Captain Nathan Brittles (John Wayne, playing about twenty years older than his years) who is days away from retiring from the position. He has been charged—in the days after the Battle of Little Big Horn—with dealing with the breakout of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe members from their designated reservation. Brittles is trying to keep the peace, but understands the situation with the Natives.

Now, the party being tortured is that of Mr. Karl Rynders (Harry Woods), a government-approved (but corrupt) "Indian agent," who has expanded his activities by running guns and selling them—at greatly inflated prices—to the very members of the tribes who are making skirmishes throughout the area. The particular incident being observed has turned ugly, with Rynders trying to swindle the war-parties and insulting them on top of it. The result is Rynders getting an arrow in his chest and the rest of his party massacred.

This is what Brittles and Sgt. Tyree (Ben Johnson) and Second Lt. Ross Pennell (Harry Carey Jr.) are observing.

And Brittles does nothing. Tyree assumes that Brittles will take some action, offering his gun, but the Captain merely wants Tyree's knife to cut up some chewing tobacco—which "can turn a man's stomach"—to offer to his charges to cover any revulsion they may feel at the sight before them.

Then, he leaves. And he lets the war-party keep the guns that they are taking from Rynder's group. That's key here. The warriors can use the guns, they're practical and efficient for hunting...it's how they use the guns that Brittles might be able to have some influence over. And as for Rynders—he's a bad actor who probably would have come to this end, eventually. Everyone will be better for him being out of the picture. No action need be taken, not even the playing of taps.

Throughout this scene, the screams of the victims can be overheard, suggesting the rough revenge taken by the Natives, but which Ford does not show. And the sight is communicated by the need to take the chewing tobacco—and the understanding that this is a ruse for the benefit of the weak-stomached—which is done in the looks exchanged, not by words.

The sequence after this will be long shots that have the same "hostiles" allowing Brittles' party to pass unmolested, but sending smoke to let them know they're being watched.

All of this is communicated—if unsaid—in a very simple scene of only a few shots and, once again, displays the economy and subtlety of John Ford, director.

The Set-Up: Retiring Captain Nathan Brittles, Captain of the 7th Cavalry, on a patrol to deliver the Major's wife (Mildred Natwick) and niece Olivia Dandridge (Joanne Dru) to their stage departing from Sudrow's Wells, comes across unforeseen consequences, such as the attack on their destination, and the "comeuppance" of one two-faced government agent.

Action!