They Came to Cordura - 4 stars out of 5 stars

When watching a Hollywood western we must always remember they are film stories based mostly on romanticized novels based on a historical occurrence.Or as we say today,docudrama.Mostly not true but should have been,ha,ha.In this case based on a novel by Glendon Swarthout and adapted for the screen  by  Robert Rossen and Ivan Moffat,directed also by Rossen,they use the famous chase of Pancho Villa in 1916 to investigate what is heroic and what is not.This is still as very relevant question today as it was in 1959 the year this film was released and running 123 minutes.A woman is worked into the storyline,for you had to to get movie tickets sold in 1959,and its not THAT bad a working,but ,thats why I took a full star off relating to a otherwise perfect idea.The setting is at the door to our entrance to WW1 and the west is shown changing in the fact of not only referring to that great war to come,but.showing the US Calvary in brown uniforms,NOT old west indian or civil war blue.The cast is good anchored by Gary Cooper,but in this case,its the examination of what being a hero is,why you should see this film.While some ideas might seem far fetched,what is war after all,if not far fetched?? Must see cinema.About the closest modern films and its still far from this,is"Hurt Locker"impregnates "Platoon"and thats a real reach to a bastard updated film.No they really don't make them like this anymore.Trailer URL follows the pix,yes a trailer from 1959 still available,that speaks volumes in itself,and a IMDB short summary below.

An army major, himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommended soldiers for the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Mexican Border Incursion of 1916.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGskUITA15o