Sergeant Rutledge

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Sergeant Rutledge

1960,

1h 58m,

Western

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Watchlist

92%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

250+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

At a U.S. Army fort in the Arizona Territory in 1881, an officer is murdered, and his beautiful young daughter is beaten, raped and strangled. Army lawyer Tom Cantrell (Jeffrey Hunter) defends the accused, African-American sergeant Braxton Rutledge (Woody Strode), a soldier who had once been under his command. Under questioning by Cantrell and the prosecutor (Carleton Young), multiple witnesses piece together the truth of what happened at the fort that day.

Maxine Dowling

New York Daily News

Sep 22, 2021

3.5/4

All in all, Ford has once more turned in a gripping, adult Western with a fine modern twist.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 15, 2025

3/4

Suspense and social commentary mingle easily.

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Jet Staff

Jet Magazine

Jan 16, 2024

Woody Strode gets his biggest break in his 10-year movie career and makes good use of it by effectively portraying the simple-but-strong Sergeant Rutledge. It is his picture all the way, even though he does not receive star billing.

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George E. Pitts

Pittsburgh Courier

Dec 2, 2020

The story is exciting, entertaining, suspenseful and, most important of all, it is believable.

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Barbara Mounts

California Eagle

Dec 6, 2019

Woody Strode should be nominated for an award for his sensitive portrayal of Sgt. Rutledge.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Oct 15, 2019

The once-great director John Ford resumes his love affair with the bygone U. S. Cavalry in this long and corny court-martial drama.

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Aug 28, 2018

Really a brilliant movie, which introduced me to the history of the Buffalo Soldiers. I like that, along with the serious drama there are also some moments of hilarity, mostly provided by actress Billie Burke. I like that many of the characters in the movie are not as prejudiced as one might expect--though how far they would have been willing to go to see true justice done is anyone's guess. Brilliant performance by Woody Strode--some of the best acting I have ever seen done. I enjoyed this movie in my childhood and continue to love it as an adult.

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Han P

May 13, 2018

An astonishing film not only for its sheer visual and narrative excellence but also for its early acknowledgement of race relations in America.

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Han R

Jan 2, 2018

Jeffrey Hunter's second film with director John Ford after critically acclaim "The Searchers" stars as Lt. Tom Cantrell appointed to defend his friend, Sergeant Rugledge (Woody Strode) who was accused of heinous acts. Second movie John Ford centers on racism which coincidentally was also about racism as well.

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Leia L

Nov 23, 2017

decades ahead of its time, recognizing skin color sometimes makes people come to the wrong conclusions

Hermione S

Nov 14, 2017

A cinematic story of a cavalry court case that is a little simplistic, but still compelling.

Harry L

Apr 18, 2017

Particular crime-western movie with a good and not exagerated anti racial moral

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John Ford

Director

Jeffrey Hunter

Lt. Tom Cantrell

Woody Strode

1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge

Constance Towers

Mary Beecher

Billie Burke

Mrs. Cordelia Fosgate

Juano Hernandez

Sgt. Matthew Luke Skimore

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Synopsis

At a U.S. Army fort in the Arizona Territory in 1881, an officer is murdered, and his beautiful young daughter is beaten, raped and strangled. Army lawyer Tom Cantrell (Jeffrey Hunter) defends the accused, African-American sergeant Braxton Rutledge (Woody Strode), a soldier who had once been under his command. Under questioning by Cantrell and the prosecutor (Carleton Young), multiple witnesses piece together the truth of what happened at the fort that day.

Director: John Ford
Producer: Patrick Ford, Willis Goldbeck
Screenwriter: James Warner Bellah, Willis Goldbeck
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros., John Ford Productions, Ford Productions
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 18, 1960, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 58m

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