Sergeant Rutledge

+ intro by season programmer Mia Mask

John Ford’s turn towards more socially conscious westerns manifests as a film about a Black cavalry officer wrongly accused of murder.

The 35mm print we were due to ship from the States in now deemed too poor to screen. However, we are delighted that the Swedish Film Institute have kindly agreed to loan us their 35mm print. Please note, this print will have Swedish subtitles which we hope will not be too distracting.

  • Director

    John Ford

  • With

    Woody Strode, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Billie Burke

  • USA 1960. 111min

  • 35mm

  • Certificate

    PG

Ford’s widescreen Technicolor drama was the first mainstream Hollywood Western to feature a Black actor in a leading role. Strode plays Sergeant Braxton Rutledge, who has been wrongly accused of rape and murder. His fate rests with Hunter’s Lt. Tom Cantrell, his legal defence. Grappling with racism at a time when many in the US were pushing for civil rights, Sergeant Rutledge is one of Ford’s most overt attempts to engage in socially conscious Western storytelling.

See other screenings of Sergeant Rutledge.

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