A 1960 Technicolor Western directed by John Ford that follows the court martial of First Sergeant Braxton Rudtledge (Woody Strode) for the rape and murder of a white woman and her father's murder.
The movie also stars Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Billie Burke, Juano Hernandez, Willis Bouchey, Carleton Young, Judson Pratt, and Chuck Hayward.
It was released on May 18, 1960.
Tropes for the film:
- Cavalry Officer: White officers, black enlisted men.
- Character Title: Sergeant Rutledge.
- Court-martialed: African-American top sergeant Woody Strode is court-martialed in the post-Civil War west for raping and murdering his commander's (white) teenage daughter and shooting his commander to death before running away. Ironically he did kill his commander. Rutledge found the girl naked and strangled and he was covering her with a blanket when the commander came in, misinterpreted the situation and fired his revolver. Rutledge had to fire back to save his life and knew no one would believe him. Despite claims to the contrary the court-martial was rife with bigotry.
- Period Piece: Takes place in 1881.
- Tagline: "THERE'S NO TURNING BACK!".
