Slashing Story of a Desert Warrior Who Fought His Way From HELL TO GLORY !


Gary Cooper stars in one of his final roles in They Came To Cordura, Robert Rossen's moody study of the thin dividing line between heroism and cowardice. Cooper plays Major Thomas Thorn, a U.S. Army officer in the expedition into Mexico against Pancho Villa. Because he hesitated during a moment of decision in a battle, he has been labeled a coward. His commanding officer, Colonel Rogers (Robert Keith), orders Thorn to recommend five men for nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery in the battle against Villa. Angered that Thorn did not nominate him for the Medal of Honor, Rogers charges Thorn with transporting the men through a broiling and dangerous desert to the rear area of Cordura. They begin the trek accompanied by Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth), the daughter of a dishonored U.S. Senator, who is accused of treason since she owned the hacienda where Villa's men stayed. As they travel across the desert expanse, Thorn ponders why these men are considered heroes while he is labeled a coward. As their journey continues, the heroes turn into a mutinous rabble, with Thorn reduced to holding the group at bay with a loaded gun.


In 1916, as U.S. soldiers wage war against Pancho Villa's Mexican troops, Army Major Thomas Thorn (Gary Cooper) is assigned to be a battlefield observer and reward heroism. He has been suggested for this duty by a Colonel Rogers (Robert Keith), who is 63 years old and impatiently yearning to be promoted to general.
Rogers commands his unit to make a poorly planned, old-fashioned Cavalry charge on a villa owned by Adelaide Geary (Rita Hayworth) where a number of Villa's men have been staying, enjoying her hospitality. Thorn, excused from the fighting, observes through his binoculars various acts of heroism by Lt. Fowler (Tab Hunter), Sgt. Chawk (Van Heflin), Cpl. Trubee (Richard Conte) and Pvt. Renziehausen (Dick York) in defeating Villa's men, although not before many U.S. soldiers are slaughtered.
Rogers is proud of having personally led the charge, but furious when Thorn won't nominate him for a citation. Thorn insists that a commanding officer cannot be honored for a command decision he himself made. Rogers counted on the fact that he saved Thorn from an investigation into a charge of cowardice from a previous engagement, saying he did so out of respect for Thorn's father.
Thorn intends to recommend the four soldiers for the Medal of Honor. He is ordered to take along the traitorous female prisoner, Mrs. Geary, who is charged with "giving aid and comfort to the enemy." A fifth soldier, a private (Michael Callan) also nominated by Thorn for a medal, rides with them to the Texas town of Cordura.
This seemingly simple task becomes increasingly complex, however, as the incessant squabbling between Thorn and the men threatens to destroy them all. Eager to learn more about their acts of bravery, Thorn finds the men to be hostile toward him, ill-mannered toward the woman and, in some cases, heroic merely due to a desire to survive the warfare. They ultimately turn against Thorn, forcing him to fight fellow soldiers to save his own life.


Release Date: October 21, 1959


Distrib: Columbia