Two Flags West (1950) DVD-R

Starring Joseph Cotten, Linda Darnell, Jeff Chandler, Cornel Wilde, Dale Robertson, Jay C.
Flippen, Noah Beery Jr.
Directed by Robert Wise

Print: black/white
Runtime: 92 min.
Genre: western
Print Quality: B

Two Flags West is set in the waning days of the Civil War. Colonel Clay Tucker (Joseph
Cotten) is one of several Confederate prisoners who agree to fight alongside Union soldiers
against the Indians in New Mexico. Tucker's Union commander Kenniston (Jeff Chandler)
despises all "Johnny Rebs," holding them responsible for the death of his brother.
Kenniston has other problems too; he is deeply in love with his sister-in-law Elena (Linda
Darnell), but refuses to express his devotion out of loyalty to his dead sibling. He also hates
Indians with a passion, and has endangered the safety of his fort by brutally killing a chief's
son. There seems to be only one way for Kenniston to purge the demons within him, and he
finds that way during a climactic Indian attack.

The film Two Flags West is set in the year 1864 at a prison camp in Rock Island, Illinois. Captain Mark Bradford offers the prisoners a chance to be paroled. In order to become free, the prisoners should serve as Union soldiers and protect the frontier forts against Indians. The leader of the prisoners, Colonel Clay Tucker of Georgia agrees to the proposal. Clay asks Mark to promise that his men will not be asked to fight against their own people and the prisoners agree to leave. Clay gets demoted to 2nd lieutenant and the unit joins the 3rd cavalry of the Army of the Republic at Fort Thorn, New Mexico. Fort Thorn is commanded by the stern Major Henry Kenniston, whose injury has kept him from fighting in the war. Clay and Mark meet Kenniston’s sister-in-law, Elena who is a widow. Clay relates to Elena that he fought at Chancellorsville where her husband died fighting. Then, Mark states that he is surprised to see her at Fort Thorn. She replies that Kenniston wrote to her that she could come to the fort with an Army supply train, and then travel to Monterey with an escorted wagon. She has been staying at the fort for six months and is frustrated with Kenniston as he cannot spare her a wagon escort. She is very irritated with his protective attitude and romantic ideas.

When the Southerners chase some Indians into a mountain pass, Kenniston orders “retreat” sounded, then scolds Clay in the presence of his men for riding into a trap. They obey Kenniston by killing two men who supply guns and whiskey to the Indians. Later, they find out that the dead men were agents of the Confederate government. Clay feels that Kenniston has broken their agreement and wants to desert him along with his men. Kenniston then sends the Southerners to escort a wagon train west with ulterior motives hoping that they will desert him. Elena hides in the wagon train as she plans to leave the fort. Clay and Mark note her presence in the wagon. Mark is in love with Elena, but does not declare his feelings for her. Clay and Elena become closer and become fond of each other during the trip. The night before the troops plan to leave for Texas, Ephraim Strong, a Confederate agent who is disguised as a merchant tells Clay of his plan to link Confederate Texas with the Pacific Ocean. Strong plans to defeat the blockade that is strangling the South and make gold available to the Confederacy. In fact, he urges Clay not to desert Kenniston but gain his confidence and trust because Fort Thorn is the only block between Texas and Tucson.

Strong requests Clay to bring Elena back to Fort Thorn as well. Kenniston still does not trust Clay at all and when suspicious wagon tracks are spotted, Clay is not sent for the patrol. The son of the feared Kiowa chief is captured; and the chief and his warriors approach the fort to ask for the boy’s release. Kenniston gets the boy shot and the chief warns him and leaves. In the meantime, Clay has received orders to escort a wagon train to California. Clay gets ready to leave with Mark, but when he hears that the fort is surrounded by the Kiowa chief and the warriors, he decides to go back as he is worried about the women and children at the fort. During the fight, Mark gets killed and he confesses to Elena that he loves her before dying. The Indians send a message that they want the life of the officers as revenge for Satank’s son but they will spare the other people. Kenniston decides to sacrifice his life and entrusts the safety of the fort to Clay. He is killed by the Indians and his body is recovered the following day. Soon, a rider informs that the Confederacy is divided in half and Savannah is surrounded. Elena comforts Clay by stating that the war will soon be over and asks for his help to rebuild the fort. The movie Two Flags West was directed by Robert Wise and released in 1950. This movie, Two Flags West stars Joseph Cotten and Linda Darnell in the lead roles.