The Undefeated

Obviously contrived with the box office in mind, this is an OK western that sees John Wayne (the rough and ready Yankee colonel) and Rock Hudson (the suave, debonaire, but broke, plantation owning Confederate colonel) and their respective ex-soldiers form an uneasy partnership after the US Civil war, to drive some horses to their new owner, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. En route, they have the usual sequence of "Red River" (1948) style escapades before encountering treachery on a fairly grand scale that puts the lives of themselves and their horses at risk. There is a bit of chemistry between the two men, their opposing characters creating the odd spark - and some humour - as their journey progresses. Ben Johnson, Bruce Cabot and a very green looking "Airwolf" (Jan-Michael Vincent) chip into the story too, keeping it moving along steadily, if not exactly excitingly. Two hours felt too long - until the last fifteen minutes, not enough happens to keep the interest from dwindling, but it shows why both men were the stars they were, and is still just about worth watching.