Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
Forget all the suspense you have ever seen! Forget all the excitement you have ever known!
Director: John Ford · Writers: James Warner Bellah, Willis Goldbeck
Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.
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Trailer
Director
John Ford
Cast
Jeffrey Hunter
Lt. Tom Cantrell 
Woody Strode
1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge 
Constance Towers
Mary Beecher 
Billie Burke
Mrs. Cordelia Fosgate 
Juano Hernández
Sgt. Matthew Luke Skidmore 
Willis Bouchey
Col. Otis Fosgate - president of the court-martial 
Carleton Young
Capt. Shattuck - prosecutor 
Judson Pratt
Lt. Mulqueen (court-martial board member) 
Chuck Roberson
Court-Martial Board Member (uncredited) 
Chuck Hayward
Capt. Dickinson (uncredited) 
Phil Adams
Court Guard (uncredited)
Mario Arteaga
Mexican (uncredited) User Reviews (1)
Buffalo Soldier. It was alright for Mr. Lincoln to say we was free. But that ain't so! Not yet! Maybe some day, but not yet! John Ford's Sergeant Rutledge tells the story of a black man, 1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge, a Buffalo Soldier of the 9th U.S. Cavalry who was up before a court-martial for the rape and murder of a white girl, Major Dabney's daughter, Lucy. Taking place in the court room the story is told in flashback as Rutledge's (Woody Strode) troop officer, and defence council, Lt. Tom Cantrell (Jeffrey Hunter) attempts to piece together the evidence. From the outset Ford is on biting form as the case is being tried in a biased and corruptible court, we as the viewers are left in no doubt that Rutledge could be at the mercy of obnoxious white racists. It's one of the many things that makes the film a bold and at times angry picture. This was after all two years before the …
