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Western Legends John Wayne & Roy Rogers Made Their Only Movie Together With This 1940 Civil War Drama

Ashleigh Durden14 hours ago
3 minutes read
Western Legends John Wayne & Roy Rogers Made Their Only Movie Together With This 1940 Civil War Drama

Western legends John Wayne and Roy Rogers only made one movie together with a 1940 Civil War classic called Dark Command. Wayne is one of the most famous Western stars of the 20th century and is largely responsible for shaping the genre in American film industry and beyond. Wayne starred in several groundbreaking Western movies including John Ford’s breakthrough hits Stagecoach (1939) and The Searchers (1956).

While Wayne’s legacy speaks for itself, Roy Rogers was also a pivotal figure in the Western genre as well. Often dubbed the “King of the Cowboys”, Rogers became an icon of Western mysticism and entertainment as an actor, singer, television host, and rodeo performer. Although Wayne and Rogers represent different aspects of the Western genre, they were bound to both appear in the same Western film at some point. This ended up being Dark Command, which is more of a classic war romance drama but still has Western elements,

John Wayne & Roy Rogers’ Dark Command Was A Successful Western Teamup

Raoul Walsh’s direction makes Dark Command a great picture

Dark Command offers Western lovers a rare treat in seeing Wayne and Rogers share a screen for the only time in film history. The film takes place in Kansas during the Civil War in a battle between pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps. The film also stars Claire Trevor and Stagecoach acclaim and Walter Pidgeon, best known for his Dr. Morbius role in Forbidden Planet. Dark Command earned a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and is available to stream on Plex and Tubi.

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Dark Command was released on the heels of Stagecoach, which led Wayne to become an “A” picture star soon after. The film is directed by Raoul Walsh, who created dozens of classic movies such as White Heat and The Roaring Twenties. The combination of Wayne and Walsh is one of the main highlights of Dark Command, which is made even better by the inclusion of Rogers. Rogers played himself in dozens of Westerns, including The Roy Rogers Show, throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

John Wayne & Roy Rogers Were Very Different Kinds Of Western Movie Stars

Rogers is quite polished compared to the rugged masculinity of Wayne

Roy Rogers in Dark Command

What’s most interesting about Dark Command is the juxtaposition between Wayne and Rogers’ essentially opposite cowboy personas. Rogers was very much a singing cowboy, which Wayne was obviously not, carrying a dry and hardened demeanor throughout all of his films. Rogers is also quite polished compared to the rugged masculinity of Wayne’s protagonists. Still, as demonstrated in Dark Command, both Western legends are willing to get their hands dirty for the sake of making a convincing Western wartime picture and offering a glimpse into the tumultuous landscape during the start of the Civil War.

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Ashleigh Durden14 hours ago
3 minutes read
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