West Point Feature Films: Feature Films

A silent movie about a wealthy cadet named Brice Wayne (William Haines), who is a stellar football player, but angers his fellow cadets with his arrogance. As he is being disciplined by a coach, he even yells, “To hell with the Corps” before stomping off the field. His hero-worshipping roommate, “Tex,” saves him from further discipline, but Wayne resigns from West Point anyway. Of course, this being Hollywood, a happy ending is in store when he is reinstated just before the big game and leads West Point to victory, and finds love with Betty Channing (Joan Crawford), the local hotel owner’s daughter. This is a very early film for Crawford, destined to become a Hollywood super star. Haines gives a good performance, very effective for a silent film, never “over the top.” The film features excellent camera work as well.

William Boyd, who would later find lasting fame on the small screen as the cowboy hero, Hopalong Cassidy, plays Vic Donovan, a small town amateur boxing champion. When he stops at West Point to watch a dress parade, he falls for the commandant's daughter, Janet Cleghorne, played by Bessie Love. Pursuing a romance with Janet, Donovan wins an appointment to the Academy and begins a rivalry with her current cadet boyfriend, an upperclassman. The two young men quickly run afoul of each other, and Donovan’s arrogance and unsportsmanlike behavior land him in big trouble with the commandant, who seriously questions whether the new plebe has what it takes to be a cadet. Yet, when a live fire training maneuver puts both cadets in mortal danger, Donovan has a chance to redeem himself. Overall, the acting in this silent film is excellent, and since the movie was filmed at West Point, we get a fascinating look at the Academy circa 1927, when returning cadets and new plebes arrived by train at the South Dock railroad station. The director, Donald Crisp, was both a film star and director, and in the latter role directed some 70 films before turning full time to acting. In fact, Crisp returned to West Point in the 1950s to portray Marty Maher’s father-in-law in John Ford’s iconic film, The Long Gray Line.

Dick Powell plays Dick Dorsey, an Army private stationed in Hawaii who meets Kit Fitts (Ruby Keeler), a general’s daughter, before she sets sail for Manila with her father. She falls madly in love with Private Dorsey when he croons “Aloha Oe” after they crash a beach luau. Since she is already engaged to somebody else, they break up, to avoid scandal. Later Dorsey is top cadet at West Point, producing the annual “100th Night” musical and now Kit’s father is Superintendent. Dorsey and Kit reunite, so it’s one of those, “boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl again” stories, and, guess what? There is a happy ending, amid much spirited singing and dancing. This is the first time “100th Night” is featured as a plot element in a West Point film, but it won’t be the last.

Another song and dance film about West Point, this one features Nelson Eddy as Cadet Dick Thorpe who falls in love with a beauty played by Eleanor Powell, who is really a princess from a tiny European kingdom travelling incognito. The New York Times badly panned this film in their 1937 review, considering it overblown and pretentious fluff. One modern reviewer basically agreed, though he stated the great Cole Porter score saves it, along with Eddy’s singing, Powell’s terrific dancing in black silk stockings at Trophy Point, and the spirited humor provided by character actors Frank Morgan and Ray Bolger, who would go on to play the Wizard and Scarecrow respectively from The Wizard of Oz. Unfortunately, there is no chemistry between the two stars, so both the romance and the plot, wherein he follows her home to her kingdom, come across as totally artificial. Yet, no expense was spared on the lavish production, which included spectacularly mounted musical numbers. When released, Rosalie was one of the most costly movies ever made, yet it all paid off as the film was a huge hit with the public.

The “Duke” in question is actually an American brought up in England, educated at Cambridge, the son of a diplomat. He’s also a “natural” at any athletic endeavor he chooses, and woos the only girl within miles of West Point. Naturally, he comes off to the other cadets as an insufferable snob, except for his loyal everyman American roommates, to whom the Duke is passionately loyal, even at risk of potential disgrace to himself. Therefore, the audience sees his “heart of gold” through the eyes of his devoted roommates, even as he gets his comeuppance at the hands of the remaining Corps of Cadets. The film had West Point script approval, and includes many skillfully filmed sports sequences. Reviews at the time of release were mixed. A modern reviewer sees the film as part of the Hollywood trend to portray rich scalawags with hearts of gold, since the public (experiencing the brunt of the Great Depression) loved to see depictions of wealthy and glamorous people being “just like us.”

Cadet Tex Mallory (George Montgomery) falls in love with Gene Baxter (Carole Landis), who sings with his brother’s swing band in New York City. Both brothers were to attend West Point; however, a slight eye defect kept brother Bob from attending. When Tex becomes a guest singer with Bob’s band, they have a falling out over Gene, who follows Tex over to his own newly formed band. When the two lovebirds become engaged, Tex prepares to leave West Point. However, when Bob writes a patriotic ballad, Tex is reminded that his first duty is to his country. Given that Cadet Girl came out the year the U.S. entered World War II, the patriotic theme naturally carries the day. Carole Landis, fresh from her sensational role in One Million B.C. earlier that year, brought in the crowds. Never released on video.

Carolyn Bainbridge (Maureen O’Hara) is a young Washington socialite in the early nineteenth century, who joins with others, fighting for Congress to reinstate West Point after it was shut down. Congress agrees to reopen the Academy on a trial basis for one year, appointing Major Sam Carter, a martinet and harsh disciplinarian as Commandant. Believing that a college cannot produce real fighting men, he plans to either make or break the cadets under his charge. Cadet Joe Dawson is one of only ten cadets, along with his rival, Cadet John Sutton, a rough-hewn frontiersman, who can tough out Carter’s extremely difficult training regimen, after the rest of the Corps resigns. The rivalry between the two cadets worsens when Dawson falls for Bainbridge, who has been seeing Sutton. With only ten cadets left in the Corps, Carter gets word that the Indian chief Tecumseh is on the war path. Heroics follow when Carter is captured by the Indians, and Dawson and Sutton leave their posts against orders to save him. Helmed by the famous director, Henry Hathaway, best known for his Westerns, The Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit, the movie’s exciting battle scenes are skillfully staged. Maureen O’Hara makes her first appearance in a West Point film as Carolyn Bainbridge (stay tuned for her second in West Point on Film, Part II), and George Montgomery plays his second cadet role as Joe Dawson. The previously released DVD is currently unavailable.

Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, two All-Americans who played under legendary football coach, Earl Henry “Red” Blaik in the 1940s, portray themselves in this film featuring their gridiron heroics. With oodles of newsreel coverage of their actual playing highlights, this would be a must-see for any Black Knights fan, as the team became known during Blaik’s tenure. For movie fans maybe not so much. One modern reviewer considers this the “Plan Nine of sports movies,” referring, of course, to the infamous Ed Wood sci-fi travesty, Plan Nine from Outer Space. Seems the two leads were out of their league portraying themselves on film, and by no means in danger of losing their “amateur” status for acting. At one point, Blaik checks his watch and tells the team there's “two minutes to go.” This scene apparently got big laughs among moviegoers down in football-savvy Texas; perhaps after watching the movie for 70 minutes they were just relieved that the film’s end was now in sight.

Thinking he may have caused the death of his commanding officer Captain Daniels in Tunisia, Lieutenant Rockwell "Rocky" Gilman visits Daniels' widow. She falls for him, he falls for her, and she encourages him to go to West Point. While there he faces serious disciplinary review for having forced a plebe into resigning by bullying him. He may even be court-martialed. Unknown to Rocky, who's living under a cloud assuming his cowardice caused his commanding officer's death, he had actually been briefly knocked out by an explosive concussion from a German tank shell at the time of Daniels' death. After a comrade in arms present that day informs Rocky what really happened and the cadet accusing him of bullying admits he was lying, all ends happily. While the acting by both the male and female lead, Alan Ladd and Donna Reed, is decent enough (although a contemporary review describes Ladd's performance, while polished, as unrelievedly granite-jawed) the plot is contrived to the point that it detracts from the storyline. Also, given the fact that the black and white film looks grainy and dark, it comes across as very dated. If for no other reason though, it's worth watching to see West Point as it was in 1948, and for the archival footage of GEN Dwight Eisenhower addressing the cadets at the film's end.

Funny, insightful, and brutally honest, Company of Heroes is a rip-roaring good read that presents the remarkable life story of Harry Carey, Jr., and his many fine motion picture performances as a member of John Ford's stock company. His chapter on The Long Gray Line provides considerable detail about filming the classic on location at West Point.

Anyone who saw James Cagney’s spirited performance as showman George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy knows that the Warner Brothers’ tough guy was also the quintessential song and dance man. In fact, he was frustrated that he didn’t get more chances to strut his stuff due to his often being typecast as a mobster. Luckily, in this film he gets to put on his dancing shoes to electrifying effect. Once again the “100th Night” production is featured in the plot, as a down-on-his-luck Broadway director, Elwin “Bix” Bixby, reluctantly comes to West Point with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Eve, his level-headed personal assistant. Under pressure from a Broadway producer, Bix is sent up the Hudson River to stage the cadets’ annual musical. His real assignment is to lure the male lead to Broadway, and Bix uses his beautiful movie star friend, Jan, as bait to try to get him to resign from the Army. A decorated Army veteran, Bix is still a wise-cracking rebel disdainful of what he regards as military officiousness. After he blows up at a cadet late to a rehearsal due to more pressing duties, Bix is forced to live as a plebe, creating some humorous scenes. Talented musical actors including Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Virginia Mayo and newcomer Doris Day give spirited performances, overcoming a sometimes corny script. One musical number makes outstanding use of Flirtation Walk, and the many views of West Point as it was at mid-century make this extra fun to watch. Look for Alan Hale Jr., later the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island, in an amusing role as an overweight cadet cast in the all-male show as a princess.

This is the third film in the Francis the Talking Mule series, in which an Army mule lends crusty but capable assistance to his naïve soldier companion, Peter Stirling, played by Donald O’Connor. Good-natured Stirling is incapable of telling anyone anything but the truth, openly crediting Francis with stopping a saboteur, for example, thus causing everyone to regard the soldier as a lunatic. In this film Francis coaches Stirling through cadet basic training at West Point, where the chronic bumbler faces intimidating drills, fearsome hazing and a forbidden romance to boot. Francis manages to bail out both Stirling and the Army football team when the chips are down. O’Connor was known for his singing and dancing in addition to his comedic talents, although he doesn’t perform any musical numbers here. Considered by some to be a weaker entry in the series, marketed squarely as wholesome family entertainment, much of the footage was shot at West Point. Francis is voiced by Chill Wills, best remembered for his wizened Western roles. And watch for a small uncredited speaking role by Leonard Nimoy as a football player.

This is the West Point movie to take to a desert island with you. Legendary director John Ford, who coached John Wayne to cinematic greatness from his “B” Western beginnings, sets the personal story of legendary Irish athletic instructor, Marty Maher, “in the big, warm frame of a West Point that looks beautiful in CinemaScope and color and has the excitement of parading cadets and thumping bands,” to quote noted New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther. Tyrone Power stars as the scrappy Irish immigrant whose fifty-year career took him from dishwasher to NCO and athletic instructor as well as mentor to the likes of Cadets Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, and Omar Bradley, among many others in the Long Gray Line over his remarkable career. Maureen O’Hara, one of Ford’s favorite leading ladies, skillfully inhabits the role of fellow Irish immigrant, serving girl Mary O’Donnell, who becomes Maher’s betrothed. All the professionalism and skill of Ford and his stock company come out in the top-notch production, filmed at West Point. Famed character actors Donald Crisp and Ward Bond bring to life Marty’s father, Old Martin, and Master of the Sword, Capt. Herman J. Koehler, respectively, and Harry Carey, Jr. portrays Dwight Eisenhower as a cadet. As a testimony to the fully successful collaboration between the filmmakers, the Army and West Point, the entire Corps of Cadets – all 1,900 of them – were bused down to Manhattan in 56 buses provided by Columbia Pictures. They marched from Central Park West to the Capital Theater on Broadway, where Marty Maher stood, as they passed in review to honor him. Don’t miss this one!

West Point likely had a higher profile in American popular culture during the 1950s than in any other decade before or since. The whole nation seemingly was in patriotic lockstep in those early Cold War years when America’s president, Dwight Eisenhower, after all, was a West Point graduate himself. Ziv Productions, which was noted for several well-produced anthology series, spared no effort in presenting West Point and its cadets with almost complete veracity. From the get-go the series was a total collaborative effort with the Department of Defense and the U.S. Military Academy. Before production started, TV editors in 15 cities around the nation interviewed cadets by telephone, and multiple liaisons were assigned by Ziv and West Point to work together to create realistic scripts based on actual events that transpired at the Academy. All the effort paid off, because except for some very minor details, the half-hour shows provided the public a realistic portal into the lives of West Point cadets. The first nine shows were scripted by the greatly talented Gene Roddenberry, later the creator of the original Star Trek series. Among the young actors who lent their talents to the series, and who would later become famous movie or television stars were Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Barbara Eden, Chuck Connors, Richard Jaeckel, Larry Hagman (uncredited), Martin Milner, Leonard Nimoy, and Robert Vaughn. The series has been consistently praised for its writing, acting, lighting, camera work, and exciting episodes featuring great location shots of West Point. The Corps of Cadets, the Army Band, and other post agencies lent manpower to act in, provide effects for, and control traffic during the filming on post. Actors in costume were sometimes mistaken for real cadets, and upbraided for any infractions of rules. The first season aired during 1956-1957 on CBS, presented by General Foods, and the second season aired during 1957-1958 on ABC, whose sponsors were Van Heusen Shirts and Carters Products. Some of the biggest fans were West Point alumni, and President Eisenhower was reportedly “miffed” when the show was eventually cancelled. During the broadcast of West Point there were four other military dramas being aired, including Harbor Command, Navy Log, The Silent Service, and Men of Annapolis. The series was under wraps for years due to copyright issues, only available on home-recorded VHS tapes. Now, thanks to Timeless Media, all 40 episodes are now available in a four-disc DVD box set released early in 2013.

No expense was spared in filming this musical extravaganza, and much of it was shot around the Hudson Valley, including scenes in Garrison (substituting for Yonkers at the turn of the 20th century), the Poughkeepsie train station (New York City back in the day) and West Point. The wedding scene was shot at Trophy Point, where a chapel façade was constructed and taken down after the filming. Two librarians presently on staff at Jefferson Hall recall meeting cast members when they were filming on post and across the river in Garrison.

This made-for-TV movie features Richard Thomas, best remembered as John-Boy Walton on the 1970s TV series, The Waltons, in this dramatization of an actual event in which a cadet is charged with cheating on an exam. The cadet, James Pelosi, is then subjected to “The Silence,” a policy in which fellow cadets refuse to talk to him or acknowledge his existence, based on the Honor instruction of the time. He’s not allowed to have a roommate, he is forced to eat at a separate table in the mess hall, and only addressed officially when necessary, and then as “Mister.” The movie doesn’t try to judge Cadet Pelosi’s guilt or innocence, but focuses instead on how he stood up to the psychological torment of his situation, based on his version of events, after he refused to resign from the academy. Pelosi stuck it out for 19 months and graduated. The scriptwriter, Stanley R. Greenberg, based the story on interviews he conducted with Pelosi, who happens to be the brother-in-law of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California. "The silence" was abolished by the Corps of Cadets in 1973; many attribute that decision to Pelosi's experience. The movie first aired on NBC in 1975, but has unfortunately never been released on video.

Johnson Whittaker was an early African-American cadet who in 1880 was left brutally beaten and tied to his bed with burnt pages from his bible strewn around his room, where he was found unconscious and bleeding from razor slashes to his face and hands. Although he claimed that he was assaulted by three racist white cadets, the Academy moved to expel him, convinced that his injuries were self-inflicted. The authorities charged that the defendant’s motive was to get out of taking a philosophy exam which he was afraid of failing. This shameful incident is the basis for the 1994 Showtime made-for-TV movie, which at its heart is a courtroom drama. When the high profile case is brought to trial, tension builds between the two defense attorneys, one a Harvard-educated African-American, Richard Greener (Samuel L. Jackson), and the other an ex-abolitionist, Daniel Chamberlain (Sam Waterston) who believes in emancipation but not equality between the races. The prosecution is led by the openly racist Major Asa Bird Gardiner (John Glover), who fails to faze the defendant with his aggressive, intimidating tactics. Nevertheless, when the more sympathetic judge is a no-show on the day of the verdict, the other two judges declare the defendant guilty as charged. The story ends with old Johnson Whittaker being interviewed by a reporter. He tells him that his expulsion was overturned by President Chester Arthur, yet the Academy refused to reinstate him on the grounds that he had failed his exam. He rebounded to have a rewarding career as a school principal. Johnson also sums up how he regarded his two defense attorneys; he’s respectful of Greener and dismissive of Chamberlain, who Whittaker said was more interested in promoting himself than delivering justice for his client. This movie spurred renewed interest in Whittaker’s case, leading to his full exoneration by President Bill Clinton the following year. With no coordination with the Army or West Point, the production was filmed in Virginia where the Academy of 1880 was recreated using movie sets. The high-powered actors give it their best, although some viewers have been put off by their formal and somewhat stilted diction, which was purposely written and executed that way to mimic public discourse in the post-Civil War era.