Films about the old west and the Civil War were a staple in the movie making business. But as the sixties came around all of those staples began to see a change. With tons of westerns on TV they weren’t the box office draw they once were. It took a name star to pull ticket buyers into the theater. On top of that the stories were changing too, bringing in topics of the day and setting them in these genres. Such was the case with SHENANADOAH made in 1965.
SHENANDOAH tells the story of the Anderson family led by patriarch Charlie (James Stewart). Taking place during the Civil War, Anderson has kept out of the war and made sure his six sons have too. These include Jacob (Glenn Corbett), James (Patrick Wayne), Nathan (Charles Anderson), John (James McMullan), Henry (Tim McIntire) and Boy (Phillip Alford) as well as daughter Jennie (Rosemary Forsyth) and daughter in law Ann (Katherine Ross). But while Charlie might try to keep his family out of the war, the war will no doubt come knocking at his door.
The family has no slaves and Charlie considers them a God fearing family that regularly attends church. Jacob feels that they can’t just stand by but Charlie begs to differ. His holds firm that until the war concerns them they won’t be concerned with the war.
As the war booms on around them a young local man who is part of the Confederate Army, Sam (Doug McClure) has been courting Jennie. Before being shipped off he asks Charlie for her hand in marriage and Charlie grants it. A wedding is pulled together and the couple are united but the next day Sam is called to duty and regretfully leaves his new bride. About the same time Sam leaves, Ann gives birth to a baby girl that she and husband James name after Charlie’s late wife.
One day while out fishing Boy is captured by a group of Union soldiers. Wearing a rebel cap he found floating down the nearby creek, they assume he is a Confederate soldier and take him prisoner. Boy’s friend Gabriel, who is black, is told by the soldiers that he is now free. He runs straight to the Anderson farm and lets them know what has happened. The war now concerns Charlie Anderson.
The film proceeds to give us the search for Boy by the entire Anderson family with the exception of James, Ann and their newborn baby who remain behind to watch over the farm. Everything from Union camps to prison and trains transporting prisoners of war is searched to find Boy and bring him home. Along the way the devastation of what has taken place during this Civil War is on view and tragedy will hit the Anderson family hard before the film ends.
Well made by director Andrew V. McLaglen, son of actor Victor McLaglen, who would go on to direct numerous great westerns including THE RARE BREED, THE WAY WEST, BANDOLERO and CHISUM. His knack for drawing out the human side of the genre made him one of the best when it came to stories like this. Stewart was nowhere near slowing down when it came to making movies at this time. He might be playing older characters but his ability to make them believable and characters we cared about continued as is shown here.
The film was known not only for the thorough story it was telling but for its metaphorical use of a war story from the past to view the current war at the time, the Vietnam War. By 1965 the tide was turning on the views of that war with many wondering why we were there. Charlie Anderson’s viewpoint of not becoming involved until you had no choice and being drawn in only when his child was dragged into it was the sentiment of many parents who were seeing their child forced to go to war in Vietnam.
The best part is that while these perhaps not quite so subtle implications are there they don’t stand in the way of good storytelling. That is what draws a viewer in, that is what makes us become involved with the drama unfolding, that is what keeps us entertained first while considering the concepts being discussed at the same time. SHENANDOAH is one of those movies that you can sit and watch repeatedly and still enjoy. It’s one that I know I’ll pull out from time to time.
Kino Lorber has released this on blu-ray and done a great job offering the cleanest version of the movie you are likely to find. Included on their extras are an audio commentary track featuring film historians C. Courtney Joyner, Michael F. Blake and Constantine Nasr, THE DEFIANT VIRGINIAN a short super 8mm film and a collection of trailers.
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