Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Wuchak "The Undefeated" (1969) teams up John Wayne and Rock Hudson as ex-Union and Confederate officers after the Civil War in Mexico. Langdon (Hudson) wants to relocate his family & friends whereas Thomas (Wayne) wants to make money selling horses to Emperor Maximilian. The problem is that Benito Juarez and his followers are at war with Maximilian and this causes unforeseen problems for the Americans, who have no choice but to team-up.The set-up of story is great and loosely based on Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby and his Missouri raiders and their families who really did seek to relocate to Maximilian's Mexico, but had to return after the victory of Juarez' forces. The movie starts with a Civil War battle and the announcement that Lee has surrendered and the war is over, which segues into Langdon and Thomas and their people going to Mexico for completely different reasons; and then they meet. This is great, but the filmmakers add some goofiness, like an over-the-top, fun-spirited brawl between the Confederates and Federals at a 4th of July party in the wilderness. These types of scenes were fairly common in Wayne Westerns at the time and I always thought they detracted from these movies. There's a way to mix realistic comedy into a movie and a way not to and this isn't the way. Besides, how can a serious brouhaha be fun? When you punch people in the face in real life they get bloody noses and missing teeth; here they just laugh it off.Another problem is NFL quarterback Roman Gabriel as a full-blooded Native American and adopted son of Thomas. No matter how you slice it, he looks like a white dude with a mop of black hair. To add insult to injury, Langdon's cute daughter (Melissa Newman) falls head-over-heals in love with him and the way it happens simply isn't realistic. Would a genuine Southern belle really swoon over a full-blooded Indian who visits their encampment? Would no one notice that the two have wandered off to make-out, in plain view of the others? Would Col. Langdon really not mind that his daughter is sucking face with a full-blooded Native? In our day and age it's no big deal and most people could care less, but it's still an issue in some circles; how much more so back then, particularly with a proud Southern Colonel and his people? If you can overlook these flaws, however, this is a very worthwhile Western with quality drama, action, characters and locations (shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Durango, Mexico). The cast is also notable. Besides the two stars, you also get Lee Meriwether, Marian McCargo, Jan-Michael Vincent (in a too-small role), Merlin Olsen, Ben Johnson and various Wayne Western staples.This is a likable Western because the people are so likable. For instance, the way one group is unselfishly willing to let go of something of great worth on behalf of another group blows the mind, but it reveals their nobility and the fact that they value human beings more than they do monetary gain, but only because they've found them worthy. It also reveals respect and the willingness to forgive & heal after the nation's most bloody war.The film runs 119 minutes.GRADE: B-

SanteeFats John Wayne plays a Union Colonel who takes his remaining troopers, after the war ends, on a search for wild horses to sell to the U.S. Army. The Army buyers are scum and the horses are then on their way to the French forces in Mexico fighting for Maximilian. On the way they run into a southern wagon train lead by Rock Hudson. Wayne's cowboys rescue the wagon train when it comes under attack by Mexican outlaws. The Rebel wagon train is finally in Mexico where they are suppose to join the French forces. It turns out they are captured by the Mexican rebels. The rebels threaten to kill the rebel's including women and children unless Wayne gives them the horses. Mexican ethics are still showing up today. Wayne leaves it up to his men about the horses and they decide to give the horses up. The only thing I did not like about this movie was the fact that the Mexicans get away with it. Most John Wayne movies end with the good guys at least coming out ahead.

rogerblake-281-718819 This is a typical late John Wayne western.Wayne is way past his prime,overweight and wearing an obvious toupee.Having said this he still looks like a tough old buzzard who could hold his own in a bar room brawl.Like all of his films the scenery is brilliantly photographed and the action scenes are first rate which cover up the holes in the plot.The musical score is an added bonus.The plot concerns Confederate Colonel James Langdon (Rock Hudson) who with his family and the surviving members of his regiment are heading for Mexico to start a new life offering their services to the Emperor Maximillion.Langdon has burnt his boats or at least his mansion to prevent the carpetbaggers from profiting by it.Meanwhile John Wayne's cavalry have just fought a vicious little skirmish when a rider appears and tells them of Lee's surrender(on a historical note Lee only surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia,a fact that seems to have escaped the Hollywood script writers)Under a flag of truce Wayne goes to inform his Confederate counterpart Major Saunders(Royal Dano)who tells him they already knew.An incredulous Wayne asks why they are still fighting to be told "This is our land Sir and you are on it"."But we are all Americans"replies Wayne."I know Sir"says the one armed Major"that has always been the pity of it".He holds out his one good hand and says "Thank you for your courtesy Sir".That one sequence elevates the whole film to a higher level.Royal Dano only has a brief cameo but is by far the best thing in the entire film.Wayne and his remaining troopers are demobbed,they head west rounding up wild horses with the intention of selling them to Maximillion.Of course the inevitable happens,they meet up with Langdon's ex-Confederates and at one point rescue them from Mexican bandits.Wayne takes a fancy to Colonel Langdon's widowed sister complaining to her that his ex wife is busy giving piano lessons in Boston and that she had been so busy being a lady that she forgot to be a woman.(if all he wanted was a bedroom eyed floozy perhaps he shouldn't have married her in the first place).Later with typical Southern hospitality Wayne and his men are invited to a fourth of July shindig.It all ends in a massive punch up,one of those wonderfully staged brawls that Hollywood seem to do so well.Afterwards,with nobody appearing too seriously hurt both sides agree that they have had a really good time and they all part the best of friends.The Colonel's sixteen year old daughter falls for Wayne's adopted Cherokee Indian son Blue Boy,I won't name the actor who played the part as the proverbial wooden Indian would have done just as well.A bit like this review the plot then meanders but the upshot is that Langdon's Confederates fall into the hands of Mexican revolutionaries who threaten to shoot them unless they persuade Wayne to hand over his herd of horses.Wayne agrees and united they all head back to the United States.Its all rather hard to swallow especially Langdon's acceptance of his daughter's choice of husband.Praise where praise is due,Rock Hudson plays the aristocratic Langdon to perfection with a gloriously over the top Southern accent.Its always good to see Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jun. and John Agar make blink and you will miss them cameos,I would like to have seen a bit more of them.John Wayne is of course John Wayne,what you see is what you get.All in all an exciting colorful western if all a bit unbelievable.On another historic note General Shelby and several hundred ex- Confederates did go South into Mexico offering their services to the highest bidder.They certainly were not using the 1880-90 weaponry on show in this film.

TheUnknown837-1 "The Undefeated" is a Western featuring one of the American cinema's strongest leading men, John Wayne, and directed by the usually dependable Andrew V. McLaglen, who also worked with Wayne on other, much better Westerns such as "Chisum" and "McLintock!". But this is one of the lesser entries in either of their filmographies. It's hardly a bad movie – but it's certainly shy of being a good picture and it has just about imagination put into it as does the name of the John Wayne character: John Henry Thomas (his friends call him John Henry).The movie is set right after the Civil War. Wayne is a former Union colonel now driving thousands of horses with his former command down to Mexico. At the same time, a group of surviving Confederates led by Rock Hudson pack up their families and belongings and head through the same area seeking new homes. And when the two groups cross paths, well, the rest is fairly predictable.The problem with "The Undefeated" is that it does not have much originality in its otherwise workable premise. It's the standard friend-enemy story with the Union and Confederate soldiers hating each other then growing on each other and later depending on each other. It's a very familiar story. And at the same time, the movie also fails (but not majorly) because it seems very watered down and that's a shame because of it boasts such a strong cast: John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Ben Johnson, Bruce Cabot, Harry Carey, Jr. and so on. The characters are also quite flat without one I particularly cared for. They are well portrayed, of course, with the exception of Ramon Gabriel who is supposed to be a Native American, but I'm afraid even with the makeup on is as poor an excuse for one as Chuck Connors was in "Geronimo." At the same time, there are a lot of subplots, such as a budding romantic interest between Wayne and one of the Confederate widows that never goes anyway and really does not serve a purpose other than to fill up time. And a scene that looks like it was modeled after a hilarious moment in "McLintock!" fails to stir up even so much as a generous chuckle."The Undefeated" is not one of the landmarks or milestones in John Wayne's legendary career. As a matter of fact, it's not even a good picture. It's passable, but nothing more than that. It just plods dully along to its anticlimax of an ending and leaves its audience feeling a little wish-washy.