They Came to Cordura (1959) on Netflix
Major Thomas Thorn, a battlefield observer in 1916, is ordered to choose which soldiers deserve the Medal of Honor. He escorts Adelaide Geary, accused of aiding the enemy, to Cordura.
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Trailer
Plot summary
In 1916, as American troops pursue Pancho Villa, Major Thomas Thorn is posted as a battlefield observer whose duty is to reward heroism. Colonel Rogers, impatient for a general's stars before retirement, leads a charge on Ojos Azules, the villa of Adelaide Geary, where Villa's men have withdrawn. Thorn watches the charge through binoculars and notes the bravery of Lieutenant Fowler, Sergeant Chawk, Corporal Trubee and Private Renziehausen. Rogers, proud of leading the charge, expects a citation for himself; Thorn holds that leading a regiment is duty, not heroism beyond it, and refuses. Rogers reminds him that he once shielded him from a cowardice investigation. Thorn sets out for the Texas town of Cordura with Mrs. Geary, charged with aiding the enemy, and Private Andrew Hetherington.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about They Came to Cordura (1959)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Dick York suffered a severe back injury during filming that caused him great pain in his later years and forced him to resign from his long-running role as Darrin Stephens on the 1960s sitcom Bewitched.
- Glendon Swarthout got the idea for the novel behind the film while gathering eyewitness accounts for Medal of Honor citations as a soldier with the 3rd Infantry Division in Southern France during World War II.
