Drango

The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American history, but the Confederate surrender at Appomattox was far from the end of the war for much of the country. Not even accounting for the loss of life, huge portions of the South had been literally destroyed by the war. Business and industry literally had to be built from the ground up.  The Reconstruction Era followed the Civil War and lasted all the way into the late 1870s as America healed from the wounds of the war.

As few Civil War movies as there are (good ones at least), I can think of very few movies dealing with the Reconstruction, and that's part of what drew me to 1957's Drango. I will admit that at first I thought I had stumbled onto some weird American hybrid and a predecessor to the 1966 spaghetti western Django, but I was sorely mistaken.  During the war, North fought South in an attempt to regain control in the country, the North trying to free the slaves and the South fighting for states' rights (in a very simplified explanation of the war). But once the North had won, it was up to the U.S. government to rebuild because if the country hoped to move on, something had to be done to help the war-torn southern states.

Just months removed from the Confederate surrender and the end of the Civil War, two Union officers, Major Clint Drango (Jeff Chandler) and Capt. Marc Banning (John Lupton), ride into the town of Kennessaw Pass in Georgia. Drango has been tasked with starting the rebuilding process but immediately sees that the townspeople want nothing to do with him or his efforts, holding a deep hatred and resentment for what Union forces did just a year before in General Sherman's infamous march to the sea. Dealing with some inner demons, Drango goes to work, trying to go about the rebuilding the right way, by winning over the people instead of forcing them to do something.  His plan takes time, but it starts to show signs of working, only to see the groundwork torn apart by a Confederate officer, Clay Allen (Ronald Howard), who hopes to start the war all over again, resorting to terror tactics.

While few parts of the country went untouched during the war years between 1861 and 1865, few regions were as heavily impacted as the state of Georgia.  Trying to destroy Confederate infrastructure, General William Tecumseh Sherman basically unleashed his army through Georgia, burning, looting and destroying an entire state.  His March to the Sea is infamous in its brutal effectiveness and efficiency. In a historical context, it was necessary if brutal. Seeing the aftermath though, even in a movie made almost 100 years later, is startling, and we're just seeing one small Georgia town.  Crops burned, stores stolen, houses, churches and businesses burned to the ground.  It's easily understandable to see why these Southerners hold such a bubbling resentment of any help from Union officers.  Any complaints about the movie aside, that's Drango at its best.

Dying at the young age of 42 from blood poisoning following a back surgery, Jeff Chandler never became the star he could have.  In a 15-year span though, he was able to make over 40 movies, most of them B-movies and not major studio productions. But as was the case here with Drango, he delivers a moving performance that shows he was capable of the bigger, flashier roles.  His Clint Drango was part of Sherman's army, destroying as much of Georgia as possible, so he wants to right at least one wrong. He bonds with Joanne Dru's Kate, the daughter of a Union sympathizer who also deals with the glares, looks and judgments of the townspeople. He knows the job laid out for him is extremely difficult, but he intends to follow through, no matter how long it takes.

Portraying a post Civil War very bitter south is a trick subject here, especially with a movie that's only 92-minutes long.  For my liking, the townspeople's sentiment bounces around too much.  They're incredibly fickle, swaying and changing with every fresh wind coming down the road.  First, they hate Drango, then love him when they see his intentions are true, and then hate him again.  Maybe a longer, more developed movie could have covered these changes more effectively, but we're left with this shorter version.  It is frustrating also to see a people so full of hate they won't accept the helping hand being offered them.  Instead of moving on and putting their hate behind them, they're basically willing to wither away and die before admitting they need help. True to history? Maybe, but frustrating still.

In the opening credits, I was briefly under the impression that I was about to watch a 9-hour movie judging by the cast listing which was spread out over four or five pages of very small print.  After Chandler and Dru, the acting ranges from hammy and bad to moving and emotional.  Howard is a superb villain, charming and conniving all rolled up into one.  Donald Crisp is Judge Allen, the town patriarch blinded by his feelings who starts to see the error of his ways. The beautiful Julie London plays Shelby Ransom, Clay's girlfriend who questions what he's up to. Lupton isn't around enough to make much of an impression as Banning, but that's not his fault. Some of the townspeople include Parley Baer, Walter Sande, and Barney Phillips.

An interesting little picture covering a time in American history that is often overshadowed by the events that preceded it, and the events that would follow.  If you can find a copy, definitely a movie worth watching.

Drango (1957): ***/****