“In Pursuit of Honor” is a properly-intentioned HBO movie about the U.S. Army’s horse cavalry inside the bleak days of the Depression. It purports to inform the tale of rescuing a herd of cavalry horses scheduled to be exterminated because the Army transitions to mechanized gadgets. The movie claims to be “primarily based on a real tale” and seems fairly believable upon viewing. It changed into being filmed in Australia, and no horses were harmed in the manufacturing – similar.
The movie opens with the Bonus March in Washington, D.C. In 1932. Hundreds of veterans have been within the capital, hoping to get their WWI bonuses early because of the Depression. The doughboys had set up a shantytown, and whilst Congress grew to become them down, the Army turned ordered to clear them out. A unit of cavalry turned into lined up to perform Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s strong-arm methods. Sgt. Libbey (Don Johnson) and three of his comrades (all named after characters in John Ford’s “Fort Apache”) refuse to take part, and they are relieved via Maj. Hardesty (Bob Gunton). Flash forward to a dingy Western put-up in which Libbey and his pals are in limbo. A new arrival is Lt. Buxton (Craig Sheffer), who is there for assaulting an officer. The officer deserved it of direction. It isn’t Hell till the Devil arrives in the shape of Lt. Col. Hardesty. Hardesty brings with his brand new cavalry in the form of some tanks. The handwriting is on the stable wall. The men are informed to show in their sabres and take away their extra horses, which means that all the horses are. Libbey: “There’s nothing left. No horses. No cavalry. No honour”.
Hardesty twirls his moustache as he orders the horses herded to Mexico to be system gunned in a pit. You realize those Mexicans and their love of horse carcasses. After a horrific scene depicting the system gunning of the primary hundred horses, Buxton convinces Libbey and his pals to abscond with the rest of the herd. For a few motives, they decide to run for Canada rather than go deeper into Mexico. Huh? The villainous Hardesty is in lukewarm pursuit and manages to seize up with them right at the border.
At first notion, the film appears to be a nice little trinket about a forgotten episode in American History. The performance is ideal, with Johnson dominating and Rod Steiger harrumphing in a slumming position. The relaxation of the solid is B-movieish but adequate. Gunton is nicely cast as the cartoonish Hardesty. Most nudge-worth is an early professional turn by Gabrielle Anwar of “Burn Notice” fame. Her man or woman has a lame romance with Buxton. Someone has to love human beings. The movie has inspirational music to fit the topic. The scenery is not as first-rate as one could assume, and there isn’t a lot of movement to make amends for it. It’s just a nice little film that is marred by the truth that it has no records.
It will come as no marvel to records buffs that Hollywood now and then stretches the fact with its “based totally on a true story” claim. In this case, I could cry “shenanigans” on that claim for this film. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised to discover that seemingly improbable stories have a few foundations. This film is the uncommon contrary. It seems absolutely nothing that occurs inside the movie is real. The Army transitioned to tanks, but no longer as suddenly and not that early. There is not any proof to help the events within the film. No horses were killed to reduce the force. That might have made no one feel economically or humanely. Also, making no experience turned into taking the horses to Mexico to kill them and then to Canada to shop for them. If you get your script ideas from a drunken retired cavalryman, you ought to be more circumspect. Worse, the movie defames MacArthur. Now I am no longer a huge MacArthur fan. However, I draw the line at accusing him of being a mass assassin of horses.
My studies sincerely coloured my opinion of the movie. It’s a C+ on first impression and a D upon addition evaluation. More importantly, I’ll never consider Hollywood again.