Two Rode Together (1961)

BACKGROUND​

 The original script for Two Rode Together was adapted from the 1959 novel Comanche Captives by Will Cook, without Ford’s participation. He took on the project as a favor to Columbia Studio head Harry Cohn who suffered a heart attack in 1957 and another in 1958 that killed him. Ford described Cohn as "a large, brilliant serpent” but did not like the project. Even after his trusted collaborator, Frank Nugent, re-drafted the script he considered it: “still crap.”

 

Nugent must have practically started from scratch because he is the only screenwriter listed in the credits but the schedule and budget constraints kept from getting the script where they wanted it in time. Ford’s frustration also stemmed from the difficulty he was having getting his own projects financed and resenting the fact that he needed the money badly enough to take on projects that he was not enthusiastic about. 

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PLOT SUMMARY

A corrupt Marshall and an undercover Cavalry Lieutenant enter a native camp in search of captured whites who they hope to return to their families. 

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