Buffalo,” is a tribute song, one which seeks to reinforce the myth-making of the film: “Have you
ever seen a soldier in the U.S. Cavalry/Who is built like Lookout Mountain, taller than a
redwood tree?” Those lines, along with others in the song, which compare “Captain Buffalo” to
the mythic John Henry, paint a picture of what John Ford is trying to do within both the film and
for the career of Woody Strode. As Kalinak states in her discussion of the song, “The song
expresses what the film cannot depict: a powerful black male" (193). For John Ford, Woody
Strode was an apt figure to characterize that “powerful black male.” Moreover, Strode was for
Ford the loyal black male figure, the actor to whom he turned over and again, to make
statements about racism, and to also help sustain the career of one of his closest and dearest
friends, theirs being a complex, cross-racial friendship. Big, black Woody Strode is the vehicle
that Ford uses to comment on racism and hegemony, as any close analysis of the characters
played by Woody Strode will yield a powerful critique of the master narrative of the American
West. Within these characters of Braxton Rutledge and Pompey, is to be found an abiding a
quiet dignity, integrity and loyalty, which serve to counter prevailing stereotypes regarding
black masculinity. Additionally, the black male characters in these two films counter the notion
that it was white males alone who “won" or tamed the Western frontier. Finally, it is clear that
the partnership of John Ford and Woody Strode is a filmic friendship which deserves more
critical attention, and appreciation, for the varied ways in which Ford utilized the talented black
actor to make timely statements about social injustice and to expose the inherent flaws in the
master narrative of the West.
Vanderbilt University
Frank E. Dobson
Works Cited
Baldwin, James. The Devil Finds Work: An Essay. New York: Dial, 1976. Rpt. New York:
Laurel, 1993.
Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks: An Interpretive History o f Blacks
in American Films. 4th Ed. New York: Continuum, 2004.
Coursen, David. “John Ford’s Wilderness: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” Parallax View:
Smart Words about Cinema. 21 May 2009 (09:55). Web. 1 November 2014.
Ebert, Roger. “Great Movie: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” www.rogerebert.com.
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