The Horse Soldiers (Blu-ray)

Screen legends John Wayne (Rio Bravo) and William Holden (The Wild Bunch) team up with eminent western director John Ford (The Searchers) for this Civil War adventure packed with laughter, romance and thrills. A faithful representation of one of the most daring cavalry exploits in history, The Horse Soldiers tells the rousing tale of a troop of Union soldiers who force their way deep into Southern territory to destroy a rebel stronghold at Newton Station. In command is hardbitten Colonel Marlowe (Wayne), a man who is strikingly contrasted by the company’s gentle surgeon (Holden) and the beautiful but crafty Southern belle (Constance Towers, The Naked Kiss) who’s forced to accompany the Union raiders on perhaps the most harrowing mission in the war. The stellar supporting cast includes sports pioneer Althea Gibson and many frontier favorites like Judson Pratt, Ken Curtis, Willis Bouchey, Bing Russell, O.Z. Whitehead, Hank Worden, Denver Pyle, Strother Martin and Hoot Gibson.