Weird: Woody Strode has a leading role, even a titel role, however he is billed #4 on the cast list. Miss Burke with a cameo in this Western is billed #3. Even on many (international) movieposters 'Woody Strode' is mensioned in small verbs and 'Billie Strode' in big verbs....
shareI am not surprised one bit...Remember this was filmed in 1959..and Director john Ford was a Hard-Ass Redneck. So know wonder Woody Strode didn't get Top billing on his biggest role to date. Poor Woody had to ride in the back of the bus in his best film ever.
To a New World of Gods and Monsters. - Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
Up to this point Woody Strode had mostly played small parts in very low budget B films, or uncredited roles in A pictures. This was really his first featured role in a big A studio film. Any actor in that position would have gotten 5th or 6th credit unless the studio was grooming them for starring roles. Strode was not under contract to Warners, so they weren't in a position to build him up.
His credit reflects his position as an actor in Hollywood at the time. A character actor, who after this film was a well respected character actor, but not a star. I'm not going to say that race didn't also play a part here, but after all just because an actor is playing the title character, doesn't mean he gets first billing. Look at The Wizard of Oz.
BTW Ford was no redneck, and for his day was VERY progressive when it came to racial issues.
Doug
Strode still came off better than Chief Thunder Cloud (Vic Daniels) did. Thunder Cloud played the title role in GERONIMO (1939) and in the version I used to see on TV, he wasn't even listed in the credits! I've been told that was remedied on home video, but I haven't seen it for myself.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
Ford claimed Woody was one of his favorite friends, and probably was. He visited Ford in the hospital more often then any of his other so called friends.
shareI wish Ford would've had the courage to put Strode at the #1 billing. Especially considering that Jeffrey Hunter and Billie Burke are both just awful in the movie. Only Constance Towers is able to hold a scene with Strode.
shareTitle role means nothing. There are films where the title character isn't main, such as Gunga Din, Johnny Belinda, even The Wizard of Oz.
Several are complaining that Strode should have had top billing, but really, the only problem is that Billie Burke was billed way too high. Remove Burke and you still get Hunter and Towers first and second (making complete sense because they are the romantic leads and Hunter is undeniably the main character). Then Strode gets 3rd, which would be correct. Notice how Rutledge isn't even in the first 5+ minutes and in the last 5+ minutes he's barely seen or heard from. The movie begins and ends with Hunter and Towers (aside from the brief Capt Buffalo intro/outro).
As it is, Skidmore gets 5th billing (and larger lettering) while the presiding officer of the court-martial gets 6th. If there was some big conspiracy, surely Skidmore would have been credited much lower than 5th.
I've never figured out why Ms. Burke was given such prominent billing. It's not like she was a Ford favorite, like Mildred Natwick or Anna Lee, and her days as a busy character actress were long past.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
[deleted]
> I've never figured out why Ms. Burke was given such prominent billing.
Just a guess, but I would imagine it was because of the popularity of Wizard of Oz. It not only showed up in the theaters again in the 1950's, but it was shown on television every year, for many years. Everybody admired Glinda!
Especially considering that Jeffrey Hunter and Billie Burke are both just awful in the movie.
The rules of credits were a lot looser in the past. They were probably driven in large measure by the popularity of the actors, the producer's desires and the negotiations with the actor (likely the case with Billie Burke). I don't think that the director (unless he was also the producer or had an on-screen role) would be involved in such decisions.
Nowadays anybody tangentially involved with a film is credited, e.g. Mortimer Snerd - 5th assistant to the assistant stand-by custodian for cigarette butts. The list is so long that for TV showings, the play is sped up to the extent that you can't read the names anyway.
I happen to like Jeffrey Hunter as well as Constance Ford but I would have to agree that this film is a Woody Strode film. A great actor and for shame he wasn't on the top, but alas, that was 1960. I love this film. I just now received my DVD from Warner Archive but I was slightly disappointed in that it wasn't fully restored, although it is entirely watchable
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