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Shenandoah

[1965, Movie]

Shenandoah: Review

An offbeat performance from James Stewart as Virginia farmer Charlie Anderson makes SHENANDOAH an involving and entertaining look at one family's attempt to deal with the Civil War. A prosperous farmer with six sons and one daughter, Charlie is a widower whose wife died during the birth of Boy (Phillip Alford). Charlie, who is opposed to slavery, tries to maintain a neutral stance in the conflict between North and South. However, a number of events threaten to change his pacifist leanings: 16-year-old Boy is captured by Union soldiers; Confederate son-in-law Sam (Doug McClure) is called to duty; son James (Patrick Wayne) and his wife, Ann (Katharine Ross), are murdered by Confederate looters; and another son, Jacob (Glenn Corbett), is killed by a Confederate guardsman. Andrew V. McLaglen's excellent direction and carefully crafted battle scenes successfully combine with one of the best supporting casts you're likely to find outside of a John Ford film, including Harry Carey, Jr., Warren Oates, Strother Martin, Denver Pyle, George Kennedy, Paul Fix, and Bob Steele.