The Undefeated (1969)

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers:

James Lee Barrett (screenplay)
Stanley Hough (story)
(more)

Release Date:

27 November 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are...

Plot Keywords:

American Civil War | Bandit | Horse | Mexican Revolution | Mexico

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 8	3:15 PM	AMC
Sat. July 12	9:30 AM	AMC

Cast

John Wayne	...	Col. John Henry Thomas
Rock Hudson	...	Col. James Langdon
Antonio Aguilar	...	Juarista Gen. Rojas (as Tony Aguilar)
Roman Gabriel	...	Blue Boy (John Henry's Cherokee Indian adopted son)
Marian McCargo	...	Ann Langdon
Lee Meriwether	...	Margaret Langdon
Merlin Olsen	...	Cpl. Little George, CSA
Melissa Newman	...	Charlotte Langdon
Bruce Cabot	...	Sgt. Jeff Newby CSA
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Lt. Bubba Wilkes CSA (as Michael Vincent)
Ben Johnson	...	Short Grub
Edward Faulkner	...	Capt. Anderson, CSA (Col. Langdon's aide)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Soloman Webster (Thomas rider)
Paul Fix	...	Gen. Joe Masters
Royal Dano	...	Maj. Sanders, CSA (one-armed major)
Richard Mulligan	...	Dan Morse
Carlos Rivas	...	Diaz
John Agar	...	Christian
Guy Raymond	...	D.J. Giles (government purchasing agent)
Don Collier	...	Goodyear (Thomas rider)
Big John Hamilton	...	July Mudlow (cowardly Langdon party member)
Dub Taylor	...	McCartney (Thomas outfit cook)
Henry Beckman	...	Thad Benedict (carpetbagger who tries to buy Langdon plantation)
Víctor Junco	...	Maj. Tapia
Robert Donner	...	Judd Mailer
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Escalante (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
James Dobson	...	Cpl. Jamison, CSA
Rudy Diaz	...	Sanchez
Richard Angarola	...	Mr. Petain (Maximilian's representative)
James McEachin	...	Jimmy Collins (black carpetbagger with Benedict)
Gregg Palmer	...	Ezra Parker (government purchasing agent)
Juan García	...	Col. Gomez
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Gravage	...	Bobby Jo Hicks (Thomas rider) (uncredited)
Kiel Martin	...	Union corporal who brings message that the war is over (uncredited)
Hal Needham	...	Yankee corporal at river crossing (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	...	Yankee sergeant at river (uncredited)

Directed by
Andrew V. McLaglen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James Lee Barrett		screenplay
Stanley Hough		story (as Stanley L. Hough)
Lewis B. Patten		novel (uncredited)

Produced by
Robert L. Jacks	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Montenegro

Cinematography by
William H. Clothier		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert L. Simpson		(as Robert Simpson)

Art Direction by
Carl Anderson

Set Decoration by
Chester L. Bayhi
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Bill Thomas

Makeup Department
Edith Lindon	....	hair stylist
Leo Lotito Jr.	....	makeup artist (as Leo Lotito)
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup supervisor (as Dan Striepeke)
Dave Grayson	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Clarence Eurist	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Cunningham	....	assistant director

Sound Department
David Dockendorf	....	sound
Richard Overton	....	sound

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Art Cruickshank	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Hal Needham	....	stunt coordinator
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stan Barrett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Bullock	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
William H. Burton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roydon Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Couch	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Couch	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kent Hays	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Hudkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Clyde Hudkins Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary McLarty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Nuckles	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Orrison	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
J.N. Roberts	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Robotham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wally Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)
Danny Sands	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred M. Waugh	....	stunts (uncredited)
Walter Wyatt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Ziker	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Hugo Montenegro	....	conductor
Herbert W. Spencer	....	orchestrator (as Herbert Spencer)
Kenneth Hall	....	music editor (uncredited)

Other crew
'Chema' Hernandez	....	livestock coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1969) (France) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Fox Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Magnetic Video (video)

Also Known As:

Unbesiegten, Die (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Aittitoi, Oi (Greece) [el]
Batinin devleri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Dúo invencible, El (Venezuela) [es]
Due invincibili, I (Italy) [it]
Géants de l'Ouest, Les (France) [fr]
Indestructibles, Los (Spain) [es]
Invencibles, Los (Mexico) [es]
Niezwyciezeni (Poland) [pl]
Nunca Foram Vencidos (Portugal) [pt]
Obesegrade, De (Sweden) [sv]
Ubesejrede, De (Denmark) [da]
Voittamattomat (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Australia:PG (TV rating) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rated) | New Zealand:PG | Finland:K-12 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

According to director Andrew V. McLaglen, his first choice for the role of Colonel James Langdon was James Arness, who was willing to do it but backed out just before shooting began. Rock Hudson was brought in as his replacement.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Looking closely, you can see the rifle of the tenth member of the firing squad. Also you can plainly see his shadow on the ground at a 10 o' clock position. There are several other shots that confirm the number.

Quotes:

Col. John Henry Thomas: Americans in Mexico are delivering horses to a very unpopular government... Why should we expect trouble?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

Diverting, though not compelling

The Undefeated is fun to watch, but most of the cast--especially John Wayne--could have phoned in their performances. If you've watched westerns, you've seen most of this before, aside from a somewhat ambiguous ending that suggests a definition for heroism at odds with more typical John Wayne fare. But everyone on screen seems to be having fun, approaching the movie more as a lark than a challenge, which rubs off on the audience. Don't hold your expectations too high, and you'll pass a pleasant hour or two.