On most days, the most taxing thing that Guthrie McCabe (James Stewart) has to do in his job as Marshall of Tascosa is leaning a foot to the left so a waiter can light his cigar. From a chair on the porch of the saloon owned by his significant other, Belle Aragon (Annelle Hayes) -- from which he collects 10% of the profits -- he can perform all of his other civic duties, like yelling at his brain-dead deputy what to do with the drunks when the city judge is also drunk (answer: give 'em a free drink). McCabe's cushy gig is interrupted when his old friend First Lieutenant Jim Gary (Richard Widmark) rides into town and tells him to accompany him to see his superior officer, with or without handcuffs. McCabe chooses without, but he finds himself tied up anyway, tasked by the Army to help rescue white prisoners from Comanche territory.

The production of Two Rode Together was notoriously troubled -- director John Ford took the gig for the money, and felt the script was still "crap" even after he brought his friend Frank Nugent on to give it a rewrite. When one of Ford's close friends happened to pass away, Ford sank into a depression, and both Stewart and Widmark would go onto tell stories in their respective biographies about how Ford tried to raise tension between the two actors and was often temperamental or obtuse. The strained birthing process shows in the finished product, which is an unusually bitter movie, even aside from its outdated sexism and racism. It's not a film without merit, but it's definitely a footnote in Ford's long and daunting career.

For one thing, there are almost no heroes in this story, least of all McCabe. When presented with the Army's request, despite having to push through a crowd of people practically keeled over at the very sight of him, he's got zero reservations about heading back to Tascosa and forgetting about the whole thing. Only the promise of money sways his decision, and even then, the Army's paltry offer of $80 a month (the same as Gary's actual salary) won't satisfy his demands. He proceeds to bilk the people in the camp -- families desperate to find loved ones lost up to 15 years ago -- for their last nickel and dime. He even accept one man's offer of $1000 just to bring back any old kid so the guy can make good on his promise to his wife to find her missing boy. There are hints of a slight transformation in McCabe's arc, but even as the story draws to a close, it's still up in the air whether he's more interested in money or people.

Gary is moderately more upstanding. Just before he and McCabe set out for Comanche territory, he meets Marty Purcell (Shirley Jones), a young woman who is wracked with guilt over the disappearance of her young brother. She clings to his music box, 9 years after he was taken, and Gary agrees to make sure McCabe has an eye out for him. Still, Gary's not much for fighting, willing to stand his ground over a couple of creeps who keep hitting on Marty, but unwilling to really go after his old friend McCabe over his mercenary attitude toward the mission. During their most heated exchange, McCabe even pulls a gun on him, and Gary just walks away, content that screwing up some of McCabe's business is a better punishment than calling him out. The men are only able to rescue two people from the Comanche camp, one of whom is Elena de la Madriaga (Linda Cristal), a woman who spent years married to the brutal Stone Calf (Woody Strode). She's the closest the movie has to an innocent or kindly character, and she suffers a string of emotional cruelties at the hands of white folk who look on her as more of a curiosity than a human being.

The portrayal of the Comanches as wild savages is suspect, although the film does give some screen time to the idea of assimilation (even if what the captives have been assimilated into amounts to a loss of humanity) and the need to let wounds heal instead of remaining open. It also fully highlights the racism that Elena faces once she is freed from Stone Calf's clutches. Unfortunately, these themes feel distanced from the core story about an unlikable man and his spineless friend agreeing to go along with a poor idea, and their emotional state in the aftermath, even though they are not really the affected parties. Stewart and Widmark both do a great job of this, managing to make both characters compelling in their awfulness, and their on-screen chemistry with one another is undeniable (the sight of McCabe, plastered on whiskey, sarcastically saluting Gary is very funny), but the journey is scattershot and unfocused. Ford would go on to make The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with Stewart after this, their first collaboration, so film history owes Two Rode Together a debt of gratitude. On the other hand, perhaps the best way to repay that gratitude is to let Two Rode Together disappear among Ford's more impressive pictures.

The Blu-Ray
Two Rode Together gets fairly simple key art from Twilight Time, showing Stewart and Widmark atop horses, with a sepia-tinged background. If one doesn't read the back cover carefully, the monochrome image on it might lead the uninitiated to think the film is in black-and-white, but I suppose most Twilight Time customers are searching for their favorite films. The single-disc release comes in a boxy Infiniti Blu-Ray case, and there is, as always, a booklet featuring liner notes by Twilight Time's Julie Kirgo. It's a good essay, especially in light of the disc's lack of other behind-the-scenes info.

The Video and Audio
The 1.85:1 1080p AVC transfer presented on this disc is easily one of the best-looking high-def presentations of a classic film I've seen to date. Color, detail, depth, and grain management are all fantastic. Blu-Ray and DVD critics often say "it looks like it could've been made yesterday!" but in the case of Two Rode Together, it's actually true. Discoloration and softness mark the optical transitions, and some of the on location footage is softer or grainier than the material captured on sets, but all of that is to be expected. The picture is accompanied by an extremely impressive DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that offers shockingly crisp separation of voice and music. When the actors raise their voices, the echo of the soundstage can be clearly heard in their voices. Music and effects sound crisp as they must have when the film premiered. English captions for the deaf and hard of hearing cap off this exemplary presentation.

The Extras
Sadly, only the customary Twilight Time isolated score track (in DTS-HD MA 2.0) and an original theatrical trailer are included here, along with the usual menu catalog of TT's releases.

Conclusion
For those who have already seen and wish to own Two Rode Together, there is not likely to be a better way to do so than this fantastic Blu-Ray from Twilight Time, which features possibly the best PQ I've seen on one of their discs to date, and in fact some of the best I've seen on the format, period (if you think the screencaps look nice, just wait until you see it in motion). However, it's no lost gem: it's a rough, disjointed, black-tar spitball of a movie that wears its resentment on its sleeve. Far from awful, but far from a must-see. Rent it.