But suppose for a moment that you are the evil doer? Then what happens? This is actually a very popular theme in many westerns. A man (or woman) has done some evil thing and brought shame or disgrace on themselves. They must seek redemption. Redemption is how you repay the debt you owe for having done an evil thing and/or having brought disgrace or shame on yourself. It is how you restore the balance in your life and become good again and regain the respect of others and also your own self-respect. In Western films, redemption is usually achieved through self-sacrifice and doing good deeds, especially helping those weaker than oneself. Western heroes are usually men (and sometimes women) who are seeking either revenge or redemption (or possibly both). Revenge and redemption are similar in that they restore balance to the moral universe in which the story takes place. Before you go to Part 3, pause for a moment and think about each of our characters in this film. Who is seeking revenge? Who is seeking redemption?

Meanwhile, the group is faced with another decision; to stay where they are in order to let Mrs. Mallory regain her strength, or flee because of the threat of an Apache attack. The question is really whether the group is willing to risk everything for the well-being of only one person. As they debate this, Dallas and Ringo are again talking together. She urges him to escape and forget about revenge. She tells him his desire for revenge will probably just get him killed and she sensibly asks “would killing Luke Plummer make us any happier?”

But, of course it isn’t a question of what would make them happier, it is a question of what Ringo’s duty is.

It is his sense of duty which makes Hatfield offer his protection to Lucy, it is his sense of duty which makes Doc sober up so he can help Lucy have her baby, it is even duty that Gatewood talks about when he demands the soldiers accompany the stagecoach. Duties are our obligations to do what is right. For just a moment Ringo forgets his duty and thinks of the happiness he and Dallas might have together if he escapes and she meets him later. But let me ask you to think about this: could Ringo ever really be happy if he did not try to do his duty and take revenge for the murder of his father and brother?

Ringo isn’t really given a chance to decide whether he should do his duty or just try to be happy because he sees the smoke signals from the Apache and knows he cannot escape. It is clear to everyone that they no longer have a choice. The Apache are almost certainly preparing to attack soon and their only hope is to try to escape as quickly as possible.

Doc’s toast to their escape when they have not yet arrived safely seems like bad luck and he has accidentally forgotten to include Mr. Peacock in the toast. But everyone is reminded that Mr. Peacock is there when he is suddenly struck by an Apache arrow. This is an extraordinary moment in the film. The entire movie is 95 minutes long and the arrow strikes Mr. Peacock at almost exactly 70 minutes into the film. It is the first time we actually see any violence in the film. Westerns were notoriously violent, but in this film there has been no violence of any kind for the first 70 minutes. Ford didn’t need violence. But in this moment he changes the entire mood of the film by not just having the violence start just as everyone believes they are safe, but also by making the violence exceptionally shocking.

We spoke earlier of the Hollywood Production Code. These were the rules that did not allow John Ford to use the word “prostitute” in his film. The production code was also fairly strict with the depiction of violence. The general rule was that you could show violence, but that you could not show blood. This is why you always see people who are shot in Westerns clutching the wound with their hands. It shows you that they have been shot, but covers the “blood” you would otherwise see. John Ford broke that rule when he showed Mr. Peacock struck by the arrow. You clearly see that there is blood coming from the wound.

But the most dramatic moment of the whole chase comes when the defenders have run out of ammunition and we realize with horror that they will soon be overwhelmed by the Indians. Dallas looks at the baby she is holding and hides here face in despair. But it is Hatfield who shocks us. He has spent the entire film protecting Lucy Mallory and we know that he feels honor bound to do so because he once served in her father’s regiment. With his last remaining bullet it seems he means to kill Lucy! Can you speculate about why he would do this? Pause the lecture now and try to think of why he is going to shoot her?

The greatest fear white people had of the Indians was not being killed by them, but being captured by them. Indians often tortured those they captured and the torture could last for days, weeks, months…or even years in some cases. But there is yet another fear that Whites had about capture by the Indians that related specifically to women. There was a tremendous fear that any White woman captured by the Indians would be raped as well as tortured and eventually killed. Rape, of course, was the ultimate act of dishonoring someone. Hatfield is duty bound not only to protect Lucy from physical harm, but also to protect her “honor” (which to a lady of those times was more important than anything else…or so they were supposed to believe). Hatfield will not allow Lucy to be “dishonored” and he means to save her….by killing her. He will use his last bullet to do so. Ford makes the moment bitterly ironic because just as he is about to shoot, Lucy hears the bugle in the distance and knows that the cavalry is charging. A shot rings out, but it is Hatfield who is shot and mortally wounded.

The rescue by the cavalry is so famous that it actually led to Americans using the expression “here comes the cavalry” to mean “we are going to be saved”. But, when I see this cavalry charge what occurs to me is just how overmatched the Indians were. The Apache were certainly ferocious warriors and very capable using the bow and arrow, war lance and tomahawk, but against steel cavalry sabers, repeating rifles and six shooters they would have had little chance. The rescue is bittersweet, because Hatfield, (really Mr. Greenfield as he admits with his last words), dies. With his last breath he asks Lucy to tell his father something…but dies before he can say it. I think we know what it was he wanted to say. Whatever bad thing he had done to disgrace himself so that he could not use the family name and had to go west, he has now redeemed himself by doing his duty to protect Lucy. He wants his father to know this. Sometimes the only way one can achieve redemption is through the ultimate sacrifice of one’s life and Hatfield/Greenfield has paid that price. But perhaps the most powerful part of this moment is the fact that this proud soldier of the South dies in the arms of his old enemy from the North, enemies no longer, once again brother Americans. It really is a tremendous scene!