Hollywood Takes on the Raid
was best known for playing parts in movies with Western themes. One of his most memorable roles, however, was in taking place during the Civil War. Wayne’s character, Colonel John Marlowe, was a thinly veiled portrayal of real Yankee Benjamin Grierson and his 1863 cavalry raid through Mississippi. The movie was derived from a 1956 novel by Harold Sinclair, who based his account on the original Grierson’s Raid. The renowned John Ford was tabbed to direct the production, co-starring William Holden.
