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James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, Rosemary Forsyth ... see more see more... , Katharine Ross , Philip Alford , Jim McMullan , Tim McIntire , Paul Fix , Denver Pyle , George Kennedy , James Best , Tom Simcox , Berkeley Harris , Harry Carey Jr. , Kevin Hagen , Dabbs Greer , Strother Martin , Kelly Thordsen , Rayford Barnes , Lane Bradford , John Daheim , Edward Faulkner , Buzz Henry , Leroy Johnson , Warren Oates , Gregg Palmer , Bob Steele , Henry Wills , Joe Yrigoyen , David Cass Sr. , Hoke Howell , James Carter , George Fisher , Charles Knox Robinson III , Phillip Alford

The year is 1863. Wealthy Virginia landowner Charlie Anderson (James Stewart), a man of peace despite his autocratic behavior, steadfastly refuses to take sides in the Civil War. Bit by bit, Anderson'... read more read more...s isolationism--and his way of living--is torn apart. Charlie's daughter, Jannie Anderson (Rosemary Forsyth) falls in love with Confederate soldier Sam (Doug McClure). His youngest son, Boy Anderson (Philip Alford) is captured by the Confederate army and taken prisoner. Meanwhile, another son, James (Patrick Wayne) and his wife, Ann (Katherine Ross), are murdered by looters. And his oldest son, Jacob Glenn Corbett, is accidentally killed. How all of these personal tragedies culminate in a successfully sentimental finale is the peculiar charm of Shenandoah, which proved to be a hit with audiences on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. James Lee Barrett's screenplay was later adapted into a successful Broadway musical, starring Northern Exposure's John Cullum in the Stewart role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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78% liked it

5,917 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Andrew V. McLaglen

Release Date: June 3, 1965

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DVD Release Date: May 6, 2003

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Behind the scenes Doug McClure and Rosemary Forsyth Shenandoah
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Flixster Reviews (236)

  • garyX
    July 14, 2007
    garyX
    More a rugged outdoor family drama than a cowboys 'n' injuns shoot 'em up, it features a typically reliable performance by old warhorse James Stewart who plays the pragmatic patriarch of a Virginia farming family caught up in the civil war. It's episodic and a little cloyingly se... read morentimental, but it has it's moments, particularly the cow stopping play during a battle and a memorable cameo from George Kennedy as a world weary union colonel.
  • agonzalez7000
    March 16, 2011
    agonzalez7000
    Classic 1960's western with a strong underlying anti-war theme It was some of James Stewart''s best acting later in his career, but the plot is so sad and devastating.
  • flbeachboy
    August 16, 2010
    flbeachboy
    It tokk me sometime but I ended up enjoying this movie, love the story to it and James Stewart does an incredible job.
  • FangsFirst
    January 20, 2008
    FangsFirst
    I picked this movie up because it came recommended and I've always liked ol' Jimmy Stewart.

    I'm not sure what I was expecting of it, as I had forgotten anything and everything I'd read of it by the time I sat down to watch it. We start off learning of Charlie Anderson (Stewart),... read more Virginian farmer and father of eight. Or is it seven, plus a daughter-in-law? Oh whatever, they all kind of blended together, honestly. The film is set in the middle of the Civil War, and Anderson is staunchly determined not to be involved. He does not feel the need of 'state' or duty to it, nor any other kind except to his family and his deceased wife. Her final wish was for him to raise their children as Christians, so he takes them into church every week inbetween their usual farmwork, often interrupting the service by arriving late and occasionally with familial noise or business on the part of the younger family members.

    As is inevitable with a civil war, though, Anderson and his family (all sons but one daughter, whatever the total number was) are not able to keep out of its reach. It wanders in quietly and inanimately through a Confederate hat that washes down a stream to his youngest, "The Boy." He only questions the Boy wearing it at the dinner table, but says little of it otherwise. He argues with his eldest, James (Patrick Wayne, son of John) about his stance on the war itself, winning in at least authority if not philosophy. But soon the involvement is more immediate--a Confederate soldier marries his daughter, and a small group of Confederate soldiers come to request his sons join up. Then the Union comes to buy or take his horses, leading to a brawl between the Andersons and the soldiers, determined to hold their ground, even as cannonfire echoes from miles around their farm. Finally the Boy is captured thanks to his "Johnny Reb" cap, and Charlie takes the family out to find him.

    I was a little confused by the movie. Not the plot, certainly (it's simplistic enough), but by what it was trying to do and accomplish. It bears the cringe-inducing fumbling and inarticulate dialogue of early Hollywood westerns that worried more about gunfights than characters, and the portrayal of the soldiers in the film is slightly confusing. Confederate soldiers are by and large polite and generally friendly, and all Union soldiers are snotty, arrogant and sarcastic. In the end the movie seems to be taking a stance against war, but this seems incongruous when it feels like it's taking sides. Certainly I don't mean to imply that it should have been the opposite, but this blanketing of attitude is the kind of poor writing I'm referring to. Many character actions are unbelievably ridiculous, too. Why on earth did the Boy keep the hat on after it got him into that trouble? Why did he so readily and stupidly follow the other Confederate prisoners? Why on earth did the entire family go out as a GROUP to find the missing son?

    Dramatic events are just as clumsy as the dialogue, having no sense of pacing or emotion, often trying to focus on one or two characters with the rest paralyzed or milling around behind it all. Jimmy shines through it all, bringing a bitter, down-trodden pride to Charlie Anderson, showing him as a man who will stand by what he thinks is the right thing to do. Even when faced with loss, he barely contains his frustration, rage and sorrow--but I did say barely, and he does do it, and holds to his principles. He makes (seemingly) clear the movie's feelings about war, that sides are irrelevant and pain, death and loss are the only real inevitable results.

    I was happy to note the presence of George Kennedy ("sidekick" to Leslie Nielsen in the Naked Gun series and a character actor who has appeared regularly in a slew of other films) and Strother Martin. Unfortunately Strother does not get to put much of his voice or character into his very minor role, and with a distinctive voice like his it almost seems a waste. I had to strain to hear that peculiar timbre his voice has, as I fought off an irritation at the scene it occurred in.

    One of the more disappointing films I've gotten around to seeing these days.
  • karyn8sons
    July 8, 2007
    karyn8sons
    Lame reason but I love watching a man with so many sons. Guess maybe I compare him to my man and our sons, though in competely different circumstances.
  • caesarstud84
    June 4, 2007
    caesarstud84
    This is a movie i grew up watching, yet still has all the greatness that i remember. It will be my faviorite for the rest of my life.
  • shawnp62
    May 12, 2007
    shawnp62
    One of the best overall movies I've seen in my life; had drama, sadness, humor, romance, and history
  • snappytype
    March 13, 2007
    snappytype
    These days, this movie would be a "Christian" movie. This used to be the way movies were made. I love it.
  • madelineschulman
    November 30, 2006
    madelineschulman
    There is a musical based on this movie, which I saw first, and which predisposed me to like the movie. I remember it as well-acted and enjoyable, although having seen the stage version I knew that one traumatic scene was on the way and dreaded it.
  • sweetduckers
    June 11, 2006
    sweetduckers
    I was in the frickin musical for this one for god's sake. So like it did justice but in between I was singing the songs. I wonder if there is a musical version of Shenandoah on dvd?

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Critic Reviews

Dan Jardine
June 28, 2007
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide

A successful film not just because of the marriage of the right actor in the appropriate genre, but also the timely infusion of challenging questions about a nation at war. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 14, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Set in a Virginia farm during the Civil War, this popular family film offers all-American star Jimmy Stewart a classic role, a widower with six sons who initially refuses to takes sides or get involve... Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Howard Thompson
May 10, 2005
Howard Thompson, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Carol Cling
December 5, 2003
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

May 24, 2003
Film4

Click to read the article Full Review

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  • Which James Stewart film takes place in Civil War time?  Answer »
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