His First Command: William Boyd is charmingly annoying in this 1929 cavalry flick

If you have about eighty minutes and a soft spot for movies where men in very high-waisted pants fall off horses, then His First Command is worth a look. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s got a certain clumsy charm that works if you’re in the right mood. 🐴

History buffs will probably dig the military drills, but people looking for a fast-paced rom-com might find themselves checking their phones. It’s a bit slow by today’s standards.

William Boyd stars as Terry, and he’s basically a rich brat. He sees a beautiful woman (Dorothy Sebastian) and decides the only way to get her attention is to join the U.S. Cavalry. Which, let’s be honest, is a terrible way to get a date. 😂

Boyd is interesting here because this is before he became the super-famous Hopalong Cassidy. He’s got this weirdly intense smile that almost feels like he’s in on a joke that the rest of the cast hasn't heard yet.

The movie is from 1929, so the sound is a bit... crunchy. Sometimes you can hear the background hiss louder than the dialogue, but that’s just part of the vibe with these early talkies.

There is a scene where Terry is trying to learn how to ride a horse properly, and it goes on for a long time. You can tell it’s really him doing some of those stumbles, which makes it feel way more authentic than modern CGI stuff. 🐎

I noticed one extra in the background of a barracks scene who looked like he was genuinely confused about where to stand. He just kind of wanders left, then right, then stares at the camera for a split second before scurrying away. It’s those little human mistakes that I love about these old productions.

Dorothy Sebastian plays the colonel's daughter, and she’s fine, though she doesn't have a whole lot to do other than look disappointed in Terry. She was also in The Barker, which I think handled the whole "romance in a tough environment" thing a bit better.

The pacing is definitely lopsided. The first half is all "haha, look at the rich guy trying to clean a stable," and then the second half tries to get all serious with military honor and stuff. It doesn’t quite stick the landing.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of His First Command (1929) through its definitive frames.

There’s a lot of focus on the uniforms. Seriously, so many buttons. I kept wondering how long it took these guys to get dressed in the morning just to go stand in a field.

One thing that bugged me was the music. It just kind of blares over everything even when nothing important is happening. It’s like the conductor was afraid if they stopped playing for five seconds, the audience would fall asleep. 🎺

It reminds me a bit of the energy in Get Your Man, where the plot is mostly just an excuse for the lead actor to be charismatic at the camera. If you like Boyd, you’ll like this. If you don’t, it’s just a lot of dust and horses.

The comedy bits with the secondary characters, like the ones played by Paul Hurst, are hit or miss. Mostly miss. Some of the "jokes" feel like they were written on a napkin five minutes before the camera started rolling.

There is a moment near the end where Terry has to prove he isn't a coward. It feels very manufactured. You can almost hear the director shouting at them to look more heroic.

Still, there’s something about the way these 1920s films look that you just can't replicate. The way the light hits the dust in the cavalry charge is actually pretty beautiful, even if the story is thin as paper. ✨

I wouldn't call this a must-see, but it’s a decent enough time capsule. It’s definitely better than some of the other fluff from that era, like Love's Sweet Piffle, which was just... well, piffle.

In the end, Terry learns his lesson, or at least he learns how to sit on a horse without falling off. Which is more than I can say for myself. 🤷‍♂️

It’s a movie that feels like it was made by people who really loved the army. Or at least, people who really loved the idea of the army. It’s charmingly naive.

If you're looking for a deep dive into the human soul, keep moving. But if you want to see a future cowboy icon struggle with a saddle, give it a go.