1962 was an incredibly happy year for me, and the memory of seeing this film with my entire family is a treasured one. I loved seeing the Rat Pack up on the big screen, and I loved the ending BUT-
It wasn't until I saw the film again more than fifty years later, that I realized the sting inside the ending. Sammy Davis Jr's character is now a part of the cavalry, which was his dream and that's great - however, it's the Tenth Cavalry. That's where he's being sent off to. As a young child, I never knew that was a completely segregated branch of the service. And none of the characters seem to react to this announcement. They just accept it as being the way things are.
It actually gives the ending a bittersweet quality.
It wasn't until I saw the film again more than fifty years later, that I realized the sting inside the ending. Sammy Davis Jr's character is now a part of the cavalry, which was his dream and that's great - however, it's the Tenth Cavalry. That's where he's being sent off to. As a young child, I never knew that was a completely segregated branch of the service. And none of the characters seem to react to this announcement. They just accept it as being the way things are.
It actually gives the ending a bittersweet quality.