Wagon Master

We've got more John Ford reviews than you can shake a stick at here at Nothing is Written. Today's entry is Wagon Master (1950), one of the director's greatest yet most overlooked Westerns.

Travis (Ben Johnson) and Sandy (Harry Carey Jr.) are two horse traders who agree to help Mormon Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) lead his flock to California. The arduous journey across the Arizona desert has a number of complications: a trio of "showfolk" (Joanne Dru, Alan Mowbray, Ruth Clifford) joins the team, and a band of Navajo Indians eyes the Mormons wearily. Worst of all, however, is the arrival of Shiloh Clegg (Charles Kemper) and his gang of outlaws, who join the wagon train to evade a sheriff's posse.

Aside from Stagecoach, Wagon Master might be the purest expression of Ford's thematic preoccupations. The wagon train is the perfect metaphor for the American Dream circa 1850, with the outcast Mormons seeking a better life out west. Travis, Sandy and the "showfolk" aren't especially popular either, and end up welcomed into the fold. Ford's emphasis on ritual serves this film perfectly, with the inevitable square dances and singing scenes forging a strong sense of community. Ford treats the Navajos fairly but notes the innate mistrust between the races in a telling scene. The inevitable showdown with the Cleggs is almost an afterthought, a conventional coda to a unique, richly poetic work.

Ford, as usual, delivers a master class in directing. The plot doesn't really start for half-an-hour, but the early scenes are just beautiful to watch, with gorgeous scenery, beautiful shots of the wagon train on the move and pleasant characters making it an enjoyable ride. The action scenes are relatively brief and organic to the story: a key bit of violence towards the end is really shocking. Some viewers might be turned off by the Sons of the Pioneers's corny song score but it fits the action perfectly.

Ben Johnson shines in a rare lead performance. The gruff yet amiable Johnson drifted into acting via work as a rodeo cowboy and stuntman, and he gets no end of opportunities to show off his horsemanship. Besides, he's a pretty good actor too. Harry Carey Jr., usually a stiff and uninteresting screen presence, gives easily his best performance. Ward Bond gets a wonderfully layered character, a relatively new convert still struggling to control his "sinful" ways. Charles Kemper (Intruder in the Dust) plays a notably hateful, whip-wielding villain a la Walter Brennan and Lee Marvin in other Ford flicks, with James Arness (Them!) and Hank Worden (The Searchers) among his henchmen. Jane Darwell (The Grapes of Wrath) has an amusing bit as well.

Wagon Master is one of John Ford's best Westerns. Like all of the director's best work, it's a simple story beautifully told, and for Western fans like me it's a real treasure.