dougdoepke I never thought I'd be using a word like "charming" in connection with a Western. But the first half of Wagon Master strikes me as just that, charming. The colorful characters and set-ups blend together in shrewdly affable fashion. Of course, the opening hook features brief gunplay, but that's just to let the audience know that the movie will include traditional bad guys. Actually, there's much less gunplay than expected, though the second half is more tension filled than the first. Still, the eventual showdown is de-dramatized in atypical fashion. To me, Ben Johnson makes an excellent westerner. His regional accent is perfect. He may not be a John Wayne icon, but neither does he compete with the story. After all, the wagon train's success amounts to a collective effort and not that of a single heroic figure. Also, Carey Jr. makes a good headstrong sidekick, good for a chuckle or two. And, yes, that is a young,, naturally blond, James Arness as one of the Cleggs, even if without any dialog. Two things I really like about this Ford Western. The characters are colorful without becoming caricatures, plus the fact that it's filmed in b&w. Now, Technicolor would bring out the awesome beauty of the Moab locations, but also distract from the storyline. The b&w photography here is excellent, but has the important effect of bringing out the majesty of the surroundings without competing. It's a perfect setting for the movie's theme of a new land for a peaceable Mormon people. Note too, how the Navajo are treated with respect, and even acknowledged as victims of white men's thievery, but without piling it on. Note too that except for the opening scene the entire movie was shot on location. A real outdoor Western.All in all, Ford blends the many elements together beautifully. In my little book, the result should be more celebrated among his canon than it is. I know it's my favorite among the many Ford Westerns I've seen.

Spikeopath Wagon Master is directed by John Ford who also wrote the story from which Patrick Ford and Frank S. Nugent adapted the screenplay. It stars Ben Johnson, Ward Bond, Harry Carey Jr. and Joanne Dru. Richard Hageman scores the music and Bert Glennon is the photographer. Plot finds Mormon Elder Wiggs (Bond) hiring Travis Blue (Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Carey) to guide his communal Mormon group across the West to the San Juan River country in southeastern Utah Territory, in 1849. Along the way they encounter a wagonload of circus folk, stuck in limbo after their mule had scarpered. Evidently all boozed up, Elder still agrees to let them join his travel party. All is going well until the arrival of the Cleggs, a family of criminals on the run from the law...Filmed in black & white, shot in under a month and made for under a million dollars, Wagon Master is a classic John Ford picture. Said to be one of his personal favourite film's, it looks on the surface to be a minor work in the great director's oeuvre. Lacking some of the star power that goes with some of his critically acclaimed movies, Wagon Master triumphs because it's kept simple, where, a tight acting circle are given a lean and literate script to work from. The thematics at play are classic Ford, a community in the West are driven by their goals, but obstacles are inevitably put in the way to alter the equilibrium. All played out with lyrical photography, on the money music and some of that knowing gentle Ford comedy.As warm as a summers day and as close to Ford's view of the West as they come, Wagon Master comes highly recommended to Western and Ford purists. 8/10

kenjha A couple of cowpokes help a group of Mormons cross some rough country on their way to a new settlement. This low-key Western is unusual for Ford in that it lacks any big stars. Johnson gets top-billing but his is basically a supporting role, although he and Carey work well together. Dru is given little to do other than provide the love interest. The best performance is given by Ford favorite Bond, playing the leader of the Mormons. In fact, this role helped him land a starring role in the long-running TV Western "Wagon Train" before his untimely death at age 57. Featuring beautiful cinematography, Ford regarded this as one of his favorite films.

Martin Bradley This small John Ford western with no 'stars' but a cast of character actors is one of his masterpieces. It has a documentary-like feel to it as it traces the journey West of a party of Mormons and it may be the most authentic looking of all Ford's films, (it's on par with "The Sun Shines Bright" which he made a couple of years later).There is a plot of sorts, (a group of bank robbers join the wagon train at one point), but the film's dramatic highlights are almost incidental. The splendid performances of Ford's stock company, (Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr, Ward Bond, Jane Darwell etc), adds considerably to the film's authenticity while the nearest the film gets to a full-bodied star performance is Joanne Dru's Denver. Dru was a much finer actress than she was ever given credit for as were Bond and Johnson, who at least was finally awarded with the recognition of an Oscar for his work in "The Last Picture Show". As he said himself, 'It couldn't have happened to a nicer fella'. Add Bert Glennon's superb location photography and you have a genuine piece of Americana that couldn't have some from anyone other than Ford. This is a film that truly honors America's pioneers and is full of sentiment and feeling.