Wagon Master (1950) User Reviews

Another Great Western of John Ford

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 18 January 2010]

In Crystal City, a group of Mormons hire the horse traders Travis (Ben Johnson) and Sandy (Harry Carey Jr.) as wagon masters to lead their caravan to San Juan River. Along the journey, they meet first the broken wagon without water of the quack Dr. A. Locksley Hall (Alan Mowbray) and the prostitutes Denver (Joanne Dru) and Fleuretty Phyffe (Ruth Clifford). Then the sadistic outlaws Clegg boys decide to join the Mormon caravan to disguise the patrol leaded by the Sheriff of Crystal City that is chasing them. When the Navajos cross their path, they are invited to visit their hamlet for a dancing party. When the wagon train is near to their destination, the Clegg boys threaten the settlers, forcing Sandy and Travis to take an attitude.

"Wagon Master" is another great western of John Ford. The sequences with the wagon train crossing the desert and the hills are impressive. The adventure of the group of Mormons is funny and very entertaining and the songs fit well to the plot despite being dated. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Caravana dos Bravos" ("Caravan of the Braves")

First-rate Western masterfully directed by the great John Ford

[ma-cortes · 8/10 · 12 April 2010]

This is a great Western drama, John Ford's lusty successor to 'Fort Apache' and 'She wore yellow ribbon'. Two drifters named Travis Blue (Ben Johnson ) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey Jr ) are hired by leaders of a Mormons congregation (Ward Bond, Russell Simpson) as wagon masters of an expedition toward Utah frontier. They must guide a religious caravan throughout a dangerous rout formerly initiated by Brigham Young from Illinois-Utah. Along the way they meet a trio of drunks (Alan Mowbray, Joanne Dru) and some bandits(Charles Kemper, James Arness, Hank Worden) who are compared to snakes . Meanwhile Travis falls in love with Denver and the wagon train heading for the promised land.

This classic picture ranks as one of the best of John Ford's work. It contains Ford's usual themes as a community decided to build the civilization on a virgin territory, friendship and comradeship among people and ample shots while wagons run over prairies and mountains filmed at Monument Valley and Professor Valley. Interesting screenplay by Frank S Nugent and Patrick Ford, booth of whom are John Ford's habitual. Excellent starring cast as Ben Johnson - formerly remembered as the sergeant in 'she wore a yellow ribbon' , here his first main role and years later achieved the best supporting actor Academy Award for 'The last Picture Show' -, he is awesome as roaming cowhand who join a congregation migrating West. Good cinematography by Bert Glennon and Archie Stout reflecting splendidly marvelous outdoors. Emotive score by Richard Hageman with wonderful songs by Stan Jones played by Sons of Pioneers. The movie is stunningly produced by Merian C Cooper - Argosy Pictures Production- and magnificently filmed by Ford with direction assistant by Cliff Lyons. Inspired the later successful TV series titled 'Wagon train' starred by Ward Bond and some episode directed by Ford. Avoid a horrible version shown in computer-colored. Rating : Very good, better than average.

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 7/10 · 17 April 2006]

Although Ford's movie only really starts halfway through, once the traveling folk and the outlaws meet, the second half of the film is strong enough that the lengthy roundabout beginning is almost forgotten. The outlaws are plain stereotypes, painted very similar to the Clantons in 'My Darling Clementine', but the intense interactions between them and the traveling folk are worth watching for. Oddly enough, the depth of the film does not lie in the happenings between them but rather in the singing and dancing featured. Song and dance is shown as a uniting force between very different cultures, and the songs of the film are very well suited to the Old West atmosphere. The film is a mix of different things: there is a typical predictable love interest, awkward bits of humour, and of course men slinging guns. Then there is the plot of outlaws against the good guys and the almost non-related deeper ideas about bonding between different people. The overall product is rather strange and certainly not one of John Ford's strongest efforts. That said, it is good viewing once it gets going, and Ford captures the vast western landscape as well as one would expect.

two cowboys help a wagon train to roll West

[paulmoran99 · 9 December 2005]

Other reviewers have described Wagonmaster splendidly.But I would like to look at it's main lead, Ben Johnson.

I was 10 when Wagonmaster came out, and by then Johnson had become a hero to us boys in St.Ives,Cornwall.Johnson had worked his way up to the Travis Blue role the hard way; from being a rodeo man to John Waynes sidekick.We were fascinated by his horsemanship in his early roles, and were completely sold by his neat act of jumping off a horse whilst it was still moving.Very soon, every lad at school was Ben Johnson, as we charged around on pretend horses. His appeal was in his drawl, the measured, laconic delivery he had. His approach was the easy, deliberate action of a cowboy who was completely honest, trustworthy and dependable. In Wagonmaster he got his break, and with Harry Carey Jnr., formed a memorable parnership. Careys' exuberance somehow balances Johnsons nonchalant style, and they epitomize the young West, it'sdangers, hopes and sorrows.You just know, that as long as they are around, everything is gonna be OK.

For me Ben Johnson is as much a part of the screen West as any of the Western stars, like John Wayne and Gary Cooper. There was no one quite like him, and his roles, small or big, linger in the mind.

The elegiac Wagonmaster is his legacy to Western genre

"Fell in behind the wagon trail"

[Steffi_P · 7/10 · 23 November 2009]

The Western can be divided into many sub-genres. One of the broadest divisions is that between Town Westerns and Plains Westerns. Most Westerns are a mix of both, but at one end of the spectrum you have pictures like High Noon and Rio Bravo that take place almost entirely in a settlement, seldom venturing out into the real outdoors. At the other end you have ones like Wagon Master, where there is barely a homestead on view amid the wilderness.

Director John Ford normally thrived on the "bit of both" Westerns, shooting the interiors with an emphasis on their being small and confined, and then contrasting this with the wide open exteriors, which appeared both exciting and dangerous. Wagon Master has a typical Frank Nugent script, with some interplay between seasoned oldsters and green youngsters, but still it presents Ford with some fresh challenges. In this picture, the dangers do not come from the harshness of the landscape, they come from within the group in the form of the Cleggses. What's more, the absence of real interior scenes means the outdoors could lose its impact over time.

However, Ford was a real maestro when it came to manipulating space. He shoots scenes of the camp or the wagons so the frame is surrounded and we get that same sense of enclosure as we would in a genuine interior. Also, compared to his other Westerns, he does not in fact open out the space too much, having the wagon trail wend its way through canyons and passes rather than cross the stark and empty plains. One of the few moments where he does throw the landscape wide open is when the Indians are spotted and there is the possibility of a threat from outside.

Wagon Master features some surprisingly effective moments of comic relief, and some great contributions from the quirky cast. Harry Carey Jr. was shaping up into a fine actor like his pa, and this is one of his better early roles. Joanne Dru was disappointing in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but she appears more at ease as a character with a bit of sass, and is actually fairly good here. Jane Darwell, who won an Oscar in the John Ford-directed Grapes of Wrath a decade earlier, appears here with sole function of performing a running gag in which she sounds a feeble old horn. Still, with her great timing and movement she makes the piece work. Francis Ford, in one of the many mute drunkard roles he played in his little brother's pictures, is at his cheeky best.

And now we come to lead man Ben Johnson. Although he was by no means a bad actor, he was never going to become a big star like John Wayne. And yet, with his effortless horsemanship and easygoing drawl, he was one of the most authentically "West" players around. And this brings me onto my final point. This was apparently one of Ford's personal favourites, despite it seeming fairly unassuming. Wagon Master has no grand theme or dramatic intensity, it is simply the genre playing itself out. I think this is what Ford loved about it. It's a picture for the Ben Johnsons and the Harry Carey Jrs, not the John Waynes or the Henry Fondas. Small in scope, but worthy in its class.

"I left my gal in old Virginy trailin' behind the wagon trail"

[ackstasis · 7/10 · 9 July 2009]

By 1950, John Ford had already fully-developed the ideas and motifs that would form the core of his most successful Westerns. Always present, for example, is a strong sense of community, most poignantly captured in the Joad family of Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath (1940).' Within these communities, even amid Ford's loftier themes of racism and the pioneer spirit, there's always room for the smaller human interactions, the minor friendships and romances that make life worth living. 'Wagon Master (1950)' came after Ford had released the first two films in his "cavalry" trilogy – 'Fort Apache (1948)' and 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)' – and it covers similar territory, only without the military perspective and, more damningly, the strong lead of John Wayne. Ben Johnson and Harry Cary, Jr. are fine actors, but they feel as though they should be playing second-fiddle to somebody, and Ward Bond's cursing Mormon elder, while potentially a candidate for such a role, isn't given quite enough focus to satisfactorily fit the bill.

In 'Wagon Master,' Ford seems so comfortable with his tried-and-tested Western formula that any character development is largely glossed over. Ben Johnson's romance with Joanne Dru is treated as an obligation more than anything else, and Harry Cary Jr's charming of a Mormon girl is so perfunctory as to be almost nonexistent in the final film, leaving one to ponder the survival of deleted scenes. Only in Charles Kemper's charismatic and shamelessly-villainous Uncle Shiloh does Ford try some different, and it works, even with his being surrounded by a troop of insufferably hammy slack-jawed yokels. Where Ford does succeed is in orchestrating the conglomeration of three distinct races of Americans – the values-orientated Mormoms, the easygoing horse-traders, the eccentric travelling showmen – into a cohesive community of pioneers looking towards a bright future. This apparent harmony is thrown into disarray by the arrival of Uncle Shiloh's gun-toting outlaws, who exploit the lawlessness of the Western frontier but ultimately lose out to the noble cowboys who "only ever drew on snakes."

Ford reportedly considered Wagon Master among the favourite of his films, and perhaps this has something to do with the absence of big names like John Wayne or Henry Fonda. Armed only with his stock selection of usual players, Ford is able to generate a sense of community by avoiding placing focus on any one character, though most of the Mormom travellers still remain completely anonymous. Despite being undoubtedly well-made, I can't help feeling that this film only does well what other Ford pictures did even better: the terrific majesty of the the Western frontier was presented more beautifully in 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'; the romances and friendly squabbles among community members took greater prominence in 'Fort Apache'; the early relations with Native Americans, only hinted at here, were more thoroughly examined in 'The Searchers (1956)'; the bold pioneering spirit of the early settlers was explored more movingly (albeit by Henry Hathaway and George Marshall) in 'How the West Was Won (1962).' 'Wagon Master' is pure John Ford, but it isn't a landmark.

Ford's favorite but very awkward and with weak editing

[trey-yancy-572-763547 · 6/10 · 15 June 2020]

This is a film that was badly in need of a major lead actor. Essentially, Ford took three of his stock players, choosing Johnson and Carey to play a twin lead, supported by Bond. It doesn't really work. In addition there are scenes that didn't work. For example, when the marshal and his deputies are looking over Travis' horse, there are awkward moments of silence during which neither their actions nor those of Travis seemed to make much sense. In addition, the behavior of the members of the wagon train are unrealistic, as if they are children on a field trip and without any adult common sense.

As for the twin leads, Carey plays his character with a great deal of exuberance while Johnson (as usual) plays himself and, being himself, he is not the kind of fellow who is comfortable with such behavior, and it shows.

As is usual with Ford westerns, he throws in some oddball characters; one being an old woman who, for no reason, is occasionally ordered to blow a horn. Another is the leader of the "hoochie coochie" show, whose peculiarities don't contribute to the story. Another oddity is the square dance song, which include bizarre chord changes the only purpose of which appears to be to make the song sound different than the normal period western songs.

Considering that this film came out the same year as the major film Rio Grande, one has the impression that Ford was not fully engaged in this film.

An interesting note is that is the appearance of James Arness. This is one year before Arness appeared in the title role of The Thing From Another Planet. In this film his acting is even more wooden than as the alien in The Thing.

Overall, this is a mediocre film and no matter how satisfied Ford was with it, it is definitely not his best film.

Blow your horn, Sister Ledeyard

[krorie · 9/10 · 17 November 2005]

This little picture succeeds where many a big picture fails. Because it was a little picture, John Ford was not harassed by the studio big wigs. He was happier with this film than any other because he was able to do it his way. He was also able to use his repertoire of gifted character actors that had played such an important role in his past successes. Some of them such as Ben Johnson had been discovered by Ford and given opportunity to show their talents. Johnson was recruited by Ford because he was an authentic cowboy from Oklahoma who usually did his own stunt work. Years later he would win the coveted Academy Award for his brilliant performance in "The Last Picture Show." Ward Bond even outshines Ben Johnson in this movie. He is not the wagon master, that role is played by Johnson, but because of this movie he was later given the role of wagon master in the classic television series "Wagon Train." Ironically one of the bad guys in "Wagon Master," James Arness, would star in the hit television series "Gunsmoke" on a rival network to "Wagon Train." Ward Bond plays the leader of the Mormons heading west who often backslides to his sinning days by cussing only to be called down by fellow Mormon Adam Perkins (Russell Simpson). When any bothersome situation arises Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) yells, "Blow your horn, Sister Ledeyard!" The Mormon sister, played to perfection by Jane Darwell, then blows so hard and loud that even the devil must have been shaken by the sound. Darwell and Simpson were famous for playing Ma and Pa Joad in Ford's classic version of the John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath."

Another of the great character actors in Ford's company was Hank Worden, who plays one of Uncle Shiloh Clegg's notoriously mean but not too bright outlaw sons. Worden would become famous a few years later for playing Mose in Ford's "The Searchers." Worden lived to be 91. He was still making movies when he died.

The wagon master Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and his partner Sandy (Harry Carey Jr.) are horse traders who never take their job seriously, having a lot of fun along the way, especially with the local sheriff. They get mixed up with a Mormon wagon train heading west. Ford's beloved Monument Valley is the setting for most of the film. The main reason for the teaming is a redheaded Mormon beauty Prudence Perkins (Kathleen O'Malley) who catches Sandy's eye. Along the way the train picks up a hoochie coochie show which includes a charlatan doctor (Alan Mowbray) and two soiled angels (Joanne Dru and Ruth Clifford). Also joining up along the way is the Clegg family, wanted for murder and armed robbery. Ford shows how arduous a journey west by wagon was in those days.

The songs in the film were written by Stan Jones of the legendary Sons of the Pioneers. Jones' writing was almost as good as that of Bob Nolan, who had previously done much of the writing for the group. Jones' most famous song, not in this film, is the much recorded "Ghost Riders In The Sky." The Sons of the Pioneers do the background singing in "Wagon Master." This adds to the overall impact of wagons rolling west.

It should also be noted that the acclaimed Native American athlete Jim Thorpe from Oklahoma plays the role of a Navajo leader. This was his last film appearance. He died not long after "Wagon Master" was released.

A very good "little" John Ford movie

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 25 September 2009]

This film is about two horse traders who agree to escort a small group of Mormons across the desert. Along the way, they encounter a murderous family of thugs who menace the peaceful folks and put their pilgrimage in jeopardy.

WAGON MASTER is what I would term a "little" John Ford film, as it obviously did not have the budget or scope of some of his other Westerns. In particular, this film lacks the big-name stars like John Wayne but allows some of the usual supporting characters to take center stage. Long-time Ford stock character actors Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr. and Ward Bond have been elevated to starring roles and perhaps the one who came of as "the" lead was probably Johnson--though the other two got nearly as much screen time and focus. This is not a bad thing, as the film worked just fine without the big star--and is well worth seeing.

Now this isn't to say I loved the movie. It was very good but certainly not perfect. In particular, as far as the music goes, you'll probably either love it or hate it. I found the Sons of the Pioneers' music a bit schmaltzy at times. It did evoke a nice mood, but seemed to occasionally dominate the scenes. I think a little would have worked much better. Plus, with their incessant singing in the background, I kept expecting Roy Rogers to pop out at any moment. Another minor problem is that the plot was amazingly simple and the ending was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

However, and I am glad to say there is a 'however', despite this being rather formulaic and sentimental, the film still worked well. This was primarily due to John Ford's nice, as usual, direction as well as Ben Johnson's exceptional performance. He was able to provide an excellent anchor for the film. Another plus for me is that I saw this in the same week as BRIGHAM YOUNG, another film about the Mormon migration. While BRIGHAM YOUNG was a bit silly and overly "saintly" in its portrayals, here the Mormons were less "perfect" and more like real people--with foibles and personalities. Oh, and speaking of BRIGHAM YOUNG, it seems as if Jane Darwell was the 'go to' girl for Mormon-themed films during this era, as she was a major supporting character in both films. Considering that she died in BRIGHAM YOUNG and it was set about 20 years before WAGON MASTER, this is some stunt!

Also, if you'd like to catch a glimpse of the famous Jim Thorpe, he's in a tiny role where he plays the impassive Indian dancing next to Jane Darwell around the camp fire.

A lovely-to-look-at film !

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 9/10 · 6 August 2001]

John Ford paid the wagons his tribute of a special picture, 'Wagon Master' made after two big Indian-cavalry epics... It is a lovely poetic movie, full of romanticized reincarnation of the pioneer spirit... It didn't have to top the big ones that had preceded it...

Photographically, it is extremely simple... The camera moves only once or twice in the entire film, and never when a director would have made it move to underline a shot... Ford even resists the temptation to track his camera in the breathtaking twilight shots of the women wearily marching along in the dust behind their wagons... They come-and go-while the camera remains immobile and the audience stays a spectator to the march of history, not a participant in it... Of course, when Ford wants to involve his audience emotionally or dramatically, as in 'Stagecoach,' he knows just how to do it... But "Wagon Master" is a tender, nostalgic look backward...

Filled with traditional Western songs rendered by The Sons of the Pioneers, it tells of the trek West to Utah (in 1879) of a Mormon wagon train led by Ward Bond in the role of Elder Wiggs, and two young horse traders (Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr). And in a series of beautiful images, as the wagon train fights outlaws, Indians and nature in its struggle to reach the 'promised land,' the modest 'Wagon Master' manages to capture the history and legend of the West...

Ford himself has said that 'Wagon Master' (of which he wrote the original story) was among the three films of his which 'came closest to being what I had wanted to achieve.'

Ford's career as a Western director was astonishing... More than anyone else he was able to use the genre to protect his feelings about the family, society, and the American way of life... Ford saw the frontier as a land to be subdued by a special class of settlers and lawmen whose great sacrifices make the land safe from those who come after... These early westerners were giants who deserved the legendary status they earned, and the civilized townsfolk who followed must always hold them in fear and respect... Ford's Westerns often employ flashbacks that emphasize the historical authenticity of his approach...

In 'Wagon Master,' for example, folk songs on the sound track tell us of the hardships of the pioneers of a century ago, and Ford shows them to us in almost documentary fashion... In one sequence the train is camped in a circle and the settlers decide to hold a square dance... To fashion a dance floor they have to lay boards over the desert sand, and with this ritual celebration Ford shows the defeat of the wilderness through the metaphor of boarding over the land...

It's a lovely-to-look-at film, full of a marvelous lighthearted optimism, and it is easy to understand why Ford found it so satisfying… It never breaks faith with the mood and style set in the first few sequences… But one is left wondering whether the ultra-romantic best suits the chosen theme…

The wagon-train experience must have been one of the most physically demanding and nerve-wracking ordeals that man (with his womankind) ever set himself… It must have been riddled with doubts—was I wrong to sell up everything and come? How can we hope to survive? How will we contend the other end?—almost every other aching step of the way…

Yet none of this feeling really comes through in "Wagon Master." The journey—such is the general ebullience—does not strike one as particularly hazardous… It could be, of course, that the Mormons were so 'high' on religious spirit that this tended to act as an anesthetic… In other words their reactions weren't those of normal human weakness... If so, Ford was right and the doubters were wrong…

What is beyond doubt is the right and proper ebullience, especially at first meeting, of Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. This is the essence of light-hearted adventurous youth, particularly one feels of Western youth of those extraordinary times… It's a remarkable relationship and it remains lodged in the mind

Waaaaagons -- Ho!

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 18 November 2013]

Director Ford had a habit of naming this as his favorite film, along with "The Sun Shines Bright," both lesser examples of his work. I suspect he was just being contrarian. He usually assumed the role of the success who denigrates his art by calling it "just a job." It's entertaining enough but it ought to be more than that. Ford was in good shape and was working with some familiar performers. He had "introduced" Harry Carey, Jr., earlier, after having worked with Carey's father in the 1920s. He had "discovered" Ben Johnson, a handsome young, unpretentious horse wrangler years earlier. He had Joanne Dru from "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and both Ma and Pa Joad from "Grapes of Wrath," and finally Ward Bond ("liver lips", Ford called) him, who made his first film with Ford in something like 1928.

He had the Red Rock country of Utah, first cousin of Monument Valley, as a location. There are two or three scenes of the community dancing and singing, a drunk scene, a fist fight, and a climactic shoot out that is practically a reprise of "My Darling Clementine." But although it IS entertaining and unmistakably Fordian, something went a little askew somewhere along the line. It has little depth of character and no poetry to speak of. The result is a kind of cartoon in which everyone overacts. It's as if it were made for a kids' matinée.

The weak story wanders all over the place, leaving little oxbow lakes behind. Stranded in the desert, the four members of a hootchie-kootchie show have had no water and been forced to drink whiskey. If you were very thirsty, would it follow that you'd drink booze? There are multiple serial close ups of the faces of the Clegg gang, each sneering or smiling, incandescent with villainy. None has the character of one of the Clantons. They're indistinguishable except for Hank Warden, who is recognizable if only because he was in every Western movie ever made since "The Great Train Robbery" of 1903. Nobody is likely to recognize Jim Thorpe, All American, who clumps along next to Jane Darwell during a clanking Indian dance.

It does have its moments though and a few are memorable. You have never seen a man willing to be whipped while tied to a wagon wheel for raping a Navaho woman who speaks Spanish. He yanks at his bonds, curses, kicks out with his feet at his tormentor. And whenever Ben Johnson is riding a horse, it commands the viewer's attention. Johnson was never much other than his good-natured self but it was a reassuring persona and he was quite good in "Shane" as the bully who reforms.

Ford had his materials at hand, but it's as if his attention were elsewhere.

`Rollin' Shadows in the Dust'

[IlyaMauter · 9/10 · 15 May 2003]

Wagon Master is a very unique film amongst John Ford's work. Mainly because it's the only one that is based on a story written by John Ford himself, the story that was elaborated by Frank Nugent and director's son – Patrick Ford and turned into a screenplay, and because of director's personal opinion regarding it, Wagon Master is the film John Ford called the one which `came closest to being what I had wanted to achieve', to say so is not to say a little, but as Ford confessed once to Lindsay Anderson, his favourite was nonetheless My Darling Clementine and not any other.

Wagon Master has all ingredients one might expect to find in a John Ford's film. Wonderful cast delivering his best, thou not featuring any major stars, except the most `fordian' of all actors – Ben Johnson. Very peculiar small characters, who provide an obligatory comic relief, and Wagon Master has quite a few of them such as horn blowing Sister Ledyard (Jane Darwell) in her shot but very inspired gigs. And last but not least legendary Monument Valley with John Ford's fifth passage through it after Stagecoach, My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

The film starts with two friends cowboys Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey Jr) being hired to be Wagon Masters or guides for a caravan of Mormon settlers who are headed to Silver Valley, a place that's for them like a promised land. On their way they are joined by a very peculiar Dr. Locksley Hall (Alan Mowbray) with two beautiful women, who are supposedly his wife and daughter and who call themselves actors. They are headed in the same direction simply because they were recently driven out of the nearest town and have no other place to go. Nothing particularly unpleasant happens till they bump into Cleggs, a dangerous family gang consisting of father and his three sons who are on the run from the Marshal of the town where they recently committed murder and bank robbery.

Overall Wagon Master is no more nor less than one more precious pearl in a necklace of John Ford's wonderful Westerns. A must see. 9/10

not one of my favourite John Ford Westerns,but i still liked it a lot

[disdressed12 · 7/10 · 14 March 2010]

although i liked this Western,i do have to say,it's not one of my favourite John Ford Westerns.for me,it just lacks a certain something that most of his other films(the ones i have seen anyway)possess)i'm nit sure what that something is.it's not something tangible.anyway,the gist of the story is about a Mormon wagon train which is being used by a band of outlaws as a hideout from a pursuing posse.Ford employs a lot of his regulars here.there are some interesting characters,some nice scenery,a bit of action,and excitement.it all adds up to a watchable experience.it's certainly not boring.just not quite up to the usual John Ford standard.for me,Wagon Master is a 7/10

Mormon Trek

[Rindiana · 5/10 · 7 November 2010]

There might be a certain visual poetic quality to Ford's frontier fairy-tale about the team spirit of the American people, but narrative-wise this one's even slighter than the director's usual Western efforts without gaining some of their intensity.

That said, the characters - played enthusiastically by a cast of supporting actors - are quite likable and there's a relaxed air to the proceedings. Still, the pic's as easily forgotten as it is watched; except for a memorable episode featuring Navajos.

And the schmaltzy songs grow tiresome, indeed.

5 out of 10 run-of-the-mill villains

Marvellous Western

[lorenellroy · 31 May 2002]

"One hundred years have come and gone since 1849"intone the Sons of the Pioneers over the titles of the movie ,thus establishing what we are about to see is a reminiscence of the days when the West was opened up.The movie is ballad heavy indeed,and could be seen as the movie that most precisely mirrors Ford's love of music,which is shown as a unifying force bringing communities together .Ford was to claim it was his favourite movie-one which,together with "The Fugitive"and "The Sun Shines Bright"saw him most accurately achieve what he set out to do It is an intimate epic whose episodic narrative focuses on the exploits of a Mormon wagon train leaving the inhospitable climes of the city to seek out the "promised land"near the San Juan River.They are guided by two horse traders,played by those dependable Ford repertory company members Ben Johnson and Harry Carry Jnr .Indians are encountered but ,uniquely for a wagon train movie they are friendly and there is no grand scale Indian attack.Instead the chief menace comes from an outlaw gang headed by the truly evil Uncle Silas(a mesmerising performance by Charles Kempson)and featuring rare unsympathetic roles from James Arness and Hank Worden.It is they who bring trouble on the train and menace its inhabitants.

The casting is perfect.Ford normally relied on iconographic peformers like Wayne ,Fonda or Stewart but by casting Johnson and Carry he chose the "right size"actors 'ones who are more able to suggest the decent ordinary men who will lay it on the line for the right cause and can persuade an audience they just might lose Good to see Alan Mowbray as an itinerant showman reprising the type of role he played so memorably in My Darling Clementine and Ward Bond as the worldly Mormon leader is fine.Only two problems for me with the movie-love interest in the form of Joanna Dru did not convince and I could not believe Mormons were as liberal as depicted here.Minor quibbles apart it is a beautiful movie with atmospheric monochrome photography and a love for the material and the era it celebrates shining through.Elsewhere on this site-its Message boards to be exact-Ford detractors have started their pettifogging sniping.I would like to think this movie would silence their iconoclastic jejeune ravings but probably not. Enjoy and wallow in its visual and emotional beauty

The Book of Mormon goes "Westward, Ho!"

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 12 January 2015]

The perfect double bill for the 1940 20th Century Fox classic "Brigham Young, Frontiersman", this John Ford western is a fast moving and action packed follow-up to that story of a group of Mormons heading into dangerous territory with a family of vile murderers and thieves on their trail. The moment the Clegg family slithers into their camp you know something is up because of the sudden mood of merriment changing into a somber atmosphere. This slimy looking clan is wanted by the Fed's, and it is obvious that when they innocently ask for food from the traveling caravan that there is going to be trouble in the wake of their arrival.

Charles Kemper is the slimy patriarch of the Clegg clan (which includes a young James Arness), and he is certainly one of the most unforgettable villains in westerns. Ben Johnson gets the leading hero role here, someone who only draws his gun on a snake, which he certainly will need to do here. Harry Carey, Ward Bond and Jane Darwell are among the elders of the group, joined by non-Mormans Alan Mowbray and Joanne Dru, a shapely woman of ill repute who has the Mormon women watching their husbands very carefully. Jim Thorpe, as in "Jim Thorpe, All American", plays a member of the Navajo tribe the group encounters. Ford presents the Navajos as distrustful of white men because of bad deals they made with others, and amusingly, when the Navajos discover that the group are Mormons, they refer to them as only partly dishonest as opposed to the other group they encountered before.

A disturbing sequence has one of the Clegg men being whipped for obviously having just raped a Navajo woman, and as the Morman elders try to convince papa Clegg, it's better for his son to be whipped than the rest of them be scalped. It's nice to see the Navjos presented as a friendly tribe whose efforts to befriend the white man in previous encounters has only lead to betrayal from the supposedly more civilized Caucasians. When the Mormans, having been held at rifle point by the Cleggs, encounter the Feds, the mood becomes intense and they must make some quick decisions in order to avoid bloodshed while being questioned. These seemingly simple non-violent people prove themselves to be pretty crafty, and they realize obviously at some point, they are going to have to resort to violence to keep themselves from being annihilated by the Cleggs which comes none too soon.

John Ford really was the master of the western, having in recent years proved his medal with such classics as "Fort Apache", "Red River" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon". This one actually is made more memorable by the absence of John Wayne because this is much more an ensemble piece where everybody is either a hero or villain and the focus isn't on just one character. This also has a very memorable musical score and some extremely intense moments, particularly one where they desperately try to get the covered wagons over a dangerous cliff that certainly isn't covered wagon friendly. This is a film that even non-western fans can enjoy because it is very unique in its storytelling and features a very interesting premise not usually associated with the common man's western.

Great setting, below average plot

[JurijFedorov · 7/10 · 15 November 2022]

Quite a fun experience, but not quite a proper movie. I like the settings, the characters, the ancient technology, the brutality and historical significance. It's just a wonderful setting and it makes you wish you were there with them. If it was in color it would look amazing.

Unfortunately the plot is quite weak. You expect a big showdown, but we only get a minute long shootout at the very end. Before that it was just a tale of traveling. Which is awesome and engaging by itself, but it lacks plot. Bad guys are with the wagon train. Bad guys have bad plans, but only a few minutes before the end do the bad guys reveal their plan and then finally the good guys have to react with violence. Before that there were some cute romance scenes, but it always felt too little. Like, we don't even see the couples get together. They are just kinda in the same place, but we never see where they end up. The 2 leads, the wagon masters, are also not clearly defined. They are childish horse salesmen. But what else do they know? I think John Ford tried to hint at them being a bit sleazy. But I wish they had more plans and stories. They are just kinda there and that's why they are the leads and why the 2 cute ladies like them. Not because they are special. Overall the setting is so amazing that the plot doesn't need to work to make the movie work overall. I just really wish they had done more with the 2 romance stories. That would make the movie. Or let the leads kill off the bad guys slowly with clever tricks instead of just doing it all at the very end. That would make the plot work too.

Those who abjure violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf

[JamesHitchcock · 7/10 · 5 July 2021]

"Wagon Master" occupies a position in John Ford's filmography in the middle of his "cavalry trilogy", being made in 1950 after the first two episodes, "Fort Apache" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", and immediately before the third, "Rio Grande". Those three films tell the story of the wars between the US Cavalry and the Native American peoples of the South-West, but "Wagon Master" is a quite different type of Western. It tells the story of a Mormon pioneer wagon train to the San Juan River in Utah. The Mormons are portrayed as pacifists who, for religious reasons, do not carry guns. (This appears to be historically inaccurate, as Mormon pioneers generally did carry guns for protection against bandits, hostile Indians and wild animals). Although the film's title refers to a singular "wagon master", there are in fact two wagon masters Travis Blue and Sandy Owens, hired by the Mormons to lead them through unfamiliar territory.

Unlike most of Ford's films, this one does not include a big-name star. (At this period his favourites were John Wayne and Henry Fonda). The two best known actors are probably Ben Johnson as Travis and Ward Bond as a Mormon Elder. This lack of a big name may have been a deliberate choice by the director, because this is a film about shared hardships and collective efforts to overcome them rather than individual heroics. There are two main strands to the plot. One concerns the addition to the wagon train of a group of showpeople who have become stranded. Although the Mormons accept them out of common humanity, the clash of values between the two groups leads to some tensions, especially when Travis falls in love with a female entertainer whom the Mormons regard as a woman of low morals. The other strand involves a family of outlaws (a father and four sons) who attempt to rob the wagon train, leading to a shootout between the robbers and the wagon masters.

This shootout is one of only a few action sequences in the film, and the only violent one. This is a more peaceful film than any of the cavalry trilogy. The wagon train do have an encounter with the local Navajo Indians, but all ends peacefully, and the Navajo even invite the white people to a dance. The film, however, has been described as less an action-adventure movie than a poetic celebration of the opening-up of the American West. As often with Ford's films, there is an emphasis on visual beauty and on the photography of the scenery. Other directors from this period, such as George Stevens, Anthony Mann and William Wyler, who exploited the beauty of the Western landscapes generally did so by using colour; Ford could do so in monochrome, as he does here.

Unlike their Mormon employers, Travis and Sandy have no moral scruples about carrying or using weapons, and the film has been seen as a study of the ethics of pacifism. The Mormons' adherence to their principles of non-violence may seem admirable, but without Travis and Sandy to defend them from the outlaws, their Elder would have been killed, their grain (the most valuable thing they are carrying) stolen and their venture would have ended in failure. George Orwell once said that "Those who abjure violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf" and Ford seems to be making a similar point here. 7/10.

Film-as-poetry

[amolad · 10/10 · 8 March 2001]

One of the most poetic narrative films ever made, WAGONMASTER is nonetheless a difficult film to immediately like. I love this movie, but I recommend seeing some of John Ford's other westerns before taking a look at this one. The first time I saw it I was 18 years old and I hadn't seen too many other westerns, and I hated it. I thought it was incredibly boring. I kept waiting for something to happen. It took several years for me to love this picture. First, I fell in love with westerns in general -- the traditions, characters, landscapes, ways of talking, etc -- and that made me realize when I saw WAGONMASTER again that a lot is happening in it after all.

I also was simply a more experienced moviegoer at that point and had learned to appreciate visual storytelling, and to listen to what each image was telling me. WAGONMASTER is a very visual movie by one of the most visual of directors working near the peak of his career.

The movie is a celebration of a way of life, and its subject matter is more emotional and interior than other Ford westerns. Actually, that's not really as accurate as saying that, rather, it has a lot less exterior action than the other westerns. (The other westerns have exterior action AND interior emotion.) It quite beautifully places its Mormon pioneers in the context of nature. There are many shots of animals and children -- not for any surface, narrative purpose, but for illustrating this idea. That is why the movie can be called a poem. It isn't about the surface story (which barely exists) nearly as much as it is about an emotional idea, and it gets this idea across through composition, editing, sound and music. In fact, one could argue that this is a purer form of filmmaking because the images directly express the emotional idea of the film, rather than having to first service a "story."

Give this movie a chance, and allow it to exist on its own terms, not the terms of other westerns or other movies.

Ford

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 3 July 2020]

A Mormon wagon train hires ragged horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey, Jr.) as their wagon master. They would encounter a stranded wagon of drunken entertainers, Navajo Indians, and the criminal Clegg family on the run from a posse.

This is director John Ford. I expected a lot more. It does have his expansive setting and poetic touches. I don't find it exciting or thrilling. Ben Johnson is probably the biggest name. The only compelling section is when the train is confronted by the Navajo. There is some real tension in that scene which heightens the rest of that section. The Cleggs could be more threatening. Other than some callousness, I don't find them scary. The final shootout is not that shocking or quite frankly not shoot very well. It's all rather matter of fact without the flash. Some people are calling this a masterpiece but I don't see it. It is still pretty good.

Wagon Master

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 27 November 2006]

Travis and Sandy(Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr.)are horse traders coerced into selling their animals to a Mormon group and guiding them across the frontier to a settlement. What they do not expect is to encounter the notorious Clegg murderers, with their wounded leader Uncle Shiloh(Charles Kemper). Ward Bond portrays Elder Wiggs, the main voice for the Mormon group moving the wagon train to the Lord's destination. Along the way, they also encounter "Doctor" A Locksley Hall and his "Hoochey Koochey Wagon" and lend them help.

Lovingly directed by Ford who pays close attention to detail with realistic problems any group would encounter during a rugged wagon trail. The film has a wonderful cast made up of character actors with nary a true star in the film which is actually a blessing to see, if just not for a change of pace. Young Johnson and Carey, Jr. come off real well, but this is Bond's film to shine as he has the best lines. Johnson is the one who seems to understand ruffians and brutes like Shiloh and will certainly come in handy when certain conflict might develop as the Clegg boys ride along side them a piece.

I'd have to say this is one of his best and most least appreciated westerns and seems to flow very well.

Solid John Ford Effort

[doug-balch · 6/10 · 1 July 2010]

This movie is a typical John Ford effort, which is a good thing. It's main difference is that it doesn't have a dominant starring leading man.

Here's what I liked:

• Ben Johnson is great in this. He should have gotten more work, especially with Ford. I forget when, but they had a big falling out not long after they made this movie. Johnson wouldn't tolerate Ford's abusive behavior and walked off a set. Ford never hired him again. What a shame. He's the best thing about this movie.

• I just love the little unique world Ford creates in his movies. Yes, it's all a little hokie, but somehow he pulls it off. There's always a special warmth and humanity to Ford's films you just don't see anywhere else.

• The heavy is very well played by Charles Kemper (who sadly died in a car accident soon after the film was released). Just as good are his evil brood of four dim witted sons, including an interesting early role by James Arness.

• Great stunt work with the horses and wagons.

• Almost all of the rest of the supporting cast is excellent. Nice to see Alan Mowbray reprise his drunken thespian character from "My Darling Clementine". Joann Dru is growing on me. Even Harry Carey Jr., who is normally annoying, is good in this.

• The Indians are well handled. Nice little bit about how dancing can bring different types of people together. Once again the evidence of Ford's movies contradicts complaints about his alleged racism.

Here's what was not so good:

• Ward Bond is absurdly miscast as a Mormon spiritual leader. This must have been a joke by Ford, who was Bond's carousing drinking buddy in real life.

• "Town" Westerns are OK in black and white. It's just no good for desert landscapes.

• There's just not much to the plot. "Mormons on wagon train. Heavies ride along and threaten them. They kill heavies."

Ben Johnson Only Draws on Snakes.

[bkoganbing · 10/10 · 29 December 2005]

There's a unique place in the pantheon of John Ford films for Wagonmaster, Sergeant Rutledge, and The Sun Shines Bright. It was these three films with no box office names in them that Ford didn't have to tailor the film around the persona of a star being it John Wayne, Henry Fonda, or any of the others he worked with. Not surprising that Ford considered all these as favorites of one kind or another.

Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr. a couple of likable cowpokes sign on to guide a Mormon wagon train to a valley in Arizona territory. Along the way they are joined first by a group stranded players from a medicine show and then by a family of outlaws on the run named Clegg. Their stories merge and what happens is the basis of the film's plot.

Had Wagonmaster been done even 10 years earlier on the strength of the two performances turned in by Johnson and Carey, both probably would have had substantial careers as B picture cowboys. In the case of Johnson it would have been art imitating life. Johnson was a real rodeo cowboy and and first worked with a string horses for John Ford to use in Fort Apache. Ford was struck by his presence and the rest is history.

But the day of the B western was drawing to a close and Johnson and Carey had great careers as two fine character actors.

Ward Bond plays Elder Wiggs leader of the Mormons. Bond is a recent convert though and has trouble remembering to not use some four letter words. But he's the leader because of his strength of character, not his impeccable LDS theology. He turns out to be a wise and compassionate leader.

In portraying the Cleggs, Ford only had to reach back four years to his My Darling Clementine. They are the reincarnation of the Clanton gang and pure evil. In fact if Walter Brennan who after My Darling Clementine refused to ever work for Ford again was willing I could easily see him being cast as Shiloh Clegg the head of the family. As it was Charles Kemper did a fine job, this is probably the role he's most noted for. Shortly after this film was done, Kemper was killed in automobile crash. He might very well have worked for Ford in the future.

Ford makes the Mormons pacifists here and I don't recall that pacifism was part of LDS doctrine. Nevertheless it works here, the whole idea being that these people who carry no weapons are innocents when dealing with evil people like the Cleggs. It takes some gun toting cowboys to properly dispose of them. I think that this post World War II film is trying to say that pacifism isn't always the best policy.

Another carryover from My Darling Clementine is Alan Mowbray playing the same kind of role he did there as head of the medicine show troupe. Part of that troupe is Joanne Dru who's doing another turn as a woman of elastic virtue the same as she did in Red River. Dru used to do so many westerns that she longed to be out of gingham and into some modern fashions.

Wagonmaster is great entertainment and I'm willing to wager in the state of Utah it's a pretty popular film.

Wagon Master

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 19 May 2020]

Wagon Master is a very different John Ford film. A simple western rather than an epic.

Two horse traders Travis (Ben Johnson) and Sandy (Harry Carey Jr) agree to lead a wagon train of a group of Mormons going over some uncharted territory to a town in Utah.

Members of a travelling medicine show join them for part of the journey. One night after some singing and dancing, a group of outlaws, the Cleggs who are on the run join them.

The Cleggs hope joining the wagon will not attract the attention of the posse chasing them. Travis knows that it is only a matter of time before the Cleggs turn against the Mormons.

The film concentrates on a community of pioneers seeking the promised land they hope to farm with the grain they are taking. There are a lot of musical songs, in truth it is there to pad the length of the movie.

Ford regarded this as one of his favourite westerns with his folksy vision. It is unusual as it does not contain his usual leads, John Wayne or Henry Fonda.

Didn't do it for me

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 8 January 2017]

WAGON MASTER is a John Ford western that I didn't think much of. It's a 1950 film but being shot in black and white and on the cheap it looks much older, at least ten years older. The story is a simple one about a wagon train travelling cross country and the encounters with various folk, both good and bad (typically bad) en route.

The film features Ben Johnson in the lead role and he plays a Mormon. He's not a particularly sympathetic character here, but then I found the film under-written as a whole. The plot keeps moving on and the wealth of characters that come and go are interesting in themselves, but I felt the story was missing depth. A bunch of familiar faces play in support (James Arness, Ward Bond, the delightful Hank Worden) but in the end, WAGON MASTER is the kind of film that passes you by rather than truly entertains.