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.

WAGON MASTER has been justly praised as one of director John Ford's most poetic films, with its vivid evocation of a lost world of a wagon train traveling west in the late nineteenth century, carrying a group of Mormons led by Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) and guided by two horse-traders (Ben Johnson, Harry Carey jnr.)In view of its release-date (1950), however, it is possible to see the film as a lament for a lost world of community, where people of different interests learn to co-exist with one another: the horse- traders set aside their buccaneering lifestyles and agree to guide the Mormons, while the Mormons offer them their hospitality in return. The only possible threat to the survival of this community is Uncle Shiloh Clegg (Charles Kemper), who initially agrees to travel with them, yet ends up holding the Mormons and the horse- traders at gunpoint. Although pretending to be friendly, it's clear he's not someone to be trusted. This notion was something very much on the public agenda in the early Fifties, at the time of the anticommunist purges: no one could be trusted anymore. WAGON MASTER makes much the same point, and further suggests that those who appear to be the most friendly turn out to be the most dangerous.Ford emphasizes the importance of community not only through the screenplay, but through the musical score (by Richard Hageman) and the songs, which evoke a prelapsarian world in which people's first loyalty is to their God and their fellow human beings rather than themselves. Although leading a very precarious life, subject to attack by various forces, including questioning by an over-zealous Marshal (Cliff Lyons), the train keeps resolutely to its chosen path and eventually reaches its own particular El Dorado. The implication is clear: faith (that inspires people to embrace the frontier myth and proceed westwards) brings its own rewards.The film has a clutch of memorable performances, ranging from Bond's comically splenetic Elder, perpetually trying to stop himself from cursing, to Jane Darwell's Sister Ledyard, who is always willing to offer succor in the form of words and/or food to anyone in trouble. Perhaps WAGON MASTER is not one of Ford's most celebrated films, but it is nonetheless a little gem.

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

I don't think I really have any spoilers in here but since I do describe a couple of funny scenes, I'll check the box saying 'might contain spoilers' just to be on the safe side. Now...I hardly know where to start. By now you know the basic outline of the story - horse traders Travis (Ben Johnson) and Sandy (Harry Carey Jr.) take the job of guiding a Mormon wagon train West to their 'promised land' and along the way encounter a variety of trials and interesting characters, most notably the outlaw Clegg family.Anyone can enjoy this movie. You don't have to be a fan of Westerns to like this one. For one thing, Johnson and Carey are two of the most quickly likable characters you'll see in any movie. Carey in particular is animated and outgoing, almost like a big kid - while Johnson is a little calmer and wiser, kind of like an older-brother figure. I get a kick out of the scene where they sell the sheriff one of their 'gentle horses' for ten dollars; then inform him that the horse has "some peculiarities - you might say failings"... Travis elbows Sandy who lets loose with a shrill whistle, sending the sheriff's new horse off on a wild bucking fit with him in the saddle. The look on his face as the horse finally dumps him and gallops away is priceless.Pay attention to the music... even if you never thought you'd be a fan of the Sons of the Pioneers, listen to "Shadows in the Dust" as the wagon train is shown in motion with some of the people walking along between the wagons. It's a truly beautiful song- too bad only half a minute or so of it is in the movie. I want to hear the whole thing sometime.One thing that impressed me greatly about this movie is that much of it must have been almost as hard to make as the real situation it portrays. Teams of six horses pulling wagons up steep mountain trails, straining to make the top - this was no simple and easy film. It must have been risky for the actors, the stunt people and the animals as well. Fording rivers too, this movie has plenty of authentic-looking action involving the movement of the wagon train. It should be mentioned that both Harry Carey Jr. and Ben Johnson were extremely competent riders, both with many years' experience riding, roping, and doing all manner of cowboy-type things. Carey grew up on a ranch where his family employed many Navaho Indians and in fact he learned to speak Navaho before he learned to speak English. No rhinestone cowboys in this movie - "Travis" and "Sandy" were the real thing through and through.Watch for the scene when Miss Denver throws out the pan of water from her wagon, hitting Travis's horse in the face... the horse starts bucking, eventually throwing him off it. Watch the look on Sandy's face when Denver tells Travis 'I'm sorry you fell off your horse.' Another favorite scene of mine is when Harry Carey Jr. (Sandy) gets into a bit of a tiff with one of the Mormons. They're working back to back getting their gear ready, and after Sandy gets disgusted with the other fellow, the two of them get into a rear-end bumping match that quickly turns into a rolling-around-on-the-ground fist fight. Even after the Elder (Ward Bond) stands them up and separates them, the two combatants continue trying to get at each other. The Mormon (named 'Jackson' in the film) gets one final kick in at Sandy so high it hits his shoulder. It's a really funny scene from start to finish. I don't know what else I can say about this movie other than that it has a good story, very engaging characters, beautiful scenery and plenty of action balanced with humor and a bit of drama. Oh, it has been colorized, at least in the version I saw; not the most beautiful color film you'll ever see but I think I prefer it to black and white. I give this one a ten and I don't give out many 10's. One of my favorite movies, without a doubt. And, judging by the other comments, I have plenty of company in that assessment.