Wagon Master

1950

1h 26m

Western

List

100%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

When a group of Mormons are run out of town for their religious beliefs, Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) searches for a wagon master to guide the outcasts to the San Juan Valley. Happening upon horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy (Harry Carey Jr.), Wiggs convinces the men to take the position due to their intimate knowledge of the area. Despite Blue and Sandy's guidance, the travelers experience numerous setbacks, especially when the Clegg family outlaws take refuge in their wagon train.

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Jeff S

A Western that often hovers on the fringes of a hokey musical is saved by some great scenery, Ben Johnson's wit, and some clever one-liners.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

Full Review

Liam D

John Ford (The Long Gray Line, They Were Expendable) most underrated western with its unknown cast given the movie a wholesome community

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/03/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Great plot and unreal old-west scenery. Enjoyed it quite a bit, especially seeing Ward Bond in his pre-Wagon Train days.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

John Ford's westerns focused on the benefits of bonding with a community vs. allowing people to exert their individuality when it comes to navigating the risks of the wilderness (although he also later implied that the constraints of civilisation could be burdensome and that something is lost when people subvert their will to the community). Here, a wagon train of Mormons, led by Ward Bond's Elder, needs to cross to their "promised land" in Utah - Monument Valley (or similar) is prominent. The Mormons hire two young horse traders - Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. - to serve as wagon masters, guiding the expedition based on their knowledge of the terrain. Along the way, they encounter a travelling medicine show, a gang of outlaws, and a group of Navajo. To some degree, each of these encounters threatens the community but the challenges are all overcome, either by absorbing the newcomers into the existing community (Joanne Dru, Alan Mowbray and the medicine show), creating a (temporary) superordinate community (with the Navajo), or destroying the threat (Charles Kemper and his outlaw family). Even the wagon masters themselves, who have been rugged individualists thus far, are eventually signed up for a commitment to family and community (if not necessarily to Mormonism). Throughout the film, the spectacular landscapes do take centre stage and the film looks astonishing in beautiful black and white. In comparison to other westerns of the time, Ford's artistry shines through - a set of shots featuring portraits of the main players as they reach a long-sought-after river is simply glorious.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fair enough watch, but I'm having difficulty picking up on why it's rated as high as it is. Nothing really stands out to warrant the high marks I see it getting. Sure as hell not the music which was pretty painful much of the time. Reminded me of some little ditty your kindergartner insists on listening to over and over and over...

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Probably the most casual and compact John Ford western I've seen so far.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

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John Ford

Director

Ben Johnson

Travis Blue

Joanne Dru

Denver

Ward Bond

Elder Wiggs

Harry Carey Jr.

Sandy

Charles Kemper

Uncle Shiloh Clegg

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Variety Staff

Variety

Wagon Master is a good outdoor action film, done in the best John Ford manner. That means careful character development and movement, spiced with high spots of action, good drama and leavening comedy moments

Feb 23, 2012

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Cinematographer Bert Glennon comes up with a number of impressive artistic compositions, although the film's biggest treat is seeing Ben Johnson given the opportunity to show off his sly charm and easygoing demeanor.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 31, 2019

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

DVD Beaver

This may be the closest Ford ever got to making a musical.

Apr 3, 2012

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Ford considered it among his personal favorites, and a handful of Ford's biggest admirers consider it a neglected masterpiece. (I do too.)

Rated: 4/4

Apr 3, 2012

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

It's as gentle and warm a film as [John Ford] ever made and it follows a classic Ford theme: the creation of a community in the west...

Sep 21, 2009

Full Review

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

...a simple, straightforward film telling a simple, straightforward story, artistic in its design and execution and poetic in its telling.

Rated: 7/10

Sep 20, 2009

Full Review

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Synopsis

When a group of Mormons are run out of town for their religious beliefs, Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) searches for a wagon master to guide the outcasts to the San Juan Valley. Happening upon horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy (Harry Carey Jr.), Wiggs convinces the men to take the position due to their intimate knowledge of the area. Despite Blue and Sandy's guidance, the travelers experience numerous setbacks, especially when the Clegg family outlaws take refuge in their wagon train.

Director: John Ford
Screenwriter: Frank S. Nugent, Patrick Ford
Production Co: RKO Pictures
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2014
Runtime: 1h 26m

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