Wagon Master (1950)

100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(410 ratings)

Wagon Master, splendidly directed by John Ford, is a superlative western. The film is the outwardly simple tale of a Mormon wagon train headed for Utah. Along the way, the group, led by Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) hook up with two horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey Jr),… More Wagon Master, splendidly directed by John Ford, is a superlative western. The film is the outwardly simple tale of a Mormon wagon train headed for Utah. Along the way, the group, led by Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) hook up with two horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey Jr), the members of a traveling medicine show and a tribe of Navajo Indians. The group is threatened by a gang, known as the Clegg family, who have robbed an express office and murdered the clerk. This wonderful film emphasizes the virtues of solidarity, sacrifice and tolerance, and shows John Ford at his most masterful, in total control of the production from the casting to the bit players to the grandeur and scope of the visual compositions. The film, with its breathtaking scenery, brilliant performances by a cast of character actors, and an engaging sense of humor, is a superlative example of the American western. Wagonmaster inspired the television series Wagon Train and was also shown in a computer-colorized version ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: John Ford
Written By: Patrick Ford, Frank S. Nugent
Genres: Western

In Theaters: Apr 19, 1950 Wide
On DVD: Sep 15, 2009
Studio: Republic Pictures

Critic Reviews

, 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
Jonathan Rosenbaum, DVD Beaver
This may be the closest Ford ever got to making a musical.
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.)
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...
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Maybe it was his beginnings in silent movies that gave Ford an appreciation for visual poetry.
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.
Paul Brenner, Filmcritic.com
one of Ford's masterworks, a sublime, crisp, unpretentious western that doesn't wear its mythos on its sleeve
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's one of the most likable of all the Westerns directed by John Ford.