Wagon Master (1950) - January 16, 2009 1:00 p.m. EST
Posted: January 12th, 2009, 3:20 pm
I hope western fans will tune in to TCM this
Friday to catch a rare showing of one of director John Ford's personal
favorites of all his films---and it is Wagon Master, not The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance or The Searchers, that he spoke of as
the western coming closest to realizing his intentions.
It's not currently available on DVD, but one hopes it will be one
day. Until then, don't miss it and let me know what you think.
Below is an excellent TCM article on the film:
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.js ... eId=146791
"Be gentle," repeats Ben Johnson over and over early in Wagon Master
(1950). He's talking to his horses, but in a way, he's talking to the
audience, too. There's not much action forthcoming (especially for a
Western), and there is barely a story. And yet Wagon Master is one of the
most poetic narrative films ever made. What little plot exists is secondary
to the movie's real concern: celebrating a way of life, that of Mormon
pioneers, and placing it in the context of nature. Director John Ford, one
of the most visual of directors working near the peak of his career, called
Wagon Master not only his favorite Western but described it as, "along
with The Fugitive (1947) and The Sun Shines Bright (1953), the closest to
being what I had wanted to achieve."
In a rare starring role, Ward Bond plays the leader of a group of
Mormons who, shunned by society, struggle to cross the American West
to reach their "promised land," where they can settle and form a
community. They ask two horse traders (Ben Johnson and Harry Carey,
Jr.) who know the territory to lead their wagon train. It takes some
convincing, but they finally agree to do it, and the rest of the story follows
their journey and the obstacles they must overcome, including Indians,
gunmen, and Mother Nature. Yet the story often pauses to revel in the
characters dancing, whittling or singing (the soundtrack is packed with old
Western songs), and to show pastoral sequences of the wagons simply
moving through the landscape or crossing a river. These scenes become
the emotional core of the film, and they undoubtedly are what Ford was
so satisfied to have achieved.
By all accounts, the production of Wagon Master was as relaxed and
enjoyable as the movie itself. Fittingly, it was a family project: John Ford
received story credit and directed. His son Patrick shared screenplay
credit (with Frank Nugent). His brother Francis was in the cast (as Mr.
Peachtree), and his daughter Barbara was assistant editor! With a budget
just under $1 million (the highest paid actor was Ward Bond at $20,000),
Ford was able to shoot the picture in under a month by filming between
10 and 28 setups a day, often doing just one take. Filming took place
mostly near Moab, Utah, then a tiny town. On weekends, with nothing else
to do, the movie company took over the town theater and put on Robert
Service's "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," staged and narrated by John
Ireland, who was in Moab to be with his wife Joanne Dru - the leading
lady of Wagon Master.
Ford liked Moab because of its landscape - especially its river crossings -
but also because of the look of the local populace. Patrick Ford
remembered, "Moab had the greatest faces in the world. John wouldn't
credit a Hollywood extra if he could do otherwise. He wouldn't use a
Hollywood Indian if there was still a real Indian alive." Furthermore, wrote
Harry Carey, Jr., in his memoir, Company of Heroes, "To Ford, there was
no such person as an extra, and because of that, they all adored him. He
knew most of them by name by the end of that first day. They'd do
anything for him."
Ward Bond gave one of his most endearing performances in Wagon
Master. At one point he accidentally fell off his horse, luckily not hurting
his left leg, which had been damaged some time earlier in a car accident
and on which he often wore a brace. With the camera still rolling, Bond
remained in character, got up and angrily berated the horse - a bit that
remained in the picture.
An even more amusing incident happened on the day that Ford decided to
work into the film two local dogs who were constantly getting into fights
with each other. Ford wanted to stage a fistfight between Carey and a
stuntman with the dogs fighting in the background. Ward Bond was then
to enter the frame and separate the two men. Ford methodically
explained the logistics to everyone, and the two men started their fight.
But when the dogs were let loose, they didn't fight - they froze. Then one
ran away while the other attacked Bond, ripping his left pant leg wide
open. "I have never in my life seen Jack Ford laugh so hard,"
remembered Carey. "Ward ran into the scene, torn pants and all, and
separated the two of us." This scene remains in the finished film.
Producer: Merian C. Cooper, Lowell J. Farrell, John Ford
Director: John Ford
Screenplay: John Ford (story), Patrick Ford, Frank S. Nugent
Cinematography: Bert Glennon
Film Editing: Jack Murray
Art Direction: James Basevi
Music: Richard Hageman, Stan Jones
Cast: Ben Johnson (Travis Blue), Joanne Dru (Denver), Harry Carey Jr. (Sandy), Ward Bond (Elder Wiggs), Charles Kemper (Uncle Shiloh Clegg), Alan Mowbray (Dr. A. Locksley Hall).
BW-86m. Closed captioning.
by Jeremy Arnold
Friday to catch a rare showing of one of director John Ford's personal
favorites of all his films---and it is Wagon Master, not The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance or The Searchers, that he spoke of as
the western coming closest to realizing his intentions.
It's not currently available on DVD, but one hopes it will be one
day. Until then, don't miss it and let me know what you think.
Below is an excellent TCM article on the film:
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.js ... eId=146791
"Be gentle," repeats Ben Johnson over and over early in Wagon Master
(1950). He's talking to his horses, but in a way, he's talking to the
audience, too. There's not much action forthcoming (especially for a
Western), and there is barely a story. And yet Wagon Master is one of the
most poetic narrative films ever made. What little plot exists is secondary
to the movie's real concern: celebrating a way of life, that of Mormon
pioneers, and placing it in the context of nature. Director John Ford, one
of the most visual of directors working near the peak of his career, called
Wagon Master not only his favorite Western but described it as, "along
with The Fugitive (1947) and The Sun Shines Bright (1953), the closest to
being what I had wanted to achieve."
In a rare starring role, Ward Bond plays the leader of a group of
Mormons who, shunned by society, struggle to cross the American West
to reach their "promised land," where they can settle and form a
community. They ask two horse traders (Ben Johnson and Harry Carey,
Jr.) who know the territory to lead their wagon train. It takes some
convincing, but they finally agree to do it, and the rest of the story follows
their journey and the obstacles they must overcome, including Indians,
gunmen, and Mother Nature. Yet the story often pauses to revel in the
characters dancing, whittling or singing (the soundtrack is packed with old
Western songs), and to show pastoral sequences of the wagons simply
moving through the landscape or crossing a river. These scenes become
the emotional core of the film, and they undoubtedly are what Ford was
so satisfied to have achieved.
By all accounts, the production of Wagon Master was as relaxed and
enjoyable as the movie itself. Fittingly, it was a family project: John Ford
received story credit and directed. His son Patrick shared screenplay
credit (with Frank Nugent). His brother Francis was in the cast (as Mr.
Peachtree), and his daughter Barbara was assistant editor! With a budget
just under $1 million (the highest paid actor was Ward Bond at $20,000),
Ford was able to shoot the picture in under a month by filming between
10 and 28 setups a day, often doing just one take. Filming took place
mostly near Moab, Utah, then a tiny town. On weekends, with nothing else
to do, the movie company took over the town theater and put on Robert
Service's "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," staged and narrated by John
Ireland, who was in Moab to be with his wife Joanne Dru - the leading
lady of Wagon Master.
Ford liked Moab because of its landscape - especially its river crossings -
but also because of the look of the local populace. Patrick Ford
remembered, "Moab had the greatest faces in the world. John wouldn't
credit a Hollywood extra if he could do otherwise. He wouldn't use a
Hollywood Indian if there was still a real Indian alive." Furthermore, wrote
Harry Carey, Jr., in his memoir, Company of Heroes, "To Ford, there was
no such person as an extra, and because of that, they all adored him. He
knew most of them by name by the end of that first day. They'd do
anything for him."
Ward Bond gave one of his most endearing performances in Wagon
Master. At one point he accidentally fell off his horse, luckily not hurting
his left leg, which had been damaged some time earlier in a car accident
and on which he often wore a brace. With the camera still rolling, Bond
remained in character, got up and angrily berated the horse - a bit that
remained in the picture.
An even more amusing incident happened on the day that Ford decided to
work into the film two local dogs who were constantly getting into fights
with each other. Ford wanted to stage a fistfight between Carey and a
stuntman with the dogs fighting in the background. Ward Bond was then
to enter the frame and separate the two men. Ford methodically
explained the logistics to everyone, and the two men started their fight.
But when the dogs were let loose, they didn't fight - they froze. Then one
ran away while the other attacked Bond, ripping his left pant leg wide
open. "I have never in my life seen Jack Ford laugh so hard,"
remembered Carey. "Ward ran into the scene, torn pants and all, and
separated the two of us." This scene remains in the finished film.
Producer: Merian C. Cooper, Lowell J. Farrell, John Ford
Director: John Ford
Screenplay: John Ford (story), Patrick Ford, Frank S. Nugent
Cinematography: Bert Glennon
Film Editing: Jack Murray
Art Direction: James Basevi
Music: Richard Hageman, Stan Jones
Cast: Ben Johnson (Travis Blue), Joanne Dru (Denver), Harry Carey Jr. (Sandy), Ward Bond (Elder Wiggs), Charles Kemper (Uncle Shiloh Clegg), Alan Mowbray (Dr. A. Locksley Hall).
BW-86m. Closed captioning.
by Jeremy Arnold