Wagon Master (1950)

Two young drifters guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter cutthroats, Indians, geography, and moral challenges on the journey.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (as Frank Nugent), Patrick Ford

Stars:

Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru, Harry Carey Jr.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Jane Darwell	...	Sister Ledyard
Ruth Clifford	...	Fleuretty Phyffe
Russell Simpson	...	Adam Perkins
Kathleen O'Malley	...	Prudence Perkins
James Arness	...	Floyd Clegg
Francis Ford	...	Mr. Peachtree
Fred Libby	...	Reese Clegg
Jim Thorpe	...	Navajo Indian
Mickey Simpson	...	Jesse Clegg

Storyline

As Mormon settlers head to the promised land at the San Juan river in Utah, they hire horse traders Travis Blue and Sandy as wagon masters. They have to forge a trail across unknown territory and face many hardships along the way. They quickly come across some stranded travelers, a medicine show run by Dr. A. Locksley Hall which includes the attractive Denver. Along the way however, they are also joined by Shiloh Clegg and his murderous clan of robbers and thieves. An encounter with the Navajo leads to an invitation to their camp but after one of the Clegg boys gets a whipping for attacking one of the Navajo women, Uncle Shiloh plans his revenge. It's left to Sandy and Travis to protect the travelers and get them to their destination.

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Plot Keywords:

double gun holster | gun | holster | gun holster | two gun holster | 

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Taglines:

John Ford's lusty successor to "Fort Apache" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. play characters with the same first names they have in Rio Grande. Johnson plays Travis Tyree and Carey Daniel "Sandy" Boone in the latter movie.

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Goofs

While the peaceful Mormon homesteaders may not have been carrying sidearms, that they would also not have rifles and shotguns (for hunting and protection from animals) seems unlikely. Certainly 19th century Mormons didn't have an aversion to firearms - one of the greatest gun designers in history, John M. Browning, was a practicing Mormon.

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Quotes

Travis Blue: Feet hurt, ma'am?
Denver: Nope!
Travis Blue: Well here, try these on!
[Hands here a pair of walking shoes, she puts them on]
Denver: Did you get these from that... red-headed gal?
Travis Blue: You mean Miss Prudence?... yes ma'am.
Denver: Is she your wife?
Travis Blue: No ma'am... How do they feel?
Denver: Fine. A little large for me maybe, but fine. Thanks very much, and thank your lady friend.
[Denver arises, and starts to walk away, Travis looks after her]
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Directed by John Ford (1971)

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Soundtracks

SHADOWS IN THE DUST
Words and Music by Stan Jones
Recorded by Sons of the Pioneers (as The Sons of the Pioneers)
Sung by the Sons of the Pioneers (uncredited)

User Reviews

The covered wagons, their people and their music

It takes a while to get adjusted to the sound of Sons of The Pioneers , but then you thoroughly enjoy it. If the soundtrack would be played by an orchestra like Max Steiner or Dmitri Tiomkin it would lose its folkloric character. The music conducts the film, everything seems to follow its rhythm. The whole cast is excellent. Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. are the young men guiding the caravan. Ward Bond is the Mormon leader and Joanne Dru is a flirting actress. Ford was able to make of what would be an ordinary western, something totally different and original showing us the music, the dances, and most of all, the people.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Navajo Spanish

Release Date:

22 April 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wagonmaster

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$999,370 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argosy Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1