With undisputed classics like The Searchers, How The West Was Won and Stagecoach to his name, John Ford is often said to be one of the greatest filmmakers in the western genre. If we are being truthful, he is one of the best in any genre as films like The Quiet Man and The Grapes of Wrath should very well show – legendary filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman and Orson Welles would also support this claim. With more than 140 films credited to the prolific filmmaker, it stands to reason that not all of his efforts are regarded equally. One that was widely ignored upon its release but has grown substantially in stature is the 1950 tale Wagon Master. With its lack of stars and more contained narrative, audiences did not give this one the attention it deserved, but when one views it now you can clearly see what a strong piece of visual storytelling it is. If our opinion is not enough, Ford himself named it as one of his personal favorites. With the breadth of his career, you have to pay attention when he makes a claim such as this.
From the opening moments of the film, you can sense something a bit out of the ordinary is happening. While not a big deal from a modern perspective, Wagon Master begins with a murderous prelude on screen that goes into the opening credits. When you watch a ton of classic films, you can feel how innovative this is for the time period. The relatively straightforward story concerns a group of Mormons led by the Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond, It’s A Wonderful Life) around 1880 who has been leading the wagon train towards the San Juan River country in southeastern Utah Territory. While remaining in relatively good shape until this time, upon the arrival in Crystal City it is determined that they are in need of a wagon master to ensure they get to their destination safely. On a whim, horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson, The Wild Bunch) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey, Jr., Tombstone) take this long-haul job through dangerous territory. Along the way they encounter various sights, including a stranded medicine show troupe who are brought into the wagon train. Denver (Joanne Dru, Red River), a female entertainer with the medicine troupe, proves to be a welcome addition to Travis.
What makes Wagon Master a bit atypical is its lack of big action moments, choosing instead to let drama bloom naturally from the character interactions. The Mormons are pacifists so violence only escalates when there is no other option. Ford and cinematographer Bert Glennon make the most of their 1.37:1 aspect ratio as they capture the lovely, vast western expanse in a way that makes you want to slow the film down to take in the scenery a little longer. The same locations prove to be perilous to the wagon train at various points during the journey. Although, they are not quite as dangerous as the Clegg family with the patriarch Shiloh (Charles Kemper, Scarlet Street) and his four “boys” – remember that murderous prologue we mentioned? The almost cat-and-mouse game that is played between the faux-innocent Cleggs and the rest of the wagon train makes for some expert level tension that boils over in the final moments. Ford never betrays the deliberate pace he establishes with this one early on, and the film is all the better for it.
The worst thing that can be said of this film is that one of the lead performers, Ben Johnson, shows signs of his inexperience in front of the camera but not so much as to embarrass himself. The ensemble is just so strong from supporting character to supporting character that you feel blessed to have so many talented people in one story. Audiences were not interested during the original release because it did not have a star such as John Wayne or Henry Fonda to lead the show, but when you take a look at this delicate little story you cannot help but feel a bigger presence would have greatly overshadowed the more nuanced elements that make this one special. Wagon Master is a pretty wonderful small-scale drama that allows its characters to run the show rather than letting the action dictate the tempo. Do not make the mistake of avoiding this one just because it does not feature a big movie star.
Video Quality
Warner Archive presents Wagon Master for the first time on Blu-Ray with 1080p transfer sourced from a 2K scan of the master positive. You can always count on Warner Archive to deliver top-notch work, and the image is nothing short of stunning for a film that is over seventy years old. This black and white feature has nice, natural film grain throughout that provides a great amount of detail to the image. The presentation has a pleasing amount of depth to it including in the shadows where there is no evidence of any black crush. Print damage is virtually nonexistent to these eyes throughout the duration of the movie. It is always amazing to see how film preservation can give a film a new vibrancy, and Warner Archive has reached perfection with this release.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that is as much of a knockout as the video portion. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements so that nothing sounds muddy in the mix. This track shows no discernible age related wear and tear such as popping or hissing. The music complements the competing various sounds quite well, and the score from Richard Hageman has never sounded better. This is not a film with big action set pieces, but what kinetic moments it does have throughout is handled quite well. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. This audio presentation is a perfect representation of the film.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich hosts this track with actor Harry Carey Jr. and also an archival interview with director John Ford inserted into the track. Although not without its moments of silence, this is an extremely entertaining and informative track which provides anecdotes from the production, tidbits about the film, praise for the feature and so much more that helps accentuate your appreciation for the feature.
Final Thoughts
Wagon Master is a top tier effort from the great John Ford that may not have the cultural cache of something like The Searchers but should be appreciated all the same. At under 90 minutes, Ford creates a deeply compelling character-driven drama that is brought to life through some thoughtful filmmaking. This coupled with a wonderful ensemble cast makes this one you should add to your list of Ford essentials. Warner Archive has provided a Blu-Ray with an immaculate A/V presentation and a fantastic commentary track. Any old school western fan is sure to love this one. Recommended
Wagon Master can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
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