A good movie

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, since it was included in the ‘They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’ list, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I’m usually not a huge fan of such vintage Westerns but I have to admit that this one was actually pretty good. On the other hand, with someone like John Ford at the helm, I guessed it was to be expected. Sure, like many other Westerns of the time period, it did romanticize this part of the American mythology but, as far as I was concerned, it turned out to be actually fairly subtle, at least, more than usually with this genre. Indeed, when these Mormon settlers finally encountered some Indians (which was obviously bound to happen at some point), I was worried that the Native Americans would be portrayed as some mindless savages but, fortunately, it wasn’t the case at all. Indeed, they were actually handled as equals which was surprising. Of course, this vision of Cowboys and Indians living in peace and harmony was too good to be true as the Indians were never handled as equals and were massively slaughtered. But, still, I preferred this rose-coloured take than having them portrayed as the usual hysterical bloodthirsty killers. I also liked the fact that the Wagon Master was not some tough gunslinger but a seasoned thoughtful man who would rather not engage in some hazardous gunfight with a gang making him stand-out from the usual main characters in such Westerns. Of course, this conflict was still concluded with some big shootout but I’m afraid there was no other way to resolve their predicament with the Cleggs. Concerning the rest of the movie, to be honest, I still think it was too generic and too predictable to become truly remarkable. The characters were also all barely developed and, even though Joanne Dru was really lovely, she was barely given anything to do at all. Still, I have to admit that the directing was really solid here and I especially loved this big horse chase with the Indians going after Travis Blue which was quite thrilling. Anyway, to conclude, even though it might not be one of John Ford’s most famous movies, I fully understand why it was one of his personal favorites and I actually really enjoyed it. 

7/10