Movie Review // Wagon Master (1950) with Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru, & Harry Carey Jr.

"The rivers are wide and rapid. The desert is vast and unforgiving. And when the trail turns craggy, men use pickaxes to dig grooves for the wagon wheels. Mother Nature can be overcome, but human nature remains deadly and unpredictable: Outlaws are using the Mormon wagon train as a hideout from a pursuing posse.

John Ford's Wagon Master is one of the legendary filmmaker's personal favorites, a visually stirring celebration of Western will and cooperation set to the soundtrack crooning of The Sons of the Pioneers. Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Ward Bond (who would later lead TV's Wagon Train) and other familiar Ford stock company players take the reins in this glorious paean to the pioneer spirit. "Wagons west!" (from back of dvd)

As aforementioned, fitting in the John Ford universe, there's a massive amount of overlap in primary actors between this and one of my (still) favorites She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. (Which -- I just doublechecked my earlier review -- ironically, I did for the original Legends of Western Cinema Week 11 years ago. Wow. Talk about coincidental charm.) 

Anyway! 

In true classic style, Wagon Master is peopled with a disparate collection of characters. Initially, it was a little challenging figuring out who everyone was and also exact character motivations / keeping up with decision changes, but I'm glad I persevered. I feel like it's one of those stories with gathered threads: strangers passing, lives brought together for a while -- where you don't completely know each back story or even exactly what direction they're headed in the future -- yet, for a while, they're all traveling companions in life itself. And all with a little twist.

The overall tone is upbeat and throughout there are little bits of lighthearted, often understated tongue-in-cheek humor, which is endearing. :) There are some kooky personalities and I liked how it highlighted how -- no matter the era or setting -- people have always been people. 

There are failed dreams. There are some sad drunks. There is a fallen-ish woman, though it's unclear what all has happened in her past. The interesting thing is that she's not terribly unhappy with her lot in life. So it has that unusual, nuanced view of the characters, which I found very interesting and thought provoking.

Content wise, I don't think there were any skippable scenes. There is an incident with one of the Cleggs (i.e. the villains of the piece) raping a Navajo woman, but it happens off-screen and would have gone right over my head as a child. There isn't even any English really spoken in that scene and it culminates with the guilty party being whipped (in a very bloodless fashion filming-wise). It's all a very fast moving scenario, but I honestly thought the way it was filmed was fascinating. Thinking about it now, having no English in that moment frames the situation in a really unique way -- in essence going silent and letting the voices of those who were unfortunately sinned against in that way be heard. A fleeting scene, but I haven't seen anything quite like it.

The initial set up takes a little while, but -- when the Cleggs show up at the halfway point -- all of a sudden the stakes are Real. Everything starts coalescing and the mettle of each man ultimately shows. My husband and daughter were both in and out and both got invested in the run up to the ending.

It basically touches on all different elements of the frontier -- Indian tensions (where the Indians turn out much friendlier than the outlaws), there are the outlaws with devious intent, there are honorable (and sometimes idiotic) young men at a bit of a loose end while finding their fortune, there are homesteaders, there are strong men and women, and there's a man clearly broken by life and strong women mysteriously loyal to said man, though that clearly means they'll be living some sort of shady moral existence.

I thought Google actually had a really good summary: "Despite a lukewarm reception upon its initial release, Wagon Master has since been recognized as one of John Ford's masterpieces, with the director himself calling it one of his most personally fulfilling works. The film is noted for its themes of community, cooperation, and the humanization of various groups, including the Navajo, who are portrayed with respect."

I agree with that. It's one of those big, sweeping stories that gets bigger in your head. I love when stories do that.

Definitely one that deserves its classic status!

Inklings // December 2024

Rules:

1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back here in your post.

2. Make sure to come back and leave a link to your entry in the box on this post. That's it!

~

December's prompt is:

Scene by a Christmas tree

Believe it or not, it took me like an extra week to post this as I had my chosen scene in mind, but wasn't exactly sure how to form it into a prompt. Then I decided to just be masterfully original and go with the above. (And I'm enjoying keeping things very simple and traditional round here this year. So in the end it all works. xD)

Full admission, I'm not a fan of a few of the dance numbers in White Christmas -- and in other ways as well it's not a perfect film -- but, come the ending, I'm always misty-eyed. The loyalty and camaraderie (all hearkening back to everything the men were going through at the beginning) is just a tear-jerker.

(Special edit re the song and dance interludes: As much as I like to skip some numbers, I equally love Other Ones, so... I'm always conflicted where it falls on my list.) 

Plus, about halfway through this last time, I realized that Betty Haynes (played by Rosemary Clooney) is one of my all time favorite characters in classic cinema.

But let us focus. Back to the ending. 

There are the red dresses...

But the entire ending is iconic. *mild spoilers and speaking with deliberate obtuseness* I just love the whole metaphorical imagery / dialogue Betty and Bob (Bing Crosby) develop throughout, epitomized by Betty's surprise gift at the end. {{melting}} And then the backdrop lifting... and the snow... *end spoilers* 

All absolutely epic and iconic. And so festive. *happy sigh*

Have you seen White Christmas? 💚

You can pop your links below:

🎄 Can't wait to see what y'all come up with and have fun! 🎄

Movie Review || The Rare Breed (1966) with James Stewart & Maureen O'Hara

(Dvd summary) "Veteran western director Andrew V. McLaglen puts his brand on this exciting story, based on America's acquisition of English Hereford cattle (which would phase out Texas longhorns). In the 1880's, Englishwoman Martha Price (Maureen O'Hara) and her daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) come to America to sell their prize Hereford bull at an auction. When he is purchased by Bowen, a wild Scotsman (Brian Keith), the women hire a footloose cowhand named Burnett (James Stewart) to help them transport the animal to its new owner. So begins an adventure that tests the mettle of all involved as they battle killers, cattle stampedes -- and each other. But when they reach Bowen's ranch, even greater obstacles force them to summon up extraordinary courage if they, and the prize bull, are to survive."

So we were in the middle of a massive heat wave awhile ago and any motivation to get writing was somehow at an all time low, but I popped this in (first time I've seen it!) and -- just from the title menu -- the spunky soundtrack popped me into western mode. xD I love the soundtrack.

The beginning of the film gets off to a jubilant start. And here I'm gonna insert a little breakdown of the characters (as much for my own future reference as anything else), because I did find all the conflicting names and interests in the beginning slightly confusing.

There are:

• Martha Evans: the mother
• Hilary: the daughter
• Charles Ellsworth: their fellow Englishman all dressed up in fine clothes who wins the bid on Vindicator
• Alexander Bowen: Ellsworth's business partner who actually runs the ranch in Texas
• John Taylor: the competing rancher who wants Vindicator and has the ever-suspect Jack Elam, aka 'Deke' in here, working for him
• Burnett (Jimmy Stewart): a free acting cowboy who *SPOILERS* is hired to transport Vindicator to Bowen in TX, but (in the interest of trying to make money / fleece Taylor in order to help an old friend) initially plans to steal Vindicator and hand him over to Taylor

Ok, I think that's all the primary names that come up in the first half of the film.

One thing I enjoyed -- and found particularly unique about this one -- is having the daughter, Hilary, be so clear-eyed when it comes to affairs of the heart (and various other things in general), but without acting like the older generation are complete idiots -- things are just complicated. Anyway, I had to giggle as I found myself identifying with her repeatedly.

When it comes to Martha (Maureen O'Hara), I love how she has backbone, but is still realistically slightly unsure of herself at times. I also love how she can stand her ground and speak her mind (using the business end of a rifle as a prop, if necessary), but all while being absolutely feminine and womanly.

So, at some point near the beginning, I admit I was dubious cause I thought the conflict might be handled more goofily than not ;P, but... I understand a girl who loves her cow + the British loving bit of me was just tickled throughout. It's also fun to see Jimmy Stewart being a grouch. So I was quickly won over.

All throughout there are complexities and obstacles to overcome and gray characters -- not in a legendary sense, but most of them the everyday sort of gray. Characters, too, who own up to their errors and try to forge a path forward.

So the first half is all about getting to the destination (all well done) and then the second half is after they've arrived at the long fabled compound. The high turning point between the two was quite memorable and exciting, *spoilers* what with the cattle stampede and the young stranger having an accident and all. (Though I must admit, the way they tossed and hauled Jamie around after he might have had a spinal injury... 😬🫣)

And upon arrival, we get our first look at Alex Bowen. I was absolutely not expecting him to be as he was. XD It's like someone at the studio had the bright idea of creating a Scotch-English conflict carryover to the new world (which indeed it probably did), but anyway, it's just so funny in an overtly old school classic western. Plus, he looks more like a mountain man who then turned rancher. As we go along, the Scotch brogue... Jamie and Hilary in the background not knowing what to make of developments... it's hilarious. And so interesting. I also couldn't help noticing the old world, almost Alpine charm in the proposal scene.

It's clear that a lot (not all, but a lot) of it is shot on a sound stage, but this is a classic western, so suspension of disbelief, folks. Such things are the nature of the territory and most emphatically not something worth quibbling over.

Now the story did make me all curious about the history of Longhorns, Herefords, and Angus; because in crisscrossing the west on road trips over the years, my general impression (if memory serves) is that by and large, Angus seem to dominate. But my travels have taken me far more into Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, etc. I've actually never been to Texas (apart from setting foot in a couple airports). So the ranch loving, writer part of me went into the weeds of cattle history to figure out if this was a thing. Turns out, it was!

So Texas Longhorns derived mostly from cattle brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadores, mixed with a bit of British stock. The Angus cattle we know today were first introduced in 1873 by crossing Scottish Angus bulls with Texas longhorns. And the initial herds were established by purchasing a lot of stock directly from Scotland. The American Angus Association, Est. in 1883, has since become the largest beef association in the world, and Angus is now the most common beef breed in America. Apparently, Angus thrive on the winter ranges, which makes them valuable in our climate, and they've proliferated abundantly all the way up into Canada. Hereford cattle were first introduced to America in 1817 (so before the Angus) by being imported from England. (Not quite historically accurate decade-wise to our current film, but I'm totally fine with the artistic license.) The early Herefords were actually often crossed with Shorthorn cattle (like quite a few of the cows I used to handle). And while Herefords have spread to Canada as well, apparently they're also hugely popular among beef breeders in Mexico and South America, along with, yes, Texas. I just find all that fascinating.

To quote from google and pertinent to our current review: "Hereford cattle have played a significant role in shaping the American beef industry, and their influence can still be seen today."

Back to our story proper. For all its lighthearted moments, the film morphs into something very poignant.

As a note: two crusty men set in their ways arguing over how they've both changed -- i.e. Jimmy Stewart fighting with a Scotchman -- is worth the price of admission.

*SPOILERS*

I will say I didn't expect the sad news about Vindicator. 

And at first I thought Hilary got a little too quickly indifferent to the loss of her favorite, but again, this is real pioneer days. She would be inured to it. Then, too, while I'm quite happy to not own cows at the moment, I do miss the cow-y-ness of cows (a bit like dogs, they are, but ever so much more so), and particularly miss my two favorite girls -- Georgia and Blossom. I still miss them, but...! They were cows. It's ok. So that's really Hilary's attitude here too. I do love how they work in a little homage at the end, letting us see him alive and well again during the credits. <3

Content wise: besides the emotional search for and sad news about Vindicator, there is a scene with a crazy man in a bathtub -- but the water's all very cloudy and altogether it's a pretty comedic scene. 

I'd say this film is definitely family friendly and may very well be an endearing new favorite. :) Let me know if you've seen it!

Comfy westerns

Ok, so I did a top 10 post a few years ago and -- while my choices have shifted around a fair bit from back then -- I don't feel like re-hashing all my decision making and/or describing ones that would still be on the list. 

So! I'm gonna make a top ten of my favorite comfort westerns. Not that they don't make you think and feel (obviously), but they're just comfy and familiar as an old hat and/or I just enjoy watching them.

#'s 1&2 are an overlap from what would be my current official top 10 list, but that's kinda a foregone conclusion. The great thing about this comfort watching thing, though, is that I don't have to agonize so much over the lower spots, as they would be much more dependent on a given day than on any strict grading system. 

And yes, Silverado, Lone Ranger (2013), Maverick '94, My Name's Nobody, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly and about 15 others are all runners up, but we're trying to keep this list manageable. ;) There are also sooooo many on my TBW list that I'm sure may eventually find their way onto it, but that's for another day. 

So, at this moment in time, here goes! 

10) Rawhide (1951)

Just re-watching bits this week and realizing how much I really do like this one. The found family elements... and the deceptively slow-burning action leading to massively high stakes and intensity (the ending is probably one of the most intense I've ever seen) -- all contributing to massive character development... Yeah, IMHO it's a totally underrated classic.

9) Angel and the Badman (2009) 

 

I don't blame anyone for not considering this one their cup of tea. Yes, certain casting decisions. Yes, the general B-rated-ness. Nevertheless, this one actually made me like the story better (including actually warming more to the old one as well), and that I find charming. There is one gratuitous and highly irritating change near the end (thanks, filmmakers), but fortunately it's easily skippable, and, if you do, it leaves everything nearly identical in gist to the original. I do love the original too. I mean, how could I not? It's straight up epic, gorgeous, stunning, and classic, which this isn't. But (and more will have to wait for a full review), BUT (with the proviso of skipping that one bit near the end) this one tweaks a few things from the narrative and in the process resolves some of my sticking points with the original, while at the same time being thoroughly recognizable.

Sidenote: it's also filmed in a very similar corner of the world to where I grew up and I didn't realize how nostalgic that would be -- it's actually quite lovely to see it used in a genuine western.

8) Love Comes Softly (2003)

 

All around sweet, this one usually ends up somewhere on my annual watch list.

7) Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958-1961)

(Have you ever looked into how hard it is to find a good pic for this? They're all either like blurry or squished.) Anyhow, I need to delve more into the later seasons, but -- as I always end up on a western thing after LOWCW ;) -- hopefully that'll be in the very near future.

 

6) The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) 

Slow yet stark -- pulsing with the torturous process of battling inner demons and facing down fear -- come the ending, this one always makes me want to alternately cheer and cry.

5) The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)

One of the first westerns I ever saw and -- as such -- is pretty much the epitome of the comfy definition. 

 

4) The Tin Star (1957)

A weary loner... found family... a young idealistic hothead meeting the steadying (even if sometimes slightly annoyed) mentorship of ripened experience... this one's just entirely endearing.

3) Guy on a buffalo (2011)

Ok this is quirky and funny and an entire rabbit trail, but it's also THE single most played western thing at our house. And my husband has had -- not one -- not two -- but three t-shirts graced with quotes from it, so yeah, it pops up a lot at this establishment. Short of an honorary post of its own, it needs at least some recognition on this list. XD

The music clips are shorts created from the 1976 Buffalo Rider film starring stunt man Rick Guinn. RiffTrax also had fun with it at some point. And yes, don't miss parts 3 and 4. Also to be found on Youtube. xD

2) Open Range (2003)

This one has everything I love in a western. Good comaraderie, loyalty, courage, principles, romance... not to mention gorgeous scenery. Definitely a comfy watch + a top favorite.

 

1) Stagecoach (1939)

Epic. Archetypal. Classic.

<3

~

I've reviewed a bunch of these so you can check my list here if you want to see those. Also, last chance today to enter my giveaway here. And if you want to play my guess-the-film game. Have a lovely Friday wherever you are!

Movie Review || The Tin Star (1957) with Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins & Lee Van Cleef

"Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins headline The Tin Star, a tough-minded, character-driven western nominated for an Oscar for its story and screenplay. Perkins plays Ben Owens, a greenhorn sheriff who hasn't worn his badge long... and won't live to wear it much longer unless he gets some savvy help. Fonda, bringing to his role the presence and plain speaking that made him an icon of the cinematic West, plays wily bounty hunter Morg Hickman. 'A decent man doesn't want to kill,' Morg counsels Ben. 'But if you're going to shoot, shoot to kill.' Morg backs up his words with action. And when the time comes, so will Ben."

Ok y'all, so I have a new favorite! And it was a completely unexpected, happy surprise. 

This film is packed with great classic elements: an idealistic young sheriff, townspeople that can flip flop, a loner coming into town... found family.

And the roles are wonderfully inverted.

There's a young idiocy that sounds great and is well intentioned but has no clue as to how things actually work out on the ground. And there's a maturity that is -- not necessarily jaded and world weary -- but just under no illusions as to what standing on principle actually looks like in the real world. 

You need to have smarts and a cool head.

Some of this might sound simplistic (and there's a real element where that's true), but it also depends on what kind of story you're telling. Some stories are the stuff of myth and legend, and some stories you feel like you could step right into and not stick out like a sore thumb -- what with all the rough edges and awkward bumps of real life. Real life can be deceptively simple and mundane, but every day we're playing for eternal stakes. And it's that simple littleness spinning into the bigness together that gets under my skin in a story like this.

There's maturity and immaturity (seen reflected too in the parallel love stories, but no spoilers on that ;)). And part of becoming mature -- growing up and standing on your own two feet -- means learning (wisely, carefully, of course) to make your own decisions. Reading men and deciding who to trust. (Brought out interestingly in the whole little thing between Doc McCord, Ben, and Morg.) In a father figure capacity, the doctor is wise to counsel caution of a stranger, but as it turns out in the end here, Ben makes the right decision. But yet he does it without rebelling or creating a big scene or injecting unnecessary drama. We should want our children to come to that maturity. 

I've discovered part of the reason I really love both westerns and murder mysteries is -- not from some sort of weird morbidity -- but because everything is distilled down. From a technical perspective, they drive right down into the heart of things, the heart of people. That's not to say they can't be messy, with all sorts of conflicting motivations -- heartbreakingly trivial or momentous -- but still, they cut right to the heart of the matter.

In this case, how a man is made. 

And men were made to conquer things. Real men don't provoke fights, but they need to always be ready for one; and this is about straight forward, straight shooting, true manhood. It's about standing up against prejudice and injustice (sidenote, I really like how they take the whole justice/Indians theme into the very particular). It's about following the rule of law. Standing for goodness. 

And it's not solely about catching the bad guys. It's about being able to stand up to everyone else when the world goes mad.

I will say some of the story / themes seems a bit on the nose at first, but then it develops into something all too real and come the ending... well, let's just say I haven't been this invested in a film in quite a while. (Talk about all the feels.) In the climax, *slight spoiler* I wasn't actually worried any of our main characters would get killed (though maybe I should have been xD) *end spoiler*, but honestly, I was just desperately wanting to see that cool headedness come out of the raw -- that backbone, that standing for justice, that rock against the storm. 

Deservedly a classic (and, content-wise, entirely family friendly) it makes sturdy courage, truth, goodness... attractive and compelling. 

And that's no mean feat. In fact, it's quite something. <3

I highly recommend it!

Announcing A Grand, Weeks Long Epic Story Event!

First and foremost as a self-discipline tactic, I've been pondering a good way to emphasize and mark the period between Easter and Ascension Sunday, and choosing to focus on deep, epic story seemed the immediate and obvious conclusion. 

Which.... *pausing to fire off all the cannons*.... brings us to our deep, epic story blog party! (To which ye all are invited. ;))

Properly defined from Merriam-Webster, an epic is:

1) "A long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero (the Iliad and the Odyssey are epics)"

2) "A work of art (such as a novel or drama) that resembles or suggests an epic"

3) "Extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope"

And I know this is tricky to pin down, but for the purposes of this blog event, I'm defining deep story as involving real blood and sweat and tears, real risk and temptations, hard and shining loyalties, and often deep, earth-shaking hilarity; story of the kind that pierces to the heart, that sticks in your teeth, that changes the way you think, and that shapes what you love.

These are stories of lofty magnitude and sweeping proportions, which have themselves often engendered more stories and/or countless retellings. 

Larger-than-life stuff of the likes of Ben-Hur and Zorro and Robin Hood. Classic fairy-tales, of course, can fit in as well -- Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty & the Beast, etc.

Think Shakespeare and Chesterton and Lewis and Spenser and Star Trek and besieged castles and WWII. The category is huge and broad, with potential ideas springing left and right. (The two ginormous exceptions I'm making to this are LOTR and classic Westerns. Both form the definition of an epic, but I know of two separate blog parties happening round our corner of the blogosphere later this year and devoted to each one respectively, so I'm hoping to steer in a little different direction with this party. That said, if you have your heart set on posting something LOTR related, etc., I'm sure we can negotiate. ;)) 

Specifics: here at Along the Brandywine, we'll have -- not one -- but two giveaways over the course of the party and there'll be some sort of tag/questions to fill out + numerous other good little surprises popping up as we go along. You'll be able to contribute film reviews, book reviews, character studies, theme discussions, whatever celebratory things you'd love to share.

Last but not least, be sure to grab a button or two right now and share them round as widely as you can so other folks get the chance to join in the festivities.

So there ye have it! *rubbing hands with excited anticipation* I can't wait to hear what y'all think!