A Mormon wagon train under the direction of Edler Wiggs (Ward Bond) is destined for the San Juan Valley. They hire on two horse traders as guides — Travis (Ben Johnson) and Sandy (Harry Carey Jr.).
Along the way, they rescue a stranded traveling medicine show and are joined by a vicious band of bandits named the Cleggs, led by Uncle Shiloh (Charles Kemper), who’s nursing a bullet wound from a recent bank robbery.
The Mormons manage their way across the desert, barter their way past the Navahos and manage to scale some treacherous country as the Cleggs look on ominously, waiting for a chance to rob their hosts.
As the trip proceeds, the wagon guides’ concern for the Mormon’s safety becomes more personal. Sandy falls for a young Mormon girl; Travis falls for a reluctant Denver (Joanne Dru), who’s traveling with the medicine show.
Review:
You won’t rank this among Ford’s best, but it’s still a Western full of fine characters, from a Mormon elder (Bond) who constantly has to curb his tendency to cuss to a pretty young dancer (Dru) with a traveling show who puts up the bravest of fronts.
Ben Johnson spent most of a long acting career as a supporting character, but got to star in a couple of Westerns in the ’50s. His easy-going style fits this film well.
As for trivia, this film marked one of the first movies for James Arness, who gained fame as Marshal Matt Dillon. He plays Floyd Clegg, son of the outlaw leader. The film marked the last movie for Jim Thorpe, the famous athlete. He appeared in dozens of Westerns through the 1930s and 1940s. Here, at age 62, he’s one of the Navaho. He died three years later.
Directed by:
John Ford
Cast:
Ben Johnson … Travis
Harry Carey Jr. … Sandy
Joanne Dru … Denver
Ward Bond … Wiggs
Charles Kemper … Shiloh Clegg
Alan Mowbray … Dr. Hall
Jane Darwell … Sister Ledeyard
James Arness … Floyd Clegg
Ruth Clifford … Fleuretty Phyffe
Kathleen O’Malley … Prudence Perkins
Runtime: 86 min.
Memorable lines:
Travis to Shiloh Cregg: “I only shoot at snakes.”
Sandy: “Hell ain’t cussing. It’s geography.”
Sandy to Elder Wiggs: “Are you guys Mormons?”
Elder Wiggs: “Yep, that’s why I keep my hat on. So the horns don’t show. Why I got more wives than Solomon himself. At least that’s what folks around here say. And if they don’t say it, they think it.”
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