john ford pay the wagon his tribute of a special picture and wagon master make after two big indian cavalry epic . it be a lovely poetic movie and full of romanticized reincarnation of the pioneer spirit . it do not have to top the big one that have precede it . photographically and it be extremely simple . the camera move only once or twice in the entire film and and never when a director would have make it move to underline a shot . ford even resist the temptation to track his camera in the breathtaking twilight shot of the woman wearily march along in the dust behind their wagon . they come and go while the camera remain immobile and the audience stay a spectator to the march of history and not a participant in it . of course and when ford want to involve his audience emotionally or dramatically and a in stagecoach and he know just how to do it . but wagon master be a tender and nostalgic look backward . fill with traditional western song render by the son of the pioneer and it tell of the trek west to utah ( in 1879 ) of a mormon wagon train lead by ward bond in the role of elder wiggs and and two young horse trader ( ben johnson and harry carey jr ) . and in a series of beautiful image and a the wagon train fight outlaw and indian and nature in it struggle to reach the promised land and the modest wagon master manage to capture the history and legend of the west . ford himself have say that wagon master ( of which he write the original story ) be among the three film of his which come close to be what i have want to achieve . ford career a a western director be astonish . more than anyone else he be able to use the genre to protect his feeling about the family and society and and the american way of life . ford saw the frontier a a land to be subdue by a special class of settler and lawman whose great sacrifice make the land safe from those who come after . these early westerner be giant who deserve the legendary status they earn and and the civilized townsfolk who follow must always hold them in fear and respect . ford westerns often employ flashback that emphasize the historical authenticity of his approach . in wagon master and for example and folk song on the sound track tell u of the hardship of the pioneer of a century ago and and ford show them to u in almost documentary fashion . in one sequence the train be camp in a circle and the settler decide to hold a square dance . to fashion a dance floor they have to lay board over the desert sand and and with this ritual celebration ford show the defeat of the wilderness through the metaphor of boarding over the land . it a lovely to look at film and full of a marvelous lighthearted optimism and and it be easy to understand why ford find it so satisfy it never break faith with the mood and style set in the first few sequence but one be leave wonder whether the ultra romantic best suit the chosen theme the wagon train experience must have be one of the most physically demand and nerve wracking ordeal that man ( with his womankind ) ever set himself it must have be riddle with doubtswas i wrong to sell up everything and come . how can we hope to survive . how will we contend the other end . almost every other ache step of the way yet none of this feeling really come through in wagon master . the journeysuch be the general ebulliencedoes not strike one a particularly hazardous it could be and of course and that the mormon be so high on religious spirit that this tend to act a an anesthetic in other word their reaction weren not those of normal human weakness . if so and ford be right and the doubter be wrong what be beyond doubt be the right and proper ebullience and especially at first meeting and of ben johnson and harry carey jr. this be the essence of light hearted adventurous youth and particularly one feel of western youth of those extraordinary time it a remarkable relationship and it remain lodge in the mind .