Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. play Travis and Sandy, two amiable young horse traders who eventually agree to act as guides for a Mormon procession heading for San Juan. Along the way, they will encounter an outlaw gang, headed by Uncle Shiloh (Charles Kemper), a medicine show including the lovely "Denver" (Joanne Dru) and a dubious "doctor" (Alan Mowbray), and a tribe of Navajo Indians.
There's also lots of enticing scenery in this John Ford Western, which benefits from its plethora of entertaining characters, story twists, and moral dilemmas. This is the earliest film so far in which this viewer has watched Johnson and Carey, and it's fun to see them looking so young. The two Western veterans display a natural chemistry and each show off an easygoing charm. They are also backed up by some great supporting players: Ward Bond as the Mormon elder who is more or less leading the procession, Jane Darwell as the upbeat Sister Ledyard, Ruth Clifford as Fleuretty, Russell Simpson as uptight elder Adam Perkins, James Arness and Hank Worden as members of Shilohs' gang, and the legendary Indian athlete Jim Thorpe as the leader of the Navajos.
There a handful of songs crooned by the Sons of the Pioneers, and while some of them may indeed be a bit "schmaltzy", there's some truly catchy music as well. Bert Glennons' black & white cinematography is excellent, Fords' storytelling (the screenplay is by his son Patrick and Frank S. Nugent, based on his own story) is efficient and compelling, and the pacing just right throughout.
Ford offers no preamble, diving in headfirst by showing the Uncle Shiloh gang in action, and keeps us involved through a modest but delightful film running a trim 86 minutes.
Seven out of 10.
There's also lots of enticing scenery in this John Ford Western, which benefits from its plethora of entertaining characters, story twists, and moral dilemmas. This is the earliest film so far in which this viewer has watched Johnson and Carey, and it's fun to see them looking so young. The two Western veterans display a natural chemistry and each show off an easygoing charm. They are also backed up by some great supporting players: Ward Bond as the Mormon elder who is more or less leading the procession, Jane Darwell as the upbeat Sister Ledyard, Ruth Clifford as Fleuretty, Russell Simpson as uptight elder Adam Perkins, James Arness and Hank Worden as members of Shilohs' gang, and the legendary Indian athlete Jim Thorpe as the leader of the Navajos.
There a handful of songs crooned by the Sons of the Pioneers, and while some of them may indeed be a bit "schmaltzy", there's some truly catchy music as well. Bert Glennons' black & white cinematography is excellent, Fords' storytelling (the screenplay is by his son Patrick and Frank S. Nugent, based on his own story) is efficient and compelling, and the pacing just right throughout.
Ford offers no preamble, diving in headfirst by showing the Uncle Shiloh gang in action, and keeps us involved through a modest but delightful film running a trim 86 minutes.
Seven out of 10.