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Wagon Master

Wagon Master

Adventure · Western · 1950

Two young horse traders guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter rugged terrain, the cutthroat Clegg gang, hospitable Navajo, and moral challenges on the journey.

Movie details

Wagon Master

“John Ford's lusty successor to "Fort Apache" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"”

1950 Adventure · Western 1h 26m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Two young horse traders guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter rugged terrain, the cutthroat Clegg gang, hospitable Navajo, and moral challenges on the journey.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Wagon Master?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Two men with questionable pasts, Glyn McLyntock and his friend Cole, lead a wagon-train load of homesteaders from Missouri to the Oregon territory...

The Cowboys

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Western · 1972

When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage, however, neither he nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.

The War Wagon

The War Wagon

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An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.

The Way West

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In the mid-19th century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western US. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on himself as he is on those who have joined his wagon train. He clashes with one of the new settlers, Lije Evans, who doesn't quite appreciate Tadlock's ways. Along the way, the families must face death and heartbreak and a sampling of frontier justice when one of them accidentally kills a young Indian boy.

Buck and the Preacher

Buck and the Preacher

Action · 1972

A wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West.

News of the World

News of the World

Drama · 2020

A Texan traveling across the wild West bringing the news of the world to local townspeople, agrees to help rescue a young girl who was kidnapped.

100 Rifles

100 Rifles

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When half-breed Indian Yaqui Joe robs an Arizona bank, he is pursued by dogged lawman Lyedecker. Fleeing to Mexico, Joe is imprisoned by General Verdugo, who is waging a war against the Yaqui Indians. When Lyedecker attempts to intervene, he is thrown into prison as well. Working together, the two escape and take refuge in the hills, where Lyedecker meets beautiful Yaqui freedom fighter Sarita and begins to question his allegiances.

The Big Sky

The Big Sky

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Two tough Kentucky mountaineers join a trading expedition from St. Louis up the Missouri River to trade whisky for furs with the Blackfoot Indians. They soon discover that there is much more than the elements to contend with.

3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma

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Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure

Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure

Adventure · 1995

A young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When Daniel Hackett sees his father Jonas gravely wounded by the villainous Stiles, his first urge is for his family to flee the danger, and give up their life on a farm which Daniel has come to despise anyway. Going alone to a lake to try to decide what to do, he falls asleep on a boat and wakes to find himself in the wild west, in the company of such "tall tale" legends as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane. Together, they battle the same villains Daniel is facing in his "real" world, ending with a heroic confrontation in which the boy stands up to Stiles and his henchmen, and rallies his neighbors to fight back against land grabbers who want to destroy their town.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Ford

Written by

Frank S. Nugent · Patrick Ford · John Ford

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson

Travis Blue

Joanne Dru

Joanne Dru

Denver

Harry Carey Jr.

Harry Carey Jr.

Sandy

Ward Bond

Ward Bond

Elder Wiggs

Charles Kemper

Charles Kemper

Uncle Shiloh Clegg

Alan Mowbray

Alan Mowbray

Dr. A. Locksley Hall

Jane Darwell

Jane Darwell

Sister Ledyard

Court is in session

Put Wagon Master on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.