Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

This low-key Western from 1950 was a personal favourite of the director John Ford, and it’s easy to see why, because (perhaps more than any other of his films) it showcases a community front and centre,  without the distraction of star names or plot complications. The community in question is a group of Mormons travelling across inhospitable terrain, who also have to deal with an outlaw gang who attach themselves to their wagon train.   Although the story is simple enough the main  characters are established with economy and prove to be engaging company for the journey. Several members of the ‘John Ford stock company’ get a chance to shine: Ward Bond as the Mormon leader with a short fuse; Ben Johnson as the pragmatic and good-natured ’wagon master’; Joanne Dru as the object of his affections, as well as Harry Carey Jr., Jane Darwell and Hank Worden. Together they give a fine display of ensemble acting, appropriate for a film which extols the virtues of community, vi...

This is the first of John Ford's 'cavalry trilogy' and I can't wait to see if 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon' and 'Rio Grande' maintain the same very high standard. Although John Wayne (as Captain York) effortlessly dominates every scene he is in, the central character is the fascinating one of Lieutenant Colonel Thursday.   Expertly portrayed by Henry Fonda, he is an arrogant and snobbish stickler for military regulations who resents being posted to a backwater (as he sees it) and therefore yearns to make his mark. I could have done with spending rather less time with the non-commissioned officers and rather more time exploring Thursday's history.  His past relationship with Captain Collingwood could have been fleshed out more, for example. Why the animosity between them? The observant viewer will notice during the opening credits that the film is based on a short story entitled 'Massacre' and so need not worry that for the first 45 minutes nothi...