First-rate Western masterfully directed by the great John Ford that results to be a marvelous retelling of Peter B Kyne's saga dealing with three desperate who take a newborn baby in the desert , as the group come across a dying woman and her infant child and they promise the woman that they will take care of the child and get it to safety, even though none of them knows anything whatsoever about children or babies . After robbing the local bank , three outlaws named Robert Hightower (John Wayne) , William Kearney (Harry Carey Jr) and Pedro Roca Fuerte (Pedro Armendariz) on the run to evade the local Marshal (War Bond) and his posse . In the wilderness they then find an abandoned wagon in which there is a dying woman (Mildred Natwick) who asks for help the men . The bandits take care of her child and they swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert , even at the risk of their own lives. The outlaws set out across the desert to deliver it to safety and then decide to do their best by the newborn and not all will survive and for those who get , prison likely awaits them.
This nice Western contains interesting characters , full of wide open space and dramatic moments . This classic , sturdy picture ranks as one of the most sentimental of John Ford's work . It contains Ford's usual themes as familiar feeling , a little bit funny humor, friendship and and sense of comradeship among people and ample shots on desert landscapes ,specially on Mojave . Thought-provoking , enjoyable screenplay portraying in depth characters and brooding events with interesting issues running beneath script surface by Laurence Stallings and Frank S. Nugent , Ford's usual . Multiple highlights as the raid bank at the beginning and of course the sensible final farewell on the train station . Outdoors are pretty good and well photographed by Winton Hoch and filmed on location in Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, Carson & Colorado Railroad, Owens Valley, Death Valley National Park, Mojave Desert,Zabriskie Point and RKO Encino Ranch Los Angeles ,California . Dedicated to the filmmaker's first actor , Harry Carey Sr . This excellent film featuring a magnificent performance by whole casting , including a top-notch support cast . Awesome John Wayne in a larger-than-life character along with his two likable partners Harry Carey Jr and Pedro Armendariz . In the film appears , as usual , Ford's favourite actors as Jack Pennick , Jane Darwell , Ben Johnson , Francis Ford , Guy Kibbee , Mae Marsh , Hank Worden, and of course Ward Bond as obstinate sheriff who sets off in pursuit . Sensible and emotive musical score including wonderful songs by Richard Hageman . The movie is stunningly produced by Merian C Cooper - Argosy Pictures Production- and magnificently filmed by Ford . Remade for TV as ¨The Godchild¨ (1974) directed by John Badham with Jack Palance , Keith Carradine, Ed Lauter and Jack Warden . This may not be Ford's best Western , as many would claim , but it's still head ad shoulders above most big-scale movies .You'll find the ending over-melodramatic according to your tastes , though it's lovingly composed by John Ford who really picks up the drama and sensibility towards the ending . Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching . .
