Ben Johnson Movies
Born in Oklahoma of Cherokee-Irish stock, Ben Johnson virtually grew up in the saddle. A champion rodeo rider in his teens, Johnson headed to Hollywood in 1940 to work as a horse wrangler on Howard Hughes' The Outlaw. He went on to double for Wild Bill Elliot and other western stars, then in 1947 was hired as Henry Fonda's riding double in director John Ford's Fort Apache (1948). Ford sensed star potential in the young, athletic, slow-speaking Johnson, casting him in the speaking role of Trooper Tyree in both She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950). In 1950, Ford co-starred Johnson with another of his protégés, Harry Carey Jr., in Wagonmaster (1950). Now regarded as a classic, Wagonmaster failed to register at the box office; perhaps as a result, full stardom would elude Johnson for over two decades. He returned periodically to the rodeo circuit, played film roles of widely varying sizes (his best during the 1950s was the pugnacious Chris in George Stevens' Shane [1953]), and continued to double for horse-shy stars. He also did plenty of television, including the recurring role of Sleeve on the 1966 western series The Monroes. A favorite of director Sam Peckinpah, Johnson was given considerable screen time in such Peckinpah gunfests as Major Dundee (1965) and The Wild Bunch (1969). It was Peter Bogdanovich, a western devotee from way back, who cast Johnson in his Oscar-winning role: the sturdy, integrity-driven movie house owner Sam the Lion in The Last Picture Show (1971). When not overseeing his huge horse-breeding ranch in Sylmar, California, Ben Johnson has continued playing unreconstructed rugged individualists in such films as My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991) and Radio Flyer (1992), in TV series like Dream West (1986, wherein Johnson was cast as frontier trailblazer Jim Bridger), and made-for-TV films along the lines of the Bonanza revivals of the 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1960
A young white woman has been abducted by the Sioux, and her father has come to Paladin to help effect her rescue. In this pursuit, Paladin is teamed with Lt. Bryson (George Kennedy), a taciturn Army scout who once lived among the Sioux--and has a lot of trouble shaking less-than-fond memories of the experience. With this episode, Lisa Lu joins the cast as perky Hotel Carleton bellhop Hey Girl, replacing Kam Tong (who had defected for a costarring stint on the short-lived adventure series The Garlund Touch) as Hey Boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
The first half of this Walt Disney Presents episode, "Rapids Ahead," is ostensibly a salute to John Wesley Powell, the first man to explore the Colorado River. The presence of such actors as Brian Keith and John Beal tips us off that this segment is actually a promo for the upcoming Disney theatrical feature Ten Who Dared, concentrating on the special photographic techniques required to complete the picture. The remainder of the episode is a full-length presentation of the Oscar-winning "True Life Adventure" short subject Bear Country (1953), filmed on location in Yellowstone National Park. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, John Beal, (more)
- 1960
- G
Critics consistently consider this historical drama one of the worst films Disney ever made. It is the true-tale of ten heroes from the Civil War who ride down the raging Colorado in hopes of mapping it. The mission is led by the Major John Wesley Powell who lost an arm during the war. Their fateful 1869 river trip is arduous and long and in the end only six make it out of the Grand Canyon alive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, John Beal, (more)
- 1958
This heartwarming tale chronicles the friendship between a young Texas girl and her pet calf, which she won at the county fair. When the girl is stricken with polio it is caring for the animal that keeps her strong. Later she enters her beloved pet in the Chicago International Exposition. The heifer wins and the girl is elated until she learns that her cow will be auctioned off and prepared for the slaughterhouse. Fortunately a kindly meat packer intervenes, and girl and bovine are happily reunited. Songs include: "Get Ready with the Ribbon, Judge," "Who Says Animals Don't Cry?" ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
There's a measure of sympathy for the Apaches at the beginning of Fort Bowie. Under the tyrannical rule of ambitious Major Wharton (P. Ian Douglas), a cavalry detachment slaughters a band of Apache who've arrived with the intention of surrendering. A counterattack is inevitable, but before this happens the story is sidetracked by the jealous behavior of Colonel Garrett (Kent Taylor). When stalwart young Captain Thompson (Ben Johnson) resists the romantic overtures of Garrett's wife Allison (Jan Harrison), she screams "Rape!" and Thompson finds himself facing court-martial and execution. This plot strand and several others are resolved after the Cavalry is forced to attack its own fort following an Apache takeover. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Jan Harrison, (more)
- 1958
Tom (William Demarest) and Ben (Roscoe Ates) are a pair of old coots living in the Nevada desert. The local sheriff (Ben Johnson) shows up at their place with an eviction notice, but he agrees to let them stay on their property if they can get a dead rosebush to bloom within the next 30 days. Not long afterward, Tom and Ben are confronted by a fugitive from justice (Mike Kellin), leading to a fight and a killing -- and thereby hangs the conclusion of the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
This parody of Hollywood westerns centers on a boorish hellion of a cowboy star who makes life for the studio people around him a waking nightmare. His press agent is particularly beleaguered as she has been assigned to try to keep the errant star in line. She really has her work cut out for her when a little boy wins a national contest and gets to spend a month in the cowboy's home. Now the agent must conceal her difficult charge's true nature from the innocent boy. Fortunately, the lad has a good effect on the star and helps him settle down and become a decent fellow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jock Mahoney, Julie Adams, (more)
- 1957
War Drums manages to be pro-Indian, pro-Mexican, pro-tolerance and pro-feminist without ever resorting to speechmaking or sacrificing its entertainment value. Former Tarzan Lex Barker stars as an Apache chief who is almost ostracized by his tribe when he marries Mexican girl Joan Taylor. Eventually, Barker is welcomed back, but Joan refuses to behave like a typical dutiful squaw. In deference to his wife's wishes, Barker trains Joan to become an Apache warrior! It is curious that the Political Correctness crowd has never paid homage to War Drums; perhaps it's because of the film's surfeit of decidedly non-PC violence and bloodshed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lex Barker, Joan Taylor, (more)
- 1956
Rebel in Town was the third issue from Bel-Air Productions, a firm co-founded by film execs Howard W. Koch and Aubrey Schenck. While the title character is played by John Smith, top billing goes to John Payne as ex-Union officer John Willoughby. When Willoughby's young son (Bobby Clark) snaps his cap pistol at Confederate veteran Wesley Mason (John Smith), Wesley instinctively whirls around and shoots the boy dead. Despite the fact that he and his offspring are fugitive bank robbers, Wesley's father Bedloe Mason (J. Carroll Naish) insists that his son turn himself over to authorities. Instead, Wesley escapes, whereupon he is killed by the grief-stricken Willoughby. Though it hardly seems possible at this point, Willoughby's wife Nora (Ruth Roman) struggles valiantly to bring the crisis to a nonviolent resolution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1955
The recent Mau Mau uprising in Kenya served as story material for the 1955 British film Simba. White farmer Dirk Bogarde and his neighbors are targeted for extermination by the zealously nationalistic Mau Maus. Native doctor Joseph Tomelty, whose brother had earlier been killed under questionable circumstances, endeavors to help the whites escape the hordes, only to discover that his own father is the local leader of the insurrectionists. Given the cruelties of colonial rule in Africa, it is hard for any film to make the Mau Mau total villains, despite their own well-documented brutal treatment of their enemies. Simba downplays side-taking and ideology, choosing instead to concentrate on the adventure and suspense elements. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Virginia McKenna, (more)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1943 Broadway musical was considered revolutionary for a multitude of reasons, not least of which were the play's intricate integration of song and storyline, and the simplicity and austerity of its production design. The 1955 film version of Oklahoma! retains the songs (except for Lonely Room and It's a Scandal!, which are usually cut from most stage presentations anyway) and the story, but the simplicity is sacrificed to the spectacle of Technicolor, Todd-AO, and Stereophonic Sound. The story can be boiled down to a single sentence: a girl must decide between the two suitors who want to take her to a social. In her movie debut, 19-year-old Shirley Jones plays Laurie, an Oklahoma farm gal who is courted by boisterous cowboy Curley (Gordon MacRae) and by menacing, obsessive farm hand Jud Frye (Rod Steiger). Fearing that Jud will do something terrible to Curley, Laurie accepts Jud's invitation to the box social. But it's Curley who rescues Laurie from Jud's unwanted advances, and in so doing wins her hand. On the eve of their wedding, Laurie and Curley are menaced by the drunken Jud. During a fight with Curley, Jud falls on his own knife and is killed (this sudden-death motif was curiously commonplace in the Rodgers and Hammerstein ouevre). The local deputy insists that Curley be arrested and stand trial, but he is outvoted by Curley's friends, and the newlyweds are permitted to ride off on their honeymoon. Counterpointing the serious elements of the story is a comic subplot involving innocently promiscuous Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame), her erstwhile sweetheart Will Parker (Gene Nelson) and lascivious travelling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). None of the Broadway cast of Oklahoma! was engaged for the film version, though Charlotte Greenwood is finally able to essay the role of Auntie Eller that had been written for her but she'd been unable to play back in 1943. The evergreen songs include Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin', Surrey with the Fringe on Top, People Will Say We're In Love, I Cain't Say No, and the rousing title song. Two versions of Oklahoma! currently exist: the Todd-AO version, filmed on 65-millimeter stock, and the simultaneously shot CinemaScope version, shipped out to the theaters not equipped for the wider-screen Todd-AO process. Both versions have been issued in "letterbox" form on laser disc, and the subtle differences in performance style and camera angles in each and every scene are quite fascinating. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, (more)
The simple story of a Wyoming range war is elevated to near-mythical status in producer/director George Stevens' Western classic Shane. Alan Ladd plays the title character, a mysterious drifter who rides into a tiny homesteading community and accepts the hospitality of a farming family. Patriarch Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) is impressed by the way Shane handles himself when facing down the hostile minions of land baron Emile Meyer, though he has trouble placing his complete trust in the stranger, as his Marion (Jean Arthur) is attracted to Shane in spite of herself, and his son Joey (Brandon De Wilde) flat-out idolizes Shane. When Meyer is unable to drive off the homesteaders by sheer brute strength, he engages the services of black-clad, wholly evil hired gun Jack Wilson (Jack Palance). The moment that Wilson shows he means business by shooting down hotheaded farmer Frank Torrey (Elisha Cook Jr.) is the film's most memorable scene: after years of becoming accustomed to carefully choreographed movie death scenes, the suddenness with which Torrey's life is snuffed out -- and the force with which he falls to the ground -- are startling. Shane knows that a showdown with Wilson is inevitable; he also knows that, unintentionally, he has become a disruptive element in the Starrett family. The manner in which he handles both these problems segues into the now-legendary "Come back, Shane" finale. Cinematographer Loyal Griggs imbues this no-frills tale with the outer trappings of an epic, forever framing the action in relation to the unspoiled land surrounding it. A.B. Guthrie Jr.'s screenplay, adapted from the Jack Schaefer novel, avoids the standard good guy/bad guy clichés: both homesteaders and cattlemen are shown as three-dimensional human beings, flaws and all, and even ostensible villain Emile Meyer comes off reasonable and logical when elucidating his dislike of the "newcomers" who threaten to divest him of his wide open spaces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1952
Though Ben Johnson would have to wait until the 1970s before full stardom was bestowed upon him, 1952's Wild Stallion proved that, even at this early stage, Johnson had what it took to carry a picture. Harking back to his pre-movie rodeo days, Johnson plays inveterate horse-lover Dan Light, who spends a lifetime searching for his pet colt, who'd managed to escape when Light's parents were killed by Indians. The colt has grown to a magnificent wild stallion, much coveted by others, including the U.S. Cavalry. The color photography by Harry Neumann is superb, as are the supporting performances by Martha Hyer, Edgar Buchanan and Don Haggerty. The Wild Stallion was produced by Walter Mirisch, who later graduated to such big-budget westerns as Man of the West (1958) and The Magnificent Seven (1960). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, (more)
- 1951
Fort Defiance stars Dane Clark as Civil War deserter Johnny Tallon. Despite his checkered past, Johnny is idolized by his blind brother Ned (Peter Graves). All this changes when Ben Shelby (Ben Johnson), whose brother's death was caused by Johnny, comes to town in seeking revenge. Though it hardly seems possible at this juncture, Johnny sets about to redeem himself by defending the denizens of Fort Defiance against a Navajo attack. The wholly dispensable heroine is played by Tracey Roberts. Fort Defiance was lensed in Cinecolor, which was more eye-pleasing during the exterior scenes than during the interior dialogue passages. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Clark, Ben Johnson, (more)
John Wayne stars as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, whose devotion to duty has cost him his marriage to his beloved Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara). Yorke gets word that his son, Jeff (Claude Jarman Jr.) -- whom he hasn't seen in 15 years -- has been dropped as a cadet from West Point, and that he lied about his age to enlist in the cavalry, in an effort to redeem himself. By chance, the boy is then assigned to his father's post. Once more, as a function of his duty as a cavalry officer, Yorke must sacrifice his love of family -- he cannot show any preferential treatment to the boy, or exhibit any sign of love and affection. But Jeff is too strong to be injured by his father's actions, and already enough of a man that he is befriended by two older recruits, troopers Tyree (Ben Johnson) and Boone (Harry Carey Jr.), who watch out for him while taking him in as a virtual equal. Yorke's resolve is further tested when his estranged wife, Kathleen, arrives at the post, the better to look after her son -- and possibly to buy back the boy's enlistment, which Yorke, as commanding officer in a remote post with a critical shortage of men, can't and won't permit. After an attack by the Apaches, Yorke orders the post's women and children to be moved to safety, and Jeff is assigned as part of the troop conducting the caravan, despite his wish to participate in the planned action against the Apaches. The caravan is attacked, and the wagon with the children is taken by the Apaches to their encampment in a deserted village across the Rio Grande in Mexico. Yorke has been given permission by General Sheridan (J. Carrol Naish) to take his men into Mexico in pursuit of the Apaches, but the punitive expedition is now a rescue mission, as the Indians' night-time vengeance dance is the prelude to certain slaughter of the children at daybreak. As part of the mission, it's up to Tyree, the slyest man in the troop, to infiltrate the enemy camp, and he chooses Jeff and Boone as the two men he wants with him on this dangerous mission. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
Wagon Master, splendidly directed by John Ford, is a superlative western. The film is the outwardly simple tale of a Mormon wagon train headed for Utah. Along the way, the group, led by Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) hook up with two horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey Jr), the members of a traveling medicine show and a tribe of Navajo Indians. The group is threatened by a gang, known as the Clegg family, who have robbed an express office and murdered the clerk. This wonderful film emphasizes the virtues of solidarity, sacrifice and tolerance, and shows John Ford at his most masterful, in total control of the production from the casting to the bit players to the grandeur and scope of the visual compositions. The film, with its breathtaking scenery, brilliant performances by a cast of character actors, and an engaging sense of humor, is a superlative example of the American western. Wagonmaster inspired the television series Wagon Train and was also shown in a computer-colorized version ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr., (more)
Hoping to make the magic of King Kong happen again, the production team of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack came up with the 1949 special-effects smorgasbord Mighty Joe Young. Robert Armstrong reprises his Kong portrayal of Carl Denham as hot-shot showbiz entrepreneur Max O'Hara. While in Africa looking for authentic decorations for his new night club, O'Hara makes the acquaintance of Mr. Joseph Young, a ten-foot-tall ape. Unlike King Kong, Joe Young has a heart of gold, thanks in great part to his owner, a lovely lass named Jill Young (Terry Moore). Against her better judgment, Jill allows O'Hara to bring Joe back to the States as a nightclub attraction. Joe proves to be a smash as he participates in Jill's musical act (he lifts her grand piano while she plays "Beautiful Dreamer") and performs a tug-of-war routine with an imposing lineup of professional wrestlers (including Tor Johnson, Man Mountain Dean and Primo Carnera). But when the patrons go home each night, Joe is unhappily relegated to his cage. When a group of obnoxious drunks begin teasing Joe, the disgruntled ape breaks loose and goes on a rampage. Slated to be put to death, Joe redeems himself by rescuing a group of screaming children from an orphanage fire. Featured in the cast are Ben Johnson as the nominal romantic lead, Frank McHugh as Robert Armstrong's assistant, and an uncredited Irene Ryan as a cocktail-lounge patron. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, (more)
The second of John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is the only one of the three to be lensed in Technicolor. In an Oscar-calibre performance, 42-year old John Wayne plays sixtyish Cavalry Captain Nathan Brittles. In his last days before his compulsory retirement, Brittles must face the possibility of a full-scale attack from the Arapahos, fomented by the recent defeat of Custer and by double-dealing Indian agents. After a series of minor victories and major frustrations, Brittles decides to ride into the Arapaho camp, there to smoke a pipe of peace with his old friend, Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree). Before he leaves, he is presented with his retirement present by his troops: a pocket watch, with the inscription "Lest We Forget"(Wayne's playing of this scene, barely holding back tears as he adjusts his spectacles to read the inscription, is one of his finest moments on film). Brittles is able to forestall an Indian attack, just in time for his official retirement. The film really ends here, but there are two more potential climaxes before the words THE END dissolve into view. The patchiness of the Frank Nugent/Lawrence Stallings screenplay (attributal to the fact that it is adapted from two different short stories) prevents She Wore a Yellow Ribbon from reaching the same lofty heights as the Ford/Wayne collaborations Fort Apache (1947) and Rio Grande (1949). The gratuitous offscreen narration of Irving Pichel is also rather distracting. Even so, Wayne's flawless performance, coupled with the supporting contributions of Ford's stock company (John Agar, Harry Carey Jr., Victor McLaglen et al) and the Academy Award-winning photography by Winston C. Hoch, automatically elevates She Wore a Yellow Ribbon to classic status. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Joanne Dru, (more)
The first of John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", Fort Apache stars John Wayne as captain Kirby York and Henry Fonda as Custer clone Lt. Col. Owen Thursday. Resentful of his loss in rank and transfer to the West after serving gallantly in the Civil War, the vainglorious Thursday insists upon imposing rigid authority on rough-and-tumble Fort Apache. He is particularly anxious to do battle with the local Indians, despite York's admonitions that the trouble around the fort is being fomented not by the so-called savages but by corrupt white Indian agents. Thursday nonetheless ends up in a climactic set-to with Indian chief Cochise. He and his men are needlessly slaughtered, but the Eastern press builds "Thursday's Charge" into an incident of conspicuous valor--and York, ever loyal to the cavalry, is not about to tell the whole truth. The bare bones of Fort Apache's plotline are fleshed out with several subplots, including the romance between Thursday's daughter Philadelphia (Shirley Temple) and Lt. Mickey O'Rourke (John Agar), the son of Fort Apache veteran Sgt. Michael O'Rourke (Ward Bond). There's also plenty of time for the expected drunken-brawl humor of Victor McLaglen. Not in the least politically correct, Fort Apache is a classic of its kind, and together with Rio Grande (1950) the best of the John Ford/John Wayne Cavalry films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Henry Fonda, (more)
John Ford had already directed one of the three previous film versions of Peter Kyne's novel under the title Marked Men (1919) with his mentor Harry Carey, a great cowboy star of the silent era who had recently died. It's not difficult to see how the story's sentimentality and Christian symbolism might have appealed to the director's sensibility. John Wayne stars as Bob Hightower, the leader of a trio of thieves who rob a bank in Arizona and take off with the posse of Sheriff Buck Sweet (Ward Bond) in close pursuit. Although they need to stop to water their horses and care for the wounds of Abilene (Harry Carey Jr.), their accurate suspicion that the sheriff is laying an ambush for them at the Mohave water tank leads the gang toward the more distant Terrapin tanks. However, en route, they're waylaid by a terrible sandstorm which scatters their horses. Forced to go on foot, they come upon a lone woman (Mildred Natwick) in a covered wagon who is about to give birth. She dies in childbirth, but not before extracting a promise from the three to take care of her child. Under a blistering sun, they head for New Jerusalem. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Harry Carey, Jr., (more)
- 1945
Abbott and Costello's The Naughty Nineties offers a million laughs and a nickel's worth of plot. Most of the film takes place aboard a 19th century showboat, owned by kindly Captain Sam (Henry Travers). Bud Abbott plays the showboat's leading man Dexter Broadhurst, while Lou Costello is handyman Sebastian Dinwiddie. A group of slick gamblers (Alan Curtis, Rita Johnson and Joe Sawyer) cheat Captain Sam out of his boat, turning the place into a floating gambling palace, but Dexter and Sebastian foil the villains and save the day. The film is a virtual encyclopedia of wheezy but still hilarious comedy routines, many of them devised by veteran Laurel & Hardy and Three Stooges gagman Felix Adler. The film's highlight is a full-length performance of Abbott and Costello's verbal classic "Who's on First?"-and if one listens very closely, one can hear the cameramen and crew members laughing! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, (more)
- 1943
- G
Perhaps Hollywood's greatest success du scandal of the 1940s, this odd psychological Western became a box office hit largely thanks to the costuming of leading lady Jane Russell (or, more accurately, its relative absence). Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel) and Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) are close friends until lawman Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell) attempts to ambush Billy and put him behind bars. Doc brings Billy to his ranch to hide out, but when Billy meets Doc's mistress Rio (Russell), he's instantly attracted to the buxom beauty. An intense chemistry quickly grows between them, despite the fact that Billy murdered Rio's brother. Billy and Rio secretly marry, but their love runs hot and cold, and soon Billy, Doc, and Rio are fighting among themselves as they're chased through the desert by Garrett and his posse. Director Howard Hawks and screenwriter Ben Hecht both worked on The Outlaw, but they went uncredited after disputes with the legendarily difficult financier (and sometimes producer/director) Howard Hughes, whose battles with the censors resulted in the film spending three years on the shelf before finally gaining wide release in a cut version in 1946. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, (more)
