Intro.
I went back to holiday films the day of Christmas Eve in order to watch one that I usually forget about but still enjoy - 3 Godfathers. It's a take on the story of Christ, with enough religious allusions to keep any analyst happy.Overview
Robert Hightower (John Wayne); Pedro, "Pete" (Pedro Armendáriz); and William, the Abilene Kid (Harry Carey Jr.), are three cowboys who come into the town of Welcome, AZ and rob the bank just a few weeks before Christmas. They make a good break for the border too, with the Kid getting shot in the shoulder. But Marshall Buck Sweet (Ward Bond) is on their trail with a posse in no time and a game of chess plays out as both groups try to get to the few water towers in the middle of the Arizona desert. Bob, Pete and the Kid make it to the first tank, but find that the Marshall's boys have beat them to it via the railroad. The posse follows the railroad to the next stop, Apache Wells, but the three outlaws decide to double back and head to Terrapin Tanks. They barely make it, having run out of nearly all their water and baking in the sun. The Kid isn't doing well without water and when they hit a massive windstorm, they have to take shelter and lose their horses in the night. They walk the rest of the way, but find that someone has dynamited the tank and destroyed the well. A wagon is there without horses and in it they find a woman about to give birth (her husband died chasing after their stock). Pete helps deliver the baby as Bob and the Kid squeeze some barrel-head cactus to get some water. The three men talk to the woman once the baby's born and it's clear that she isn't going to live through the night. With the last of her strength, she names her child Robert William Pedro Hightower after his three new godfathers, who have agreed to save him. After she dies, the three men try their best to care for the child, which means heading to the nearest town - Welcome. Still without water, Pedro and the Kid both die on the way, and Bob barely makes it into the town before collapsing at the Marshall's feet. But what will become of little Robert William Pedro and his sole godfather?
Highlights
There are a lot of reasons I like this movie. The first is that it's a tribute film; the movie was originally made back in 1916 and starred Harry Carey, who was friends with director John Ford. After Carey's death in 1947, Ford dedicated his remake of the movie to Carey. The beginning shot has a rider coming up a ridge and pausing in moonlight, with the words "In memory of Harry Carey, Bright Star of the Western Sky". Even better, Carey's son, Harry Carey Jr., is in the film as well, and it marks his introduction to film (probably in a main role, as he had already appeared in a few films, including the only one to feature both of the Careys - Red River). This time the film's in technicolor and has a bit of a different storyline (though I can't comment more as I haven't seen the 1916 original). Not only did Ford make such a fine film, but he called on a lot of his regular actors and actresses: John Wayne, Ward Bond, Harry Carey Jr., Mildred Natwick, Jane Darwell, Hank Worden and of course, Ben Johnson (see my Ben Johnson fangirl blurb here), all of whom give good performances. Harry Carey Jr. does a great job in this role - this is, in truth, how I always picture him too, as a young kid with a good heart even when he gets mixed up in some trouble. It's sort of an iconic trio that the three make that appears in many Westerns. Bob's the leader, the planner, the one who's been around before and has to make the decisions. William is both in name and character "the Kid", young, more or less innocent (he was just the lookout), shy and in need of protecting. And Pete is sort of the in-between guy with some knowledge and a past no one really knows (what? He was married and has kids somewhere??), but he's the one to keep looking on the bright side or cracking jokes. The premise is pretty simple too, as each group (the lawmen and the outlaws) try to outfox each other. But what makes this Western different is the baby. Well, it starts before the baby, as Ford sets up these "outlaws" to be the heroes. We get the feeling they're not too terrible from their general kindness towards the folks in town and how Bob and Pete take care of the Kid. And we start rooting for them as we see them struggle across the desert. So it's natural that we keep cheering for them once they decide to throw away their money and their freedom (and quite possibly their own lives) to save this orphan. It's their redeeming act and the extenuating circumstances that come up in Bob's trial. That decision to honor the woman's request that they save her child is the real turning point of the film. It's a very human decision to have to make and it's what separates the good guys from the bad.
Having the story take place in the West is a perfect setting, as the West is often associated with rebirth and opportunities to start over in life. To further that image of rebirth are all the allusions and parallels to the story of the birth of Christ.* First we have these three men who find a child. The same child ultimately saves them too. When the men are trying to figure out where to go with the child, the closest towns all coincidentally have Biblical names - Damascus, New Jerusalem and Cairo. This might be minor, but the men are also denied water from three tanks before finding the child (sound like being denied at three inns?). The men also find a family Bible in the baby's wagon, and consult it for answers. When Bob is about to give out, he opens the Bible and reads a passage about Christ asking for a donkey to be untied and brought to him so that he may ride into town on it (I think that's the passage about Palm Sunday). Sure enough, a donkey appears and helps Bob and the baby get into town. But the biggest part of the parallel is that the story takes place just before Christmas; Bob arrives in town late on Christmas Eve.
Finally, a word on John Ford, my favorite director. Ford strove for authenticity in his pictures, often shooting on location. There are stories about how he'd get actors roaring drunk at night then wake them up at the crack of dawn to do a scene when their character would have to have a hangover. In 3 Godfathers he waited until a real sandstorm came and forced everyone to bear the weather in order to film the scene. Also important to Ford was to have some sort of civilization even in the harsh wilderness, and often used rituals to illustrate it. Most of his Westerns contain a wedding, a social dance, or a funeral. 3 Godfathers is no different, as the men hold a funeral for the woman, with the Kid singing "Shall We Gather at the River" (which, I swear, must have been Ford's favorite hymn of all time).** It brings a certain feeling of order and familiarity to the otherwise brutally harsh West. It's a reminder of compassion in the face of cruelty as well, just as sure as there's a heart of gold beneath the rags of a bank robber.
Review and Recommendation
Although not as famous as many of his Westerns, I'd argue that 3 Godfathers is a great example of Ford's work. A simple yet elegantly told story has all the right aspects to make it a great film. Fine acting, good story lines and brilliant directing make it one of my must see - not just around the holidays, but at any time of the year.*I was going to make a comment about the three wise men and how they were following that "Westward leading" star. Although that's a good thought for the fact that the film takes place in the West, the men go in just about every direction but West until Bob has to return to Welcome with the baby.
**Harry Carey Jr. has an amazing singing voice. I really wanted to say that. Also, he sings a "lullaby" to the infant, which sounds great till you realize he's singing "Streets of Laredo," an old folk song about a dying cowboy. Surely you'll know some of the chorus: "so beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly, sing the death march as you carry me along. Take me to the green valley, there lay the sod o'er me, for I'm a poor cowboy and know I've done wrong." He doesn't sing all of that to the baby, but he knows the song and his singing it is kind of like him singing about his own death. One of the many details that makes this film worth seeing.
