Three bank robbers (John Wayne, Harry Carey, Jr., and Pedro Armendáriz) flee from their latest heist out of Welcome, Arizona (I absolutely love that name!), escaping into a sun-baked, water-deprived hellish desert, pursued by Welcome's sheriff (Ward Bond, wonderful) and deputized locals, eventually coming upon an abandoned stage (with a pregnant woman, left inside by a "tenderfoot" husband who dynamited a watering hole, chasing after livestock, never to return), having to carry with them a baby after his mother dies after childbirth. The dying mother makes the three criminals on the lam promise to take care of her child, decreeing them his godfathers. While Bond cuts off each water depot and station, Carey, Jr. is gradually dying from a shoulder wound, one of their water bags was bullet-holed, Pedro eventually trips over a hill and breaks a leg, and Wayne must look into the bible to gain wisdom. While the included nativity story symbolism and ties are indeed, as many have felt and documented, quite heavy-handed (the mule and colt at the end, especially contrived) and perhaps will turn off some, I didn't personally mind that. Ford didn't do that often, except for the occasional use of "Bringing in the Sheaves" and "Shall We Gather at the River" as music. Carey, Jr. provides some lovely lullaby vocals to the baby while cradling him, despite being a criminal with notoriety as the "Abilene Kid". Wayne "greasing" the baby as his partners chuckle was perhaps the weirdest moment in the film although there wasn't much water for a true bathing. Wayne ill as a hornet's nest as Pedro reads from a doctor's guide on tending to babies (kept in the mother's suitcase full of baby-related articles, such as clothes, a brush, baby milk, etc.) he sincerely disagrees with was amusing. Bond and Wayne outsmarting each other (Wayne's path towards water would have been successful has the tenderfoot not left the well not only destroyed but never of use again), the pursuer and the quarry having to devise plans to catch or evade each other is really the meat of the film. The "three magi" and precious baby they see fit to protect and keep from harm under the harsh environs of the desert is really introduced towards the middle of the film, and eventually Wayne loses his two compadres, forced to brave over a mountain after passing through saltflats alone. The ending is nicely pat and heart-affirming as Wayne, because of his efforts in keeping the baby safe and secure despite collapsing from heat exhaustion at one point, is recognized by Bond, a jury of his peers, and the judge (at sentencing) worthy of forgiveness despite having to serve a year for the robbery of the bank at Welcome...and why not? Wayne's love for the child and unwillingness to just sign off his rights to Bond and his wife (the deceased mother was their niece) is enough to establish how important he is to the reforming outlaw. John Ford sure convinces me of the harshness and scorching heat as the three outlaws endure the long walk once a sandstorm overtakes them and the horses leave them...I needed to guzzle some water just as a viewer! Ford makes sure to emphasize that these guys suffer from their sins, punishment by the hot of the sun, a small canteen of water they must share (with the baby eventually becoming most important, and the worsening Carey forced to take water until he drops from the wound, unable to properly get it mended/healed), and miles of walk that certainly fills the heart and mind with dread. The location shooting, Ford's impressive compositions (Carey's death as Wayne protects the sun from his face as Pedro reads a bible passage at his request, the three burying the mother on a small hill as the day darkens into night, the sand winds rustling the burial site and stage after the three outlaws embark on the remaining journey, the sand storm that blazes across the landscape overwhelming the three outlaws, the outlaws at the dying side of the mother, etc.), tragic deaths that turn on the tear ducts, and the unusual development of three outlaws dedicated to a baby left in their care unexpectedly make for quite a film. While never has a "Christmas Classic" been shot in such harsh environs-no snowy hills or icy roads or Christmas trees here, much less Yuletide cheer-Ford manages to nonetheless include enough tie-ins to give this film status as a season standard.
Review of 3 Godfathers
