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Friday October 4th 2024

Wagon Master | 1950

Wagon Master film location: Professor Valley, Utah
Wagon Master film location: the Mormon wagon train moves through Utah: Professor Valley, Utah | Photograph: Shutterstock / Colin D Young

Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr help Ward Bond guide a Mormon wagon train through Utah, in the movie that gave rise to the TV series Wagon Train, which starred longtime John Ford regular Bond.

Wagon Master uses the landscapes around around Moab, Utah, including Hittle Bottom on the Colorado River at Professor Valley, about 20 miles northeast of Moab, and Spanish Valley, to the southeast.

Ford wanted his beloved Monument Valley for the film’s climax, but when he couldn’t afford it, he resorted to faking the mountain using miniatures.