John Ford's Impressionism

Some cite Mr. Ford's later movies as revisionism of his earlier movies about the west. Maybe this is true. Others say he is trying to be more accurate or true to the actual history of the west. Maybe, but there is clear evidence that for him the story in the movie is more important than the truth. The viewer only needs to look at the filming locations to see the director's disregard for reality.

The Cheyenne Autumn Trail went from the reservation in Oklahoma through Kansas and Nebraska, finally ending up in Wyoming. The trail was a little over seven hundred miles long through FLAT PLAINS at about 1200 feet altitude. The movie was shot mostly in the mountainous and rocky high desert on the Colorado Plateau. Every shot of the Cheyennes shows mountains in the background. Apparently they were dragging those with them.

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