3 Godfathers (1948)

 3 Godfathers (1948)

The story of Bob Hightower (John Wayne), Pete (Pedro Armendáriz) and The Abilene Kid (Harry Carey Jr.) a trio cattle rustlers turned bank robbers’ escape turns into a story of redemption when they find a woman in the middle of the desert just about to give birth.

Now, we get three rough cowboys having to deal with taking care of a newborn (is this story the original Three Men and a Baby?) while making their way across the arid landscape, injured, on foot and with not nearly enough provisions (fortunately they have some canned milk.)

Little by little they start dropping off till only one is left with the baby.

Set at Christmas time and with much reading of random bible passages (which prove to be nearly supernaturally adequate, or so they come to believe) to guide their decisions, the movie finds vague parallels with the story of the Three Wise Men, including following a star and the name of the town they decide to head to.

Visions and voices of the spirits of the two dead companions might be supernatural, but more likely simply hallucinations.

Directed by John Ford.

Funny & sentimental. Good holiday watching.