John Ford

[kinjitsu]

John Ford (1894-1973)



Of course we had our techniques, and we
had directors that focused on technique,
but the fact is characters and story got to
come first. A lot of these young folks today,
they have so much of this technology thing
going for them they forget to make a movie,
tell a story, create a world.


Filmography

The Tornado (1917)

The Fighting Gringo (1917) with Fred Kelsey

The Trail of Hate (1917)

The Scrapper (1917)

The Soul Herder (1917)

Cheyenne’s Pal (1917)

Straight Shooting (1917)

The Secret Man (1917)

A Marked Man (1917)

Bucking Broadway (1917)

The Phantom Riders (1918)

Wild Women (1918)

Thieves' Gold (1918)

The Scarlet Drop (1918)

Hell Bent (1918)

A Woman's Fool (1918)

Three Mounted Men (1918)

The Craving (1919) with Francis Ford

Roped (1919)

Harry Carey Tour Promotional Film (1919) with Harry Carey

The Fighting Brothers (1919)

A Fight for Love (1919)

By Indian Post (1919)

Rustlers (1919)

Bare Fists (1919)

Gun Law (1919)

The Gun Packer (1919)

By Indian Post (1919)

Riders of Vengeance (1919)

The Last Outlaw (1919)

The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1919)

Ace of the Saddle (1919)

Rider of the Law (1919)

A Gun Fightin' Gentleman (1919)

Marked Men (1919)

The Prince of Avenue A (1920)

The Girl in Number 29 (1920)

Hitchin' Posts (1920)

Just Pals (1920) Fox (R1)

The Big Punch (1921)

The Freeze-Out (1921)

The Wallop (1921)

Desperate Trails (1921)

Action (1921)

Sure Fire (1921)

Jackie (1921)

Little Miss Smiles (1922)

Silver Wings (1922) the Prologue, with Edwin Carewe

Nero (1922) dir. J. Gordon Edwards - wrote & directed scenes to heighten the climax

The Village Blacksmith (1922)

The Face on the Bar-Room Floor (1923)

Three Jumps Ahead (1923)

Cameo Kirby (1923)

North of Hudson Bay (1923)

Hoodman Blind (1923)

The Iron Horse (1924) Fox (R1)

Hearts of Oak (1924)

Lightnin' (1925)

Kentucky Pride (1925

The Fighting Heart (1925)

Thank You (1925)

The Shamrock Handicap (1926)

3 Bad Men (1926) Fox (R1)

The Blue Eagle (1926)

What Price Glory? (1927) dir. Raoul Walsh - apparently directed scenes for the going-off-to-the-front sequence

Upstream (1927)

7th Heaven (1927) dir. Frank Borzage - portions of the taxis-to-the-Marne sequence

Mother Machree (1928)

Four Sons (1928) Fox (R1)

Hangman's House (1928) Fox (R1)

Napoleon's Barber (1928)

Riley the Cop (1928)

Strong Boy (1929)

The Black Watch (1929)

Salute (1929)

Men Without Women (1930) "staged by" Andrew Bennison

Born Reckless (1930) "staged by" Andrew BennisonFox (R1)

Up the River (1930) "staged by" William Collier Jr. Fox (R1)

Seas Beneath (1931) "staged by" William Collier Sr. Fox (R1)

The Brat (1931) with William Collier Sr.

Arrowsmith (1931) MGM (R1)

Air Mail (1932)

Flesh (1932)

Pilgrimage (1933) Fox (R1)

Doctor Bull (1933) Fox (R1)

The Lost Patrol (1934) Warner (R1)

The World Moves On (1934) Fox (R1)

Judge Priest (1934) Fox (R1)

The Whole Town's Talking (1935)

The Informer (1935) Universal (R2) Warner (R1)

Steamboat Round the Bend (1935) Fox (R1) Optimum (R2)

The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) Fox (R1) MoC (R2)

Mary of Scotland (1936) Universal (R2) Warner (R1)

The Plough and the Stars (1936)

Wee Willie Winkie (1937) Fox (R1)

The Hurricane (1937)

The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) dir. Archie Mayo - Ford shot scenes for a brief montage MGM (R1)

Four Men and a Prayer (1938) Fox (R1)

Submarine Patrol (1938)

Stagecoach (1939) Universal (R2) Warner (R1)

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) Criterion (R1) Fox (R1) Optimum (R2)

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) Fox (R1) Optimum (R2)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Fox (R1 & R2)

The Long Voyage Home (1940) Warner (R1)

Tobacco Road (1941) Fox (R1)

How Green Was My Valley (1941) Fox (R1 & 2)

Torpedo Squadron (1942) Fox (R1)

Sex Hygiene (1942) dramatic sequences

The Battle of Midway (1942) Fox (R1) Good Times (R1)

We Sail at Midnight (1943) with Julian Spiro?

December 7th (1943) Fox (R1) Good Times (R1) Platinum (R1) VCI (R1)

They Were Expendable (1945) Warner (R1 & R2)

My Darling Clementine (1946) Fox (R1 & R2)

The Fugitive (1947) Universal (R2)

Fort Apache (1948) Universal (R2) Warner (R1)

3 Godfathers (1948) Warner (R1 & R2)

Pinky (1949) dropped out of production Fox (R1)

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Universal (R2) Warner (R1)

When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950) Fox (R1)

Wagon Master (1950) Universal (R2) Warners (R1)

Rio Grande (1950) Republic (R1) Universal (R2)

This Is Korea! (1951)

The Quiet Man (1952) Republic (R1) Universal (R2)

What Price Glory (1952) Fox (R1)

The Sun Shines Bright (1953)

Mogambo (1953) Warner (R1 & R2)

The Long Gray Line (1955) Warner (R1)

Mister Roberts (1955) Warner (R1)

The Bamboo Cross (1955) TV

Rookie of the Year (1955) TV episode Screen Directors Playhouse

The Searchers (1956) Warner (R1 & R2)

The Wings of Eagles (1957) Warner (R1)

The Rising of the Moon (1957)

Gideon of Scotland Yard (1958)

The Last Hurrah (1958) Sony (R1 & 2)

Korea (1959)

The Horse Soldiers (1959) Fox (R2) MGM (R1 & R2)

Sergeant Rutledge (1960) Warner (R1)

The Colter Craven Story (1960) TV episode Wagon Train

Two Rode Together (1961) Sony (R2)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) Paramount (R1 & R2)

Flashing Spikes (1962) TV episode Alcoa Premiere

How the West Was Won (1962) segment The Civil War Warner (R1)

Donovan's Reef (1963) Paramount (R1 & R2)

Cheyenne Autumn (1964) Warner (R1)

Young Cassidy (1965) completed by Jack Cardiff

7 Women (1966)

Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend (1976)


Forum Discussions

Cheyenne Autumn (Warner)

Directed by John Ford

Ford at Fox

The John Ford Collection (Warner)

John Ford on DVD

John Wayne - John Ford Collection (Warner)

The Prisoner of Shark Island (Masters of Cinema)

The Searchers CE & HD (Warner)

Will Rogers Collection (Fox)

Young Mr. Lincoln (Criterion)


Internet Resources

Annotated Filmography - Tag Gallagher

The Battle of Midway - Martyn Bamber (Senses of Cinema, 2004)

Bucking Broadway - Tag Gallagher (Senses of Cinema, 2003)

Descent Into Hell - John Ford's The Searchers - James J. Clauss (Journal of Popular Film and Television, 1999)

The Final Frontier - Jonathan Jones (The Guardian, 2002)

Ford's Apocalypse - David Ehrenstein (1967)

Ford's Festive Comedy: Ireland Imagined in The Quiet Man - William C. Dowling (Eire-Ireland, 2002)

Ford Rises from the Dead Again - Tag Gallagher (Senses of Cinema, 2003)

Ford Till '47 - Tag Gallagher (Senses of Cinema, 2004)

Four Sons - David Boxwell (Senses of Cinema, 2004)

The Fugitive - Michael Wilmington (1972)

John Ford - Richard Franklin (Senses of Cinema, 2002)

Losing and finding John Ford's 'Sergeant Rutledge - Frank Manchel (Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 1997)

Passage: Young Mr. Lincoln - Tag Gallagher (Senses of Cinema, 2006)

The Searcher: On Ethan Edwards and John Ford's Masterpiece - Gary Morris (Bright Lights, 1977)

Sergeant Rutledge - Andrew Tracy (Senses of Cinema, 2004)

Stagecoach - David Bordwell & Kristen Thompson

Ten Under-appreciated John Ford Films - Jonathan Rosenbaum

30 Great Westerns - Gary Johnson & Grant Tracey (Images Journal)

Passage: Young Mr. Lincoln - Tag Gallagher (Senses of Cinema, 2006)

Young Mr. Lincoln: Hero in Waiting - Geoffrey O'Brien (Criterion essay)

Young Mr. Lincoln Reconsidered - Ronald Abramson & Richard Thompson (Cine-Tracts, 1978)


Publications

About John Ford - Lindsay Anderson (Plexus Publishing, 1989)

Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company - Harry Carey (Madison Books, 1996)

How the West Was Sung: Music in the Westerns of John Ford - Kathryn Kalinak (University of California Press, 2007)

The Informer - Pat Sheeran (Cork University Press, 2002)

John Ford - Peter Bogdanovich (University of California Press, 1978)

John Ford and the American West - Peter Cowie (Abrams, 2004)

John Ford - Joseph McBride & Michael Wilmington (Da Capo, 1975)

John Ford - Brian Spittles (Longman, 2002)

John Ford: A Bio-Bibliography - Bill Levy (Greenwod Press, , 1998)

John Ford: The Complete Films - Scott Eyman, Paul Duncan editor (Taschen, 2004)

John Ford, Hollywood's Old Master - Ronald Davis (University of Oklahoma Press, 1995)

John Ford in Focus: Essays on the Filmmaker's Life and Work - Kevin L. Stoehr & Michael C. Connolly, editors (McFarland & Company, 2007)

John Ford Interviews - Gerald Peary, editor (University Press of Mississippi, 2001)

John Ford Made Westerns: Filming the Legend in the Sound Era - Gaylyn Studlar & Matthew Bernstein, editors (Indiana University Press, 2001)

John Ford: The Man and His Films - Tag Gallagher (University of California Press, 1988)

John Ford: The Man and His Films - Tag Gallagher (revised, downloadable 19MB PDF file)

John Ford's Stagecoach - Barry Keith Grant, editor (Cambridge University Press, 2002)

John Ford's Westerns: A Thematic Analysis with a Filmography - William Darby (McFarland & Company, 1997)

The Non-Western Films of John Ford - J. A. Place (Citadel, 1981)

Pappy: The Life of John Ford - Dan Ford (Prentice Hall, 1983)

Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford - Scott Eyman (Simon & Schuster, 1999)

The Searchers: Essays and Reflections on John Ford's Classic Western - Arthur M. Eckstein & Peter Lehman, editors (Wayne State University Press, 2004)

Searching for John Ford: A Life - Joseph McBride (St. Martin's Press, 2003)

Stagecoach - Edward Buscombe (BFI, 2002)

The Western Films of John Ford - J. A. Place (Citadel, 1974)
______________________________________________

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Vietnam! Vietnam! is now online.

[denti alligator]

How are the cheapo releases of Rio Grande and The Quiet Man? Anyone have these?

[Tommaso]

How are the cheapo releases of Rio Grande and The Quiet Man? Anyone have these?

All releases of "The Quiet Man" are completely awful to my knowledge. Horribly unsharp, colour bleeding etc. etc. One of the greatest crimes committed to a film of this importance in the history of dvd. There is a brand new disc from the German SZ-Kinemathek (titled "Der Sieger"), which I haven't seen nor read a review about, but I have little hope that they did anything else than license the same old transfer from Universal. The SZ "Rio Grande" is acceptable, though not great.

[denti alligator]

Torpedo Squadron (1942) Fox (R1)
The Battle of Midway (1942) Fox (R1) Good Times (R1)
December 7th (1943) Fox (R1) Good Times (R1) Platinum (R1) VCI (R1)

These are available as Fox R1 releases?

[HerrSchreck]

Ford at Fox includes:

Becoming John Ford (2007)
The Battle of Midway (doc Ð 1942)
Battle of Midway - Additional Footage (1942)
December 7th (doc Ð 1943)
Torpedo Squadron (doc Ð 1942)

They're all on the Becoming John Ford disc.

[domino harvey]

Will I ever get to Tobacco Road?

Your blessed if you never have to see that film. It's frighteningly bad.

This is one of those rare moments where me and the alligator agree-- Tobacco Road is just astonishingly bad.

[tryavna]

Discussion of Tobacco Road ought to be moved, I guess. But I just wanted to add: I, too, thought the film was a huge disappointment when I first watched it -- especially considering the six films Ford had made immediately prior. However, in a weird sort of way, Tobacco Road actually gets better on subsequent viewings. I don't think that it suddenly becomes a great movie by any means, but if you're already aware of all the tonal shifts and awkward narrative decisions, it comes across as much more amusing.

[zedz]

Will I ever get to Tobacco Road?

Your blessed if you never have to see that film. It's frighteningly bad.

This is one of those rare moments where me and the alligator agree-- Tobacco Road is just astonishingly bad.

Yes, we're officially off-topic, but I agree. However, I find the film fascinating because it's extremely Fordian as well as extremely bad, so it offers surprising insight into his style and how it works - or doesn't. It's like a grotesque parody that exposes certain truths.

[domino harvey]

The problem is that all the style in the world can't cover up the unbearable Cracker Barrel-ness of the source material and its grating subhuman caricatures (oh God, that kid... that kid). The cameo by second-billed Gene Tierney as a dirt-smeared mongrel certainly doesn't help matters either.

[adeeze]

Another bad film he made, was THE SEARCHERS. Yes, I truly urge everyone to stay away from this film! (sarcasm) I have to say though, I wasn't willing to admit that I didn't like this film until I saw Hawks RED RIVER. It's a good film with a few great moments and beautiful scenery, but does anyone find it a bit over-rated? I think my favorite ford film I've seen so far is either THE QUIET MAN or MY DARLING CLEMENTINE.

[myrnaloyisdope]

The cameo by second-billed Gene Tierney as a dirt-smeared mongrel certainly doesn't help matters either.

I would argue that's the only reason to watch the film.

[planetjake]

The cameo by second-billed Gene Tierney as a dirt-smeared mongrel certainly doesn't help matters either.

I would argue that's the only reason to watch the film.

C'mon! Ward Bond flips a goddamned car over with a push-up!!!

[sidehacker]

Tobacco Road is actually my favorite John Ford film and I like a lot. It's like The Grapes of Wrath's messed-up cousin as it shares that film's poignant and gritty tone. Ultimately, I prefer Tobacco Road just because it feels so free and spontaneous. It probably helps that it is also a lot funnier as well.

[myrnaloyisdope]

I didn't like it at the time I watched it, but I've been wanting to revisit it for a while now. I just ordered the R2 disc from the Netherlands, so hopefully that will help me see what I'm supposed to be missing.

I think your description of it as a "messed-up cousin" to Grapes of Wrath is pretty fitting. It does have that same grittiness, but it seems to exist in a completely different dimension. The big difference for me aside from tone is that Grapes of Wrath humanizes its downtrodden characters, while Tobacco Road seems to be laughing at them. I'm not sure how to respond to it.

I think the mixed response the film gets is at least partly due to it being somewhat unusual in Ford's catalog. I know Ford did comedies, and a lot of his films have a brawling kind of slapstick to them, but Tobacco Road is pretty much all brawling slapstick, and hillbilly caricatures, with a bit of Gene Tierney writhing around thrown in for good measure.

[Gregory]

I watched Tobacco Road as I was making my way through the stack of films from the Ford at Fox set that I'd never seen. For whatever reason, I saved it for last, and it did not leave a good aftertaste. There probably aren't many films from directors of Ford's caliber that one can say are worse than Hee Haw. It's a sad commentary. I haven't watched a lot of Hee Haw, mind you, but at least that show had guest performances from people like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings in his prime. Rare highlights, but I don't think Tobacco Road has much to bring to the table in comparison. Anyone wanting to see a young Gene Tierney should just watch Shanghai Gesture or Laura.
I probably shouldn't write off a Ford film I've only seen once, so I'll watch it again someday, but I'm not in any hurry.

[Tommaso]

I think your description of it as a "messed-up cousin" to Grapes of Wrath is pretty fitting. It does have that same grittiness, but it seems to exist in a completely different dimension. The big difference for me aside from tone is that Grapes of Wrath humanizes its downtrodden characters, while Tobacco Road seems to be laughing at them.

Yes, that's true. But even while we're laughing at that crazy family, we still feel WITH them (at least I did). The characters are completely stereotyped, but is that really enough to dismiss the film entirely? It's certainly not a high point in Ford's work, but I don't see it so far removed from the humanity and social concerns that are so much in the forefront in other works of that period; "Tobacco Road" just misses the 'stateliness' of "Grapes of Wrath" or "How green is my valley", replacing it with slapstick. And for a change and diversion, that's not a bad thing in my view (and the human dimension always shines through). Compared to his other 'comedies', give me "Tobacco Road" anytime over almost all those other films in that Fox Ford Comedies set. I can't see how anyone can dismiss "Tobacco Road" completely and does not say worse things about "What Price Glory" (perhaps the worst Ford I've seen).

[HypnoHelioStaticStasis]

Since I sorta started this conversation allow me help out with it.

I've seen a select few scenes of "Tobacco Road," including the aforementioned car scene, and not only does it look impeccably shot and staged (as most Ford films are), but it also seemed to feature a lot of the roughhouse humor Ford is so well known for (even though i think Quiet Man is pretty interminable, the scenes towards the end managed to keep me awake).

There was an assessment of the film that piqued my interest, maybe on this forum, maybe by Rosenbaum? Can't honestly remember. The person's investment in the film came from the idea that Ford films everything with such a dread atmosphere that the comic happenings in the film feel odd and arid, as if he were commenting on the perceived notion of "just folk." The comparison to Grapes is intriguing, because I know people criticized Steinbeck (though not the film necessarily) or being falsely sympathetic towards its characters.

I must reiterate I've seen only a minute and a half's worth of Tobacco Road, so I could be waaaaaaaaay off base. But it is interesting that it illicits such visceral reactions out of people.

John Ford will always be one of the greats (not that I needed to remind you all...), and I'm a completist at heart. I really hope Fox sees it in their heart to release the remaining films from the boxset separately, or at least in another box, though a friend told me The World Moves On is dreadful.

And yes, I'm aware Tobacco Road is available in R2, but I'm region-locked at this juncture in my life. Too damn expensive.

[myrnaloyisdope]

Anyone wanting to see a young Gene Tierney should just watch Shanghai Gesture or Laura.

Or they could just watch her first film, Lang's excellent the Return of Frank James

Don't forget Leave Her to Heaven, Gene Tierney in glorious technicolor, and a fantastic performance to boot.

Getting back to Ford, anyone have thoughts on The Sun Shines Bright? I didn't think it was a great film, Stepin Fetchit is at the very least an acquired taste, and the mix of slapstick and sentiment is somewhat disjointed. What stood out for me was the sequence with the funeral procession. It just comes out of nowhere and it's absolutely haunting, it might be the best sequence I've seen a Ford movie. It's a perfect realization of sound, tempo, atmosphere, and setting, and the effect is stunning.

[domino harvey]

Anyone wanting to see a young Gene Tierney should just watch Shanghai Gesture or Laura.

Or they could just watch her first film, Lang's excellent the Return of Frank James

And yes, I'm aware Tobacco Road is available in R2, but I'm region-locked at this juncture in my life. Too damn expensive.

It's available on Netflix

[HypnoHelioStaticStasis]

Right, but I don't have a region-free player, and I'm not gonna fuck around with my laptop...

Yes, I know, it's stupid, but I've gotta be economical when it comes to this stuff.

EDIT: I see you were talking about the R1. Good call.

[sidehacker]

domino's referring to the R1 DVD from the "Ford at Fox" box.

But even while we're laughing at that crazy family, we still feel WITH them (at least I did). The characters are completely stereotyped, but is that really enough to dismiss the film entirely?

This is exactly how I feel about the film. Perhaps I'll write a more detailed response sometime, but for now I'll just mention that I don't think Ford is looking down upon his characters. I find it incredibly heartbreaking whenever Jeder Lester talks about his many children, even if the script's only intention in such a scene is humor.

[tryavna]

There probably aren't many films from directors of Ford's caliber that one can say are worse than Hee Haw. It's a sad commentary.

John Ford will always be one of the greats (not that I needed to remind you all...), and I'm a completist at heart. I really hope Fox sees it in their heart to release the remaining films from the boxset separately, or at least in another box, though a friend told me The World Moves On is dreadful.

I'm about as big of a John Ford fan as you're likely to come across, but I've got to admit that he is probably the greatest director with the largest number of really terrible films to his credit: The World Moves On, Wings of Eagles, etc. He was the Cy Young of filmmaking -- the man with the most wins and the most losses. Yet even in some of those clunkers, there are inexpressibly beautiful moments (like the build-up to the climax of Tobacco Road) or just totally bizarre injections of personality (like the appearance of Stepin Fetchit in World Moves On) that make the investment of 90 minutes or so worth it. The man was a genius.

[tag gallagher]

I've rewritten about forty percent of my book on John Ford and anyone may download it (with hundreds of color frame enlargements):

RapidShare 19MB PDF

[Tolmides]

How are the cheapo releases of Rio Grande and The Quiet Man? Anyone have these?

I don't own it, but I think the Rio Grande release is fine (although why it wasn't included in the Ford-Wayne collection to complete the cavalry trilogy is perplexing).

As for the Quiet Man, it's one of the films I most want to see. But I'm holding off for a proper release which does justice to its marvellous Technicolor.