[3] For The Quiet Man, Ford won his fourth Academy Award for Best Director. Ford was also a chronicler of the American past and great storyteller, telling tales for and about the common man and making them feel like legends of a faraway, bygone era, like something out of a folk song. He filmed it on location in the Sierra Nevada mountains with 5,000 extras, 2,000 horses, and a cavalry regiment. Votes: 35,433 | Gross: $10.55M Located near the Four Corners, on the Arizona-Utah border, the Monument Valley territory belongs to the people of the great Navajo Nation. The shot was already there, he just needed to find the right place to do it. [18] For the former film Ford received his second Academy Award for Best Director and the Best Supporting Actress for Jane Darwell. The only Ford Western even nominated was 1939’s “Stagecoach,” the film that finally made John Wayne a star. Author: Huebi. Despite that, however, by most Victor McLaglen, Harry Carey Jr. and Ben Johnson They’re too perfect. [25] In 1949, Ford also made his only foray into live theatre by directing a charity production of What Price Glory? He was frustrated with the studio, the actors and his … Here's every entry in John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy of movies, ranked worst to best. Born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907 in Iowa to a pharmacist and his wife, John Wayne came west with his family to California in 1914. The Searchers, which is mostly set in the valley, was named the greatest western of all time by the American Film Institute in 2008. He began to sing professionally in the 1940s, a move that eventually led to his acting career. With, Other screen adaptations of Kyne's story include a 1916 Bluebird film directed by. Ironically, American settlers never came through the valley, but because of Hollywood, the territory has become synonymous with the Old West, in Eyman’s words “a metaphor for the American conquest of space and the continent”. [30] On February 8, 1960, Ford was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From the early Thirties onwards, he always wore dark glasses and a patch over his left eye, which was only partly to protect his … Among the props used were an original stagecoach used by newspaper publisher Horace Greeley and Wild Bill Hickok's pistol. [10] In 1934, he began a lengthy association with producer Merian C. Cooper at RKO Radio Pictures. And much of that is because of John Ford, whose images of the individual, stranded, diminished by the vastness of the scenery and facing its brutality, are embedded into our collective consciousness. [31] On March 31, 1973, Ford was honored with the Medal of Freedom Award and became the first person honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award. Several of John Ford/John Wayne movies were filmed there for obvious reasons. The area is entirely composed of sedimentary rock strata and siltstone soil that form the large stone monoliths. Throughout his thirty-year career, he supplied sumptuous color images to many films, but his five pictures for John Ford remain the backbone of his work. [3] Initially working in short films, he quickly moved into features, largely with Harry Carey as his star. In 1986, Boetticher's cut was restored. [8] The following year he directed his first all-talking feature, The Black Watch. John Ford (1894–1973) was an American film director whose career spanned from 1913 to 1971. It is a 17 mile drive of what is designated as the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park where people have the chance to see the true wild region of the West. John Ford’s Personality and directing style (Taken from Wikipedia Article) Personality Ford was renowned for his intense personality and his many idiosyncrasies and eccentricities. Directed by Edward O'Fearna (brother of John Ford); two reels; survival status unknown. Navajo Hogan in Monument Valley. [nb 1][38] Unless otherwise noted, all films released up until 1922 were Universal Productions. Author: Dsdugan. The location he fell in love with and became his every State's scenery of the Old West. [29] With four Academy Awards, he is the most honored director in film history. In 1939, Ford began to make a series of outstanding films starting with … [23] He followed this with My Darling Clementine (1946), starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp. Ford shot ten of his most famous films in Monument Valley, starting with Stagecoach, which also introduced John Wayne’s trademark persona to the world. All films are feature length unless identified as a serial or short film. Ford directed this benefit performance for the, This page was last edited on 29 December 2020, at 16:47. East Mitten Butte in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in northeast Arizona. Author: M.mastrangelo. Kenilworth Castle: Best known as the home of Queen Elizabeth I’s great love Robert Dudley, Wellington Rooms, Liverpool: The emergency repairs were recently made, but the fine decoration is still decaying. Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond. [9], In 1931, Ford began working for other studios, starting with Arrowsmith for Samuel Goldwyn. [5] During the next ten years he directed more than 30 films, including the westerns The Iron Horse (1924) and 3 Bad Men (1926), both starring George O'Brien,[6] the war drama Four Sons and the Irish romantic drama Hangman's House (both 1928 and both starring Victor McLaglen). Monument Valley from the valley floor. [21][22] After being released from active duty he returned to Hollywood to make They Were Expendable (1945) a war drama of PT boats in the South Pacific. When Jack entered films he took on the last name of Ford as well. Films released from 1922 to 1930 were Fox Productions. Documentary about Ford's western films; co-produced by his grandson, Dan Ford. He worked on his first film in 1914, and was directing by 1917. Few filmmakers are more strongly affiliated with a specific place than John Ford is with Monument Valley. Ford’s films offer many examples of expressive gestures, and a prominent vein of Ford criticism interprets them. CC BY-SA 4.0. A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union. Author: Dsdugan. And see it as it is, first hand, not how is depicted in the movies. [nb 2] The silent shorts are identified as one, two, or three reels in length. [20], With the coming of World War II, Ford was appointed to the Office of Strategic Services as a field photographer in the United States Navy. [15] That same year Ford made Young Mr. Lincoln and Drums Along the Mohawk, both with Henry Fonda. [28] Ingmar Bergman called him the greatest movie director of all time and Orson Welles regarded him highly. [26] After dissolving Argosy, Ford freelanced for the remainder of his career, directing occasionally for television and making several films including The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and the Civil War sequence of the Cinerama epic How the West Was Won (both 1962). The Battle of Midway is a stirring, beautiful, and poignant 1942 American documentary film short directed by John Ford. His resonant voice landed him a job as the narrator for more than 100 Walt Disney TV shows and movies. After 1930, each film's production company is individually noted.[39]. John Ford emerged from the debacle weakened physically and emotionally. Because, while Ford to a large extent created the iconic image of the lonely cowboy standing in a wide open space, he didn’t actually invent it. The movie earned an estimated $2 million on a … https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-best-john-ford-films John Ford Point. [7] In the same year of these last two films, Ford directed his first all-talking film, the short Napoleon's Barber. [4] In 1920 Ford left Universal and began working for the Fox Film Corporation. Ford's final film as a director was Chesty (1970), a documentary short about Marine Corps lieutenant general Lewis "Chesty" Puller. Ford appears in this training film for the. [34], This list of films is derived from the filmographies in Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford by Scott Eyman and John Ford by Peter Bogdanovich. Ford began his career in film after moving to California in July 1914. Renaming himself Jack Ford, John Feeney acted in 15 of his brother's pictures from 1914 through 1916. You may disagree, but just looking at a single picture of the valley can remind you of the old frontier and the past, portrayed, romanticized, criticized, even glorified in thousands of pieces of literature and movies. CC BY-SA 4.0. Ward Bond died of a heart attack shortly before this episode aired. Little did John Wayne and his friend John Ford know that it would remain one of the most popular movies of all time. [3] During the war he made several documentaries. A man selling pictures of tourists on his horse retreats from the crowd to enjoy the scenery and pose for my camera. Everyone who is a film buff and loves movies, especially if it’s a western fan, knows that John Ford is responsible for creating the definitive look of the genre. His influence can be seen in all of the western films that came after him, especially when it comes to shooting landscapes. [35][36], From 1917 to 1923 Ford was credited as "Jack Ford". The Essentials: The 10 Greatest John Ford Films | IndieWire Francis played in hundreds of silent pictures for filmmakers such as Thomas Edison, Georges Méliès and Thomas Ince, eventually progressing to become a prominent Hollywood actor-writer-director with his own production company (101 Bison) at Universal. LOCATION IS EVERYTHING and of course, although the picture took place in Arizona, John Ford filmed "Fort Apache" in Monument Valley, Utah. [19] He followed these films in 1941 with How Green Was My Valley, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, brought Ford his third Academy Award for Best Director and the Best Supporting Actor Award to Donald Crisp. In fact, all his Oscars were for non-Westerns. Two of these, The Battle of Midway and December 7th, won Academy Awards for, respectively, Best Documentary and Documentary Short Subject. John Ford (1895-1973) was Hollywood's greatest chronicler of American history, and there was a period when his “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) and not “Citizen Kane” was cited as the best American film. He was commonly known as Jack. In the movie, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) goes on a years-long quest to find his niece, Debbie, who … But above all else this, is the land of the natives, and visitors who come here gotta pay a fee if they want to go through the area. (Westerns, like comedies, were considered pure entertainment, not “serious” enough to warrant Oscar … … The lone gunslinger, the wide open spaces, the deadly frontier, all of these now very recognizable motifs Ford succeeded elevating to an artistic level. [16] The latter was Ford's first film shot in Technicolor. [33] In 2012, The Searchers was ranked at number seven in Sight & Sound's listing of the 50 greatest films of all time. [1] During this time he directed more than 140 films. The Searchers, which is mostly set in the valley, was named the greatest western of all time by the American Film Institute in 2008. Born in Maine, Ford entered the filmmaking industry shortly after graduating from high school with the help of his older brother, Francis Ford, who had established himself as a leading man and director for Universal Studios. John Ford's 1956 film "The Searchers" is one of the finest of the great director's career. Ford shot ten of his most famous films in Monument Valley, starting with Stagecoach, which also introduced John Wayne’s trademark persona to the world. Also, Ford always preferred to shoot on location instead of a soundstage, so he could get the most realistic look possible. If my memory is correct I think most of that movie was filmed in Monumemt Valley National Park. Fort Apache, American western film, released in 1948, that was the first, and widely considered the best, of director John Ford’s “cavalry trilogy.” Inspired by the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876), the film was unique for its time in portraying Native Americans sympathetically as victims of the U.S. government. The legendary Irish-American director turned the valley’s little-known landscape of towering red sandstone buttes and mesas into an amphitheater for the human struggle against implacable nature. [24] In 1947, Ford reunited with Merian Cooper and began making films for their own company, Argosy Productions. [2] After working as an actor, assistant director, stuntman, and prop man – often for his brother – Universal gave Ford the opportunity to direct in 1917. [27], Ford is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential film-makers of his generation. And his ability to make them look mythical, dangerous and romantic at the same time, is unparalleled to this day. Of the 220 persons who worked on The Conqueror on location in Utah in 1955, 91 had contracted cancer as of the early 1980s and 46 died of it, including stars John Wayne, Susan Hayward, and Agnes Moorehead, and director Dick Powell. CC BY-SA 4.0. Some of the most famous John Wayne Westerns s include Stagecoach, Howard Hawk's Rio Bravo and True Grit, the latter of which won Wayne his only Academy Award for Best Actor. He was 60, a smoker and a drinker and in poor health. John Ford, original name John Martin Feeny, though he often claimed Sean Aloysius O’Feeney or O’Fearna, (born February 1, 1894, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, U.S.—died August 31, 1973, Palm Desert, California), iconic American film director, best known today for his westerns, though none of the films that won him the Academy Award for best direction— The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath … The soil is rich with iron oxide, which is what makes those striking red colors to pop up. Which is exactly where we come to the subject of this article. CC BY-SA 4.0. [32] As of 2021, eleven films directed or co-directed by Ford have been added to the National Film Registry, tying with Howard Hawks for the most: The Iron Horse, The Informer, Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, My Darling Clementine, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won. Cecil replies: I’m horrified to have to report this, John, but your girlfriend’s claim is only slightly exaggerated. As the film historian Scott Eyman said, “There are certain places in the world that seem like special effects, they don’t seem real. Nonetheless, director John Ford was satisfied with the crew's location work. Among westerns, Stalin’s favorite was “The Lost Patrol” by John Ford. Belton discusses the moment (Fig. RIO GRANDE was filmed entirely in Moab, Utah during the brutal summer of 1950 under very difficult conditions given the heat and required heavy costumes. CC BY 2.0 de. And the first time you come here, you see it through John Ford’s eyes.”. listing of the 50 greatest films of all time, Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Color), "281 Feature Films in Competition for 2008 Oscar", "2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates", "Complete National Film Registry Listing", "25 Films Added to National Film Registry", "Library of Congress Adds 25 Titles to National Film Registry", "Library of Congress announces 2013 National Film Registry selections", "Registry lets neglected 'Sunrise' shine in spotlight at last, fan says", "Librarian of Congress Announces 2007 Film Registry", "Librarian of Congress Names 25 New Films to National Film Registry", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Ford_filmography&oldid=997014907, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Beginning with Cameo Kirby (1923) he was credited as "John Ford". Below Ford filming 1956's "The Searchers". And with its overtones of racism, it's also one of his most complicated. The place almost seems like it is out of this world, as if you are walking onto the surface of Mars. His first film, Arizona Cowboy, was released in 1950. Author: Nicholas Hartmann. Scenes were filmed in Monument Valley locations as well as the Iverson Movie Ranch and the RKO Encino Movie Ranch. Other Ford movies that have won positions on lists of important films worldwide were “Stagecoach,” “The Lost Patrol,” “Young Mr. Lincoln,” “The Fugitive” and “Arrow smith.” [12] In 1939, Ford began to make a series of outstanding films starting with Stagecoach, which made John Wayne a major star and brought an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor to Thomas Mitchell. The same time, is unparalleled to this day, in the mid-1950s John Wayne! Films ; co-produced by his grandson, Dan Ford shot in Technicolor ]! 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