Category: The Great Western Directors

Biographies of some of the Greatest Western DIrectors ..

  • John Ford … man of substance … man of vision …

    Stagecoach Wallpaper

    “I am… a mushroom; On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then.” / John Ford

    Documentary Biography: Directed by John Ford (1971)

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066997/

    “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” / John Ford

    Directed by John Ford

    John Ford Western Filmography

    Information edited from Screen Junkies:
    John Ford Western Movies – Jackie Barlow

    / http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/genres-movies/westerns/john-ford-western-movies/

    • Rider of the Law” – 1919, black and white silent movie – Told of the adventures of  the Texas Rangers.
    • 3 Bad Men” – 1926, Ford’s last silent western. Filmed in the Mojave Desert and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
    • Stagecoach – 1939, Ford’s first western with sound. Starring the unknown John Wayne, along with Claire Trevor, this movie is still the most admired and the most imitated of all the Hollywood movies.
    • MoDrums Along the hawk – 1939, Ford’s first Technicolor movie.  It co-starred Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.
    • My Darling Clementine – 1946, romanticized version of the legend of Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Film’s starred Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp, Victor Mature as Doc Holliday, and Linda Darnell.
    • Fort Apache” – 1948, The first of Ford’s “Cavalry Trilogy”.  John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and also Shirley Temple in one of her last movie appearances. It was one of the first movies to present a sympathetic and authentic view of Native Americans.
    • She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” – 1949, second of the “Cavalry Trilogy”.  In Technicolor.
    • Rio Grande – 1950, Third part of the “Cavalry Trilogy” starred John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, and screen debut of Wayne’s son Patrick Wayne.
    • The Searchers – 1956, The only western Ford made in the 1950’s besides “Rio Grande”, this  movie was named “the greatest western of all time” by the American Film Institute in 2008. Featured the rising star Natalie Wood as well as Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, and others.
    • The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” – 1962, said to be Ford’s last great movie.  It starred John Wayne, Vera Miles, James Stewart, Edmund O’Brien, Andy Devine, Lee Marvin, Denver Pyle, and John Carradine.
    Moonrise over Monument Valley / Wallpaper

    “We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” / Navajo Proverb

  • John Ford Point … Monument Valley

    Eagle Dance Song – Ronald Roybal – Native American Flute Music

    John Ford Point … Monument Valley

    “Director John Ford’s 1939 film Stagecoach, starring John Wayne, has had an enduring influence in making Monument Valley famous. After that first experience, Ford returned nine times to shoot Westerns — even when the films were not set in Arizona or Utah. A popular lookout point is named in his honor as “John Ford Point.””
    – Travels with Grama http://www.travelswithgrama.com/travels/monvalley.htm

    Below: John Ford’s Point: Shot from the new movie: The Lone Ranger – starring Johnny Depp and Arnie Hammer.

    John Ford’s Point – Monument Valley – The Lone Ranger 2013
    Director John Ford at John Ford Point – Monument Valley
    John Ford / Great Western Directors
    John Ford and John Wayne at Monument Valley
    Stagecoach Poster

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