Four time Academy Award winner John Ford was one of cinema’s finest and a man who revolutionized the depiction of early America on the silver screen. Ford’s pictures were human and pure and one must remember them for the times in which they were produced and for what Ford was saying about the mythos of the “Old West”. When Ford did a Western, it wasn’t a mere “shoot ‘em up”. His characters were driven by purpose. The heroes in Ford’s films were, many times, quite flawed.
It was a brave choice to make John Wayne’s “Ethan” (from 1956’s “The Searchers”) something of a racist. The audience roots for Ethan to finish his mission to find his niece, but doesn’t necessarily root for the man; the striking contrast forcing the audience to question their allegiances. It is a brilliant dichotomy that helps to give the film’s famous final shot its power and is but one ingredient that makes “The Searchers” one of the great visionary cinematic masterpieces.
John Ford got his start in Hollywood as an assistant, a stuntman, handyman, and occasional actor. Despite a contentious relationship with his filmmaker brother, Ford became his primary assistant and often operated the camera on his sibling’s pictures. Making his debut as a filmmaker in 1917, Ford worked on more than 60 silent films between 1917 and 1928. His first significant success came with the 1924 epic “The Iron Horse”, a magnificent work that told the story of the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Ford shot the picture in the Sierra Nevada mountains with thousands of extras. The effort paid off, as the film made millions and sent John Ford on his way to carve out his place in cinema history.
A strong director in any genre, Ford’s greatest strength was shaping the American Western by combining myth with emotion and a complexity towards character. Along with screenwriter Frank S. Nugent, Ford created some of the finest Westerns in cinema history. Only Howard Hawks, Sam Peckinpah, and Sergio Leone could match his genius within the genre.
The first sound western by the director, “Stagecoach”, would raise the level of the genre to Art (although Ford would balk at such a pretentious proclamation). Gone were the action packed B-picture shoot-em-ups, as Ford’s epochal film introduced deeper characterizations and a more serious look into the mythos of the time. It was here where his direction began to achieve purity, both in character and in tone; creating a style that would color his subsequent pictures with an unmatched humanism.
The director made 1946’s “My Darling Clementine” into what one would perceive as a Noir Western, with its dark shadows and not so precise allegiances blanketing the legend of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. It was a profound work that played deadly serious, finding an almost German Impressionistic visual style and infusing a stark danger in its silences that created one of the most unique aural experiences of any Western made at the time.
In 1948’s “Fort Apache” and 1960’s “Sergeant Rutledge”, Ford would address the racism that built America. In the former, Henry Fonda’s “Lt. Col. Owen Thursday” would be used as a stand-in for General George Armstrong Custer, as his ability for rational thinking is blinded by his hatred of the Native American people and his misguided sense of duty. The arrogance of the character can be seen as a representation of the American exceptionalism way of thought that rots the country from its leaders on down. It is a harsh and tragic film that ranks among Ford’s best.
With “Sergeant Rutledge”, the director drew focus on the hypocrisy of the nation and how badly it treats people of color, especially in the military of the 18 and 1900s; a time when Black and Native Americans were seen as “savages” by so many. Woody Strode’s titular character is accused of rape (of a white woman) and murder. Ford works hard to show the honor and duty carried out by Rutledge and his fellow Black regiment and how racist thinking points the finger at the innocent Black man, assuming the accusation will go without question. In this film, Rutledge’s plight mirrors the ugly truth that was a very real plague in the America of 1960.
Both pictures can be seen as an answer to Ford’s critics who cite racism regarding the way he portrayed Black and American Indian characters. While “it was a different time” can certainly be applied to defend against any unsettling portrayals of early motion pictures, the Hollywood of that time was not a welcome place for proper depictions of any minority. It could be assumed that if Ford tried to hire authentic Native American actors for bigger roles, producers would have pushed back. Then and now, even the mightiest of movie directors cannot win the battles against the major studios.
In the Westerns of old, to have Indians as the “bad guys” doesn’t necessarily make a filmmaker bigoted or racist. Any damming accusations against John Ford can be quashed by his own statement regarding the Native American people; “We’ve treated them badly, it’s a blot on our shield; we’ve robbed, cheated, murdered and massacred them, but they kill one white man and God, out come the troops.”
Ford’s religious roots came through in 1948’s “Three Godfathers”, a remake of his 1919 silent film “Marked Men”. Loosely taken from the biblical story of the Three Kings, this is a tremendously moving tale of redemption and grace. Somewhat underappreciated amongst Ford’s more talked about works, enthusiasts will find a picture crafted with deep characterizations and profoundly moving moments; a different take on the Western setting for the director.
While 1962’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” would be his most affecting statement (and final word) on how the legends of the Old West were created, the director could still have fun, occasionally proving that not every picture needed to be so heavy.
His cavalry trilogy (the aforementioned “Fort Apache”, 1949’s “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”, and 1950’s “Rio Grande”) certainly had strong messages, but managed to include thrilling moments of Western adventure. 1950’s “Wagon Master” (his most undervalued masterpiece), 1959’s “The Horse Soldiers”, and 1961’s “Two Rode Together” all had rip-roaring scenes of action while still having a point to their respective screenplays.
Not a Western, but 1961’s two-fisted romp “Donovan’s Reef” is the best example of how Ford could let loose and make one for the Hell of it.
With his affinity for the closeness of family (something that can be found in most of his pictures, including his exciting segment for “How the West Was Won”), Ford had his stock company of performers, giving John Wayne, Ben Johnson, Ward Bond, and Harry Carey Jr. (among others) prime ranks in his films. For me, Wayne’s performance in “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” is his personal best. “The Duke” may have won an Oscar for playing Rooster Cogburn in Henry Hathaway’s “True Grit” (and probably deserved another for his elegiac turn in Don Seigel’s “The Shootist”), but the actor was never better than in the films of John Ford.
To this day, Ford holds the all-time Oscar record for Best Director wins. “The Informer” (1935), “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940), “How Green Was My Valley” (1941), and “The Quiet Man” (1952) each brought him Oscar gold, with “How Green Was My Valley” winning Best Picture.
The one Best Director nomination that would not earn him a statue had the most profound impact on his career and on the Western genre. “Stagecoach” was the film that began Ford’s love affair with Monument Valley and would begin his iconic partnership with John Wayne, with whom he made a total of 14 motion pictures.
Looking back, it seems unjust that John Ford never won an Oscar for directing a Western. It was a genre he embraced and forever changed for the better, shaping it to fit his undeniably distinctive style. Akira Kurosawa, Sergio Leone, Walter Hill, John Milius, and Francois Truffaut each called him one of their favorite directors.
The Westerns of John Ford contain stunning visual compositions that capture that hardship and majesty of the land. Working with cinematographers such as Winton C. Hoch, William H. Clothier, Bert Glennon, and Joseph MacDonald, Ford captured the grandeur of the Old West and lovingly painted the screen with breathtaking and unforgettable imagery. The scope of his vision spoke so strongly to audiences that one cannot think of the Cowboy film without the mind playing images of Monument Valley. Sergio Leone brought cast and crew from Spain to Monument Valley to capture only two scenes for his 1968 epic, “Once Upon a Time in the West”, paying homage to his filmmaking hero and immersing himself in the cinematic “holy land” where John Ford inspired him.
The word “vision” is disappearing from the filmmaking vocabulary, as younger directors just don’t have it. John “Pappy” Ford had vision and (to quote William Goldman) “the rest of the world wore bifocals.” He knew how to capture moments both big and small. Along with the sweeping emotions and exciting action, Ford assured the quieter scenes would stay with you. Fonda balancing his chair in “My Darling Clementine”, Ward Bond whittling against a corral post while speaking with Ben Johnson about leading their wagon train in “Wagon Master, Wayne watering the plants next to his wife’s grave in “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”; each moment born of the human condition and an essential part of their respective film’s lasting impression.
With the gravitas he brought to the art form, there will never be another like ol’ John Ford. The universe doesn’t make them and modern Hollywood doesn’t want them. For those who respect the masters, I promise you, he is indeed one of the greats, with a filmography overflowing with some of the finest works American Cinema has to offer.
I’m as sure of this as the turning of the Earth.
