#219. John Ford

Very few American directors can legitimately be described as “The Best.” Sure, many have won the Best Director Oscar, but few have won it multiple times. What is often unfortunate is that the director will be forgotten over time. Their works may stand as excellent marks of cinematic history, but usually, the actors are recognized more than the men behind the camera. Along with the early American directors who helped form the world of cinema into what it is today, John Ford has an astonishing six Oscars to his name, four of which were for Best Director. Having straddled the line between silent film and talking pictures, Ford and his contemporaries, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, D.W. Griffith, and Orson Welles stand out as the founding fathers of American cinema. This week’s two films focus on some of John Ford’s directing talents.

Stagecoach
Year: 1939
Rating: Not Rated
Length: 96 minutes/ 1.6 hours

Let’s face it: movies are easier to film when they’re on a single soundstage. That being said, John Ford was a literal and metaphorical trailblazer when it came to shooting “on location.” Perhaps this is why he was best known for his western films: it is difficult to recreate the wild frontier on a soundstage. In fact, the majority of his silent films were westerns. It is unfortunate that so many of these have been lost; only a mere 15% of his early works have survived. And yet, his most famous westerns came after this era. Films like Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and How the West Was Won (1962) all followed in the footsteps of his first “sound” western: Stagecoach (1939). Interestingly enough, this western was his only nomination for Best Director in this genre.

As a group of passengers boards a stagecoach in Tonto, Arizona, they have no idea of the adventure that is about to bring them together. A shunned prostitute (Claire Trevor), an alcoholic doctor (Thomas Mitchell), a pregnant “army wife” (Louise Platt), and a whiskey salesman (Donald Meek) are on their way to Lordsburg, New Mexico. On the way, they pick up a Southern gambler (John Carradine) and a banker (Berton Churchill) before running across a young avenger: the Ringo Kid (John Wayne). These different people have all brought their physical and emotional baggage along with them, but soon start to realize that they aren’t that different from each other. After delivering a baby, surviving an Indian attack, and fording a river, the group finally arrives safely at Lordsburg, newly-found lives now ready to take on the world.

How Green Was My Valley
Year: 1941
Rating: G
Length: 118 minutes / 1.96 hours

Except for the aforementioned Stagecoach, John Ford has won every Best Director Oscar for which he was nominated. His first win came in 1935 with The Informer, which was also nominated for Best Picture (much like Stagecoach would be). Next, he would win for The Grapes of Wrath (1940), another Best Picture nominee. His final Best Director win (and Best Picture nominee) would come in 1952 with the romantic comedy, The Quiet Man. Of all his Best Director wins, only How Green Was My Valley (1941) also won the Best Picture Oscar as well. With four Best Director Oscars, John Ford is undoubtedly the best director in the history of American filmmaking. Only two other directors come close to this with three Best Director Oscars apiece: William Wyler and Frank Capra.

At first glance, the small coal-mining town where Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall) lives seems to be a paradise tucked away in one of the valleys of South Wales. However, when the miners’ wages are cut, they forge together and strike for a return of their rightful pay. Huw’s father, Gwilym (Donald Crisp) doesn’t support the strike, which alienates him from the other miners, some of whom are his older sons. After the strike is resolved, the town descends into poverty, many of the mine’s workers losing their jobs in the process. The day Huw’s older brother Ivor (Patric Knowles) becomes a father is the same day he is killed in a mine accident. Even amidst this tragedy, Huw decides to forego a scholarship to study at a university to work in the coal mines with his father. Almost in response, another mine disaster strikes, taking Huw’s father along with his childish idealism.

2 sum it up: 2 films, 2 fantastic Ford flicks

Bacon #: 3 (The Birth of a Nation / Walter Huston -> The Great Sinner / Kenneth Tobey -> Hero at Large / Kevin Bacon)

#218. John Wayne

In terms of iconic American actors, John Wayne is the most iconic. Not only do westerns epitomize the romance of early American exploration inland, but John Wayne epitomizes these westerns with his sly smile, squinted eyes, and distinctive drawl. Even more to the point, his involvement in many war films also cements his place as the most American actor in the most American films. That’s not to say he wasn’t prolific, as he acted in almost 200 films in his 50-year career. Still, the roles he’s best known for are definitely the western ones. And while he didn’t have nearly the hardened look of his western successor, Clint Eastwood, he really defined what the western hero archetype should be. This week’s two films highlight some of John Wayne’s roles in some truly great American westerns, pilgrim.

True Grit
Year: 1969
Rating: G
Length: 128 minutes / 2.13 hours

Perhaps due to the thought that westerns, much like other action films, are not “high art,” John Wayne only received two nominations for the Best Actor Oscar. As mentioned above, John Wayne also acted in many war films, so it’s no wonder his first nomination in this category was for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). His only win would come 20 years later for his portrayal of the one-eyed U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn, in True Grit (1969). Even though the book on which this movie was loosely based was only published a year earlier, Wayne jokingly accepted his Oscar saying, “Wow! If I’d known that, I’d have put that patch on 35 years earlier.” It’s no wonder Jeff Bridges would be nominated for the exact same role 40 years later, coming just short of that gold statue even though the 2010 adaptation was more faithful to the book.

Seeking vengeance for her slain father, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) sets out to find the best lawman she can in order to track down and kill Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey). Fortunately for her, she hears of a man who has “true grit,” U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) and sets out to hire him. After he is paid, they set out to Oklahoma where Chaney is hiding in Indian Territory. Along the way, they come across La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), a Texas Ranger also after Chaney. Cogburn and La Boeuf team up and ditch Mattie, who manages to catch up to them just as they find one of the hideouts of Chaney’s gang. Ambushing the gang, they eventually learn Chaney’s location and continue their chase. When Chaney comes across Mattie one morning, she wounds him, but soon finds herself in a more life-threatening condition as Cogburn takes on the rest of Chaney’s gang, guns ablaze.

Stagecoach
Year: 1939
Rating: Not Rated
Length: 96 minutes/ 1.6 hours

Much of Wayne’s early career was filled with westerns, but these westerns were not taken very seriously. Relegated to the low-budget and “B-movie” films, many of his performances were minor or extra roles. However, some uncredited performances in the late 1920s helped connect Wayne to director John Ford. If Wayne is the face of the western in front of the camera, Ford is the face of the western behind it. A decade later, John Ford took a leap from the realm of silent films with Stagecoach (1939). Due to their previous work together, Ford cast Wayne in a minor role in his first “talking” picture. Fortunately, this film ended up being a critical and financial success. As such, John Wayne’s name was now inexorably linked to the western. This Wayne/Ford partnership lasted for many more years, resulting in 14 more films together.

In the late 19^th century, an eclectic group of strangers boards a stagecoach headed from Arizona to New Mexico. As a substitute shotgun guard, Marshal Curly Wilcox (George Bancroft) is on the lookout for the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), a man who has sworn to avenge the deaths of his father and brother. Along the way, the stagecoach is promised an escort by the Cavalry through Apache territory, eventually picking up two more passengers. At this point, they run across Ringo, who is immediately taken into custody by the Marshal. When they find the Cavalry is not at the designated rendezvous, the group decides to forge onward, eventually coming under attack from Geronimo and his Apaches. The Cavalry comes in at the last minute to save the day, and the stagecoach safely arrives in Lordsburg, New Mexico.

2 sum it up: 2 films, 2 wonderful Wayne westerns

Bacon #: 2 (How the West Was Won / Eli Wallach -> Mystic River / Kevin Bacon)