John Ford was one of the greatest directors in American cinematic history. He won four Academy awards for best director and is most remembered for his western films. Ford is the director associated with helping to create the legendary John Wayne’s acting career, because Wayne appeared in twenty four of Ford’s films beginning with the classic Stagecoach.
Ford is also known for his work in silent films. He produced over twenty films that stared Harry Carey (not the baseball announcer) who was one of the film era’s first superstars. Ford produced films throughout the later part of the silent film era and made the transition to films with sound and color as the technology became available.
One of Ford’s most distictive stylistic qualities is the long shot. The shots of the characters against endless majestic landscapes helped provide the sense of isolation, of being in the wilderness, that was central to the plot of most of the westerns he directed. He was also a fan of the art of Frederic Remmington and his filmmaking was influenced by Remmington’s paintings and sculpture.
While Ford is most famous for his western films, he also made many films about World War II and Korea. During the second world war, Ford served in the Navy directing documentary and propaganda films. During the war he won two Academy Awards: one for The Battle of Midway, and one for December 7 which was a propoganda film. Ford was also present on Omaha Beach on D-day and filmed the battle from behind. After the war, Ford served as Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy Reserve. John Wayne, curiously, did not accompany Ford during WWII, he stayed behind partly due to the studio not wanting to lose their most popular actor and partly due to his own lack of motivation to join the military force.
Ford did not let Wayne’s lack of military service prevent him from becoming a star in post-war films, however. Ford and Wayne returned to Hollywood and released They Were Expendable, a film about the Navy’s use of PT boats in the Philippines during WWII, in 1945 which was nomminated for two Academy awards.
John Wayne was not the only superstar to work with Ford, Henry Fonda also stared in several of Ford’s films including The Grapes of Wrath, The Battle of Midway, and Fort Apache. Jimmie Stewart also stared in Ford’s films twice alongside John Wayne in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won. Other famous actors that worked for Ford include Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Maureen O’Hara, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn. It seems as if Ford had stars ligning up to work for him, but it wasn’t fun and games on the set.
Ford developed a reputation for loosing his temper with his actors. He demanded excellence from everyone involved with the film, and, thanks to his style of filming, wanted everything to be right the first time. He took pride in the fact that his films left very little film on the editing floor. Ford was famous for his ability to edit during filming. He would shoot each movie in sequence and only shoot footage that was needed. Even with all of the reported bullying handed down from Ford to his actors, they all agree that Ford brought out their best work.
Without John Ford, the history of American film would be quite different. Imagine the United States without John Wayne, without films like The Grapes of Wrath. It just doesn’t sound like the United States we live in. Truthfully, John Wayne is an American icon: as American as apple pie, or baseball. John Wayne embodied the masculine independance of the American man and the American west, the pioneer spirit, and the phrase “speak softly and carry a big stick”. This would not be so were it not for the one man that could reportedly make John Wayne….cry: John Ford. In twenty four films Ford molded the quintessential American man on camera, but he ensured his own place in history by winning the Academy award for best director four times (only one film starred John Wayne). In other words, John Wayne would not exist without John Ford, but John Ford would still be great without his most famous star.
Another aspect of Ford’s directing that ranks him among the best ever, is the fact that he directed films during times of transition in the art of film. He directed silent films, early films with sound, and films with sound and color. From the old school to, well, the really old school his adaptability allowed his films to continue to win Academy awards even as other directors were continuing to adapt their visions to the new media.
Ford’s accomplishments as a director are tremendous. His work has inspired countless directors from the unknown to George Lucas and Martin Scorsese. He is credited with taking the creativity of film back to the director’s chair. His legacy as an artist and filmmaker will certainly never be forgotten.
Ford, it seems, was allways ahead of the game. Future sucesses like Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart got their film debuts with Ford. He won not one, but two Academy awards while serving in the United States Navy. He was one of the first directors/cinematographers to master the long shot’s effectiveness in a film. Finally, he had the foresight to befriend the biggest American film acting legend in the history of American movies.
