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John Ford

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John Ford (February 1,1894 – August 31, 1973) was an American film director famous for his westerns such as The Searchers and adaptations of 20th century American novels such as The Grapes of Wrath. His style of film-making has been tremendously influential, leading colleagues such as Ingmar Bergman and Orson Welles to name him one of the greatest directors of all time. His four Academy Awards for Best Director (1935,1940,1941,1952) are unmatched. His films have influenced directors as diverse as Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Sam Peckinpah, and Sergio Leone. When asked where he learned the craft of film-making Orson Welles famously replied "the old masters, by which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford."

Contents

From Feeney to Ford

He was born John Martin Feeney in Cape Elizabeth, Maine to John Augustine Feeney and Barbara (Abbey) Curran, both of whom were born in Spiddal 1, County Galway, Ireland in 1856.

John A. Feeney's grandmother, Barbara Morris, was said to be a member of a local (impoverished) gentry family, the Morrises of Spiddal, presently headed by the decidedly well-off Lord Killanin.

John Augustine and Barbara Feeney arrived in Boston and Portland within a few days of each other in May and June 1872, were married in 1875, and became American citizens three years later. They had eleven children: Mamie (Mary Agnes), born 1876; Delia (Edith), 1878-1881; Patrick; Francis; Bridget, 1883-84; Barbara, born and died 1888; Edward, born 1889; Josephine, born 1891; Hannah (Johanna), born and died 1892; John Martin, 1894-1973; and Daniel, born/died 1896.

Many of his films contain direct and indirect references to his Irish and Gaelic heritage. His family referred to him as Sean.

He began acting in 1914, taking "Ford" as a stage name. He married Mary McBryde Smith, on July 3, 1920.

Director

In 1921, Ford turned to directing, beginning as an assistant to Lois Weber. During the 1920s, he served as president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, a forerunner to today's Directors Guild of America.

Over 35 years John Wayne appeared in more than twenty of Ford's films, including Stagecoach (1939), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), The Wings of Eagles (1957), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).

Ford's favorite location for his films was Utah's Monument Valley. Ford defined images of the American West with some of the most beautiful and powerful cinematography ever shot, in such films as Stagecoach, The Searchers, Fort Apache, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

His good friend Merian C. Cooper, the director of King Kong, produced several of Ford's most admired films.

Navy career and subsequent work

During World War II Commander John Ford, USNR, served in the United States Navy and made documentaries for the Navy Department. He won two more Academy Awards during this time, one for The Battle of Midway (1942), and a second for acclaimed documentary December 7th (1943) (see[link]). For more information on his military contributions check the Naval Historical Center link below.

In 1955, Ford was tapped to direct the classic Navy comedy Mister Roberts, starring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, William Powell, and James Cagney. However, Mervyn LeRoy replaced Ford during filming when he suffered a ruptured gallbladder.

Ford cast Ward Bond as John Dodge, a character based on Ford himself, in the 1957 movie The Wings of Eagles, again starring his good friends John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

John Ford Stock Company

Some actors frequently directed by Ford include: Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Jane Darwell, Francis Ford (brother), Ben Johnson, Victor McLaglen, Harry Carey, Jr., and others. They were sometimes known as The John Ford Stock Company.

Awards

He won four Academy Awards as best director for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952) - none of them Westerns (also starring in the last two was Maureen O'Hara, 'his favorite actress'). He was also nominated as Best Director for Stagecoach (1939).

As producer he received nominations for Best Picture for The Quiet Man and The Long Voyage Home.

He was the first recipient of the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1973.

Ford's politics were conventionally Democratic as his favorite presidents were Lincoln, FDR and JFK, but many in Hollywood thought he was a right wing Republican because of his long association with actors John Wayne, James Stewart and Ward Bond. Time Magazine editor Whittaker Chambers wrote a harsh review of "The Grapes of Wrath" as a left wing propaganda film assuming Steinbeck the author and Ford the director to be of that political stripe.

There is a statue of him in Portland, Maine. He is depicted sitting in a director's chair.

Ford died in Palm Desert, California, aged 79 from stomach cancer. He was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

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Note

Note 1: Probably better known at the time by its Irish name [An Spidéal].

Filmography

Silent films

As Jack Ford: All films were made by Universal Studios unless otherwise noted.

At this point he moves to Fox As John Ford:

Sound films

Documentaries and shorts

See also

External links

Biographies

 

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