John Ford

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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Detective Jim McLeod
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Location: New York

Re: John Ford

Post by Detective Jim McLeod »

My top ten favorites in chronological order
  • The Informer (1935)
    Stagecoach (1939)
    Young Mr Lincoln (1939)
    Drums Along The Mohawk (1939)
    The Grapes Of Wrath (1940)
    My Darling Clementine (1946)
    Wagon Master (1950)
    Mister Roberts (1955)
    The Searchers (1956)
    The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
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fxreyman
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Joined: May 1st, 2009, 10:16 pm
Location: Libertyville, Illinois

Re: John Ford

Post by fxreyman »

Excellent thread you have started...

Here are my Top Ten favorite John Ford directed films chronologically:

Stagecoach 1939
The Grapes of Wrath 1940
They Were Expendable 1945
My Darling Clementine 1946
Fort Apache 1948
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949
Rio Grande 1950
The Quiet Man 1952
The Searchers 1956
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962
umop apisdn
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Joined: November 17th, 2022, 8:52 am

Re: John Ford

Post by umop apisdn »

My top 10 favorites in chronological order are:

The Informer (1935)
Stagecoach (1939)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
The Long Voyage Home (1940)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
The Quiet Man (1952)
Mister Roberts (1955)
The Searchers (1956)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)


I've seen every John Ford film from 1931-1966 except for a few shots and documentaries here and there. I've seen a few early films from his career thanks to Criterion Channel when they ran an early John Ford theme. A few early standouts I really enjoyed were:

Kentucky Pride - A racehorse narrates her life story. This one was an unexpected treat.

Pilgrimage - A mother travels to visit the grave of her son in France. The film is a moving portrait of loss and learning how to celebrate life.

Wee Willie Winkie - I love Victor McLaglen and Shirley Temple in this; they work so well together. Her version of Auld Lang Syne is touching and was used in the TCM Remembers segment when she passed away.

Four Sons - A German woman has 3 sons who fight for Germany in WWI and one who emigrates to the United States.
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Swithin
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Joined: October 22nd, 2022, 5:25 pm

Re: John Ford

Post by Swithin »

pvitari wrote: July 8th, 2014, 12:53 pm The crucial scene in The Sun Shines Bright takes place in the courtroom when Stepin Fetchit realizes that Elzie Emanuel is about to get himself in big trouble with the white authorities, and convinces him to do what the white men (including Judge Priest) want, and he starts to sing (I think it's to sing, I haven't watched this in a while). Elzie's moment of not giving them what they want or responding the way they want could result in him being hung. For a second the mask is off Fetchit's face and you realize what's really there underneath and the pressure and fear he and the other members of the African-American community live with every second of their lives in this supposedly genial Southern town. If you look at the movie with that scene in mind, it takes on a whole other hue. Even Judge Priest's paternalism doesn't seem quite as benevolent. Ford is VERY subtle here and in 1953 most people probably just saw that scene as humorous.
I intended to write something about The Sun Shines Bright (1953), a problematic but deeply moving film, but I found an old post which addresses the scene I wanted to write about. In the scene, young Elzie Emanuel is in court, presumably for idleness. His uncle (beautifully played by Ernest Whitman) tells the court that the boy doesn't want to do anything but play his banjo. Judge Priest asks Elzie to play something. He plays "Marching Through Georgia," a Union Army song. Stephen Fetchit, concerned for Elzie's survival, rushes up to Elzie and makes him stop playing that Yankee song, encouraging him to play "Dixie." So Elzie, ignorant of the significance of what he's done in that southern courtroom, plays "Dixie," and he and Fetchit dance, as the Whites in the room would expect them to. The scene, which fills one with sadness, says volumes about what Stepin Fetchit had to do in his own career: play roles that the White man wanted him to, in order to survive.

John Ford has said The Sun Shines Bright (a remake of his own Judge Priest) is his favorite film. It certainly is underrated, but would be difficult to show today, without reams of context. Despite the problems it would have for a contemporary audience, it is a great film, and on YouTube.


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GaryCooper
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Re: John Ford

Post by GaryCooper »

1. The Searchers
2. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
3. My Darling Clementine
4. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
5. Rio Grande


IMMORTAL
Movies are written in sand: applauded today, forgotten tomorrow.
D. W. Griffith
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Swithin
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Joined: October 22nd, 2022, 5:25 pm

Re: John Ford

Post by Swithin »

The Museum of Modern Art will be offering MOMA members online screenings of two silent John Ford films, from February 9-23, 2023. Kentucky Pride (1925) and The Shamrock Handicap (1926) will be screened.

"Restored from original nitrate elements in MoMA’s collection, the films are presented in high-definition transfers with recreated tinting and piano accompaniment."

https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/5558

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