John Ford

October 21, 1996

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Without a doubt one of the finest masters of cinema, John Ford was born Sean Aloysius O'Feeney on February 1, 1895. Most of his life was spent with the American movie machine, thanks in part to brother Francis, who moved to Hollywood to become an actor. Ford went there in 1914. He first worked with Universal studios as a contract director, up until 1921. During those years, he learned the skills that would help him become the great director he eventually became. When he moved to Fox in the early 1920's, he honed his talent as a director of westerns, starting with the epic-scale The Iron Horse (1924). Afterwards, most of Ford's films became big-scale pictures, but that were rarely overblown and were more artistic than most Hollywood films of that period.

In the 1930's, he earned his first of four Best Director Oscars (the most ever given to one man) with the classic tale of treachery and forgiveness, The Informer (1935). His definitive films that followed included the great western Stagecoach (1939), the depression-era The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and the Irish family drama, How Green Was My Valley (1941). In later years, he'd continue his tales of Irishmen and their families, starting with the divine comedy, The Quiet Man (1952). He worked with many a great actor. His most frequent were Henry Fonda, James Stewart and John Wayne, with the last of which he did over two dozen films.

Ford's last decade as a director followed the triumphs of the westerns, The Searchers (1956), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). The last of these films, Cheyenne Autumn, should be considered as the last really good film Ford ever made, instead of the dreadful soap opera, 7 Women (1966). Ford worked on a career that spanned six decades and over 70 motion pictures. Many of these have become some of the most cherished works of all time, and most of the cinema world has never forgotten Ford's fantastic contribution to one of the world's greatest forms of entertainment and art.

My rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 10

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