John Ford(1894 — 1973)
John Ford
États-Unis
7 min read
John Ford (1894-1973) was an American director and producer, considered one of the masters of Hollywood cinema. An iconic figure of the western, he profoundly shaped the history of the seventh art and holds the record of four Academy Awards for Best Director.
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« My name is John Ford. I make Westerns.»
Key Facts
- Born in 1894 in Cape Elizabeth (Maine) into a family of Irish immigrants
- Directed *Stagecoach* in 1939, which launched John Wayne and redefined the western
- Won four Academy Awards for Best Director (1936, 1941, 1942, 1953), an absolute record
- Shot *The Searchers* in 1956, often cited among the greatest films ever made
- Died in 1973 in California, after more than 140 films over a half-century career
Works & Achievements
A vast silent epic on the building of the first transcontinental railroad, which established Ford as a great director of American epics.
A drama about the Irish struggle for independence; it earned Ford his first Oscar for Best Director.
A Western that restored the genre's prestige, launched John Wayne, and inaugurated filming in Monument Valley.
An adaptation of Steinbeck's novel about farmers ruined by the Great Depression; his second Oscar for Best Director.
A chronicle of a family of Welsh miners; the film won the Oscar for Best Picture, beating “Citizen Kane.”
A romantic comedy shot in Ireland, a tribute to his roots; his fourth Oscar for Best Director, a record.
A dark Western with John Wayne, often cited among the greatest films of all time for its depth and visual beauty.
A twilight Western that questions the myth of the West, famous for the line “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
Anecdotes
On his film sets, John Ford wielded a legendary authority: he often wore an eye patch and dark glasses, and would nervously chew on a handkerchief or the corner of his hat. Reputed to be tyrannical yet respected, he shot very few takes and essentially edited the film “in the camera” to prevent producers from re-cutting his work as they pleased.
In 1942, while heading the U.S. Navy's film unit, Ford personally filmed the Battle of Midway from a rooftop. Wounded in the arm by shrapnel, he kept on shooting. His documentary “The Battle of Midway” won an Oscar and showed American families real footage of the war in the Pacific.
Ford turned Monument Valley, on the Arizona–Utah border, into the mythic backdrop of the Western. With its immense red sandstone buttes, the landscape became so closely tied to his films that it was nicknamed “John Ford country.” He shot about a dozen feature films there, often with the actor John Wayne.
In 1950, at the height of the anti-communist witch hunts, a proposal sought to force directors to sign a loyalty oath. During a stormy meeting of the Directors Guild, Ford stood up and declared: “My name is John Ford. I make Westerns.” He then defended his colleague Joseph Mankiewicz and caused the maneuver to fail.
John Ford still holds the record of four Oscars for Best Director. Curiously, he never won them for a Western, the genre that made him famous, but for dramas such as “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) and “How Green Was My Valley” (1941), which beat “Citizen Kane” for the prize.
Primary Sources
My name is John Ford. I make Westerns. […] But I don't like you, C. B., I don't like what you stand for, and I don't like what you've been saying here tonight.
When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
Combat film shot by Ford and his U.S. Navy unit during the battle, edited with narration aimed at the American public.
My name is John Ford and I make pictures to pay the rent; the rest is for the critics to talk about.
Key Places
Small coastal town where John Feeney was born in 1894, into an Irish Catholic family. His Irish roots would later feed several of his films.
City where he grew up and attended high school before leaving for California. It was here that he coined the family nickname before becoming “John Ford.”
Capital of American cinema, where Ford arrived in 1914 and built his entire career within the major studios. It was there that he directed the majority of his films.
Desert valley of red sandstone buttes that he turned into an iconic Western backdrop. It is known as “John Ford Country.”
Site of the decisive 1942 naval battle that Ford filmed under fire, where he was wounded. His documentary brought footage of it back to the American public.
Town in the California desert where the filmmaker died of cancer in 1973, shortly after receiving the first honorary award from the American Film Institute.
