It is no great spoiler to print that THE FABLEMANS, Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated, semi-autobiographical film, has a movie-ending, show-stopping cameo in the form of real-life director John Ford (the actor who plays Ford would be a huge spoiler to print, so go see the movie if you want to know). The short scene is a re-telling of the real-life encounter Spielberg had with Ford, and despite its short length, goes a long way in showing Ford’s influence on Spielberg. Younger viewers were probably asking “who the hell was that”, while older audience members were celebrating the tribute. Who was that guy? That answer can be found in Reel Speak’s Top 10 Best Films of John Ford.
Born John Martin Feeney in 1894, John Ford would direct over 140 films stretching back to the silent era before his passing in 1973. He would earn six Academy Awards, including a record four for Best Director. He would redefine location shooting, wide-shots, shot-framing, and is credited with making an American icon out of John Wayne. His films would solidify the images of the Old West for good, and in doing so would be considered one of the most influential directors of all time. His best works are the films that stand as a reference point for filmmaking and have stood the test of time.
Meet John Ford:
10. YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939)
John Ford loved American icons and heroes and showed no restraint in celebrating their wit and bravery. This courtroom drama, with Henry Fonda playing a young Abraham Lincoln during his lawyering days, has the future President defending two brothers falsely accused of murder. The term “prequel” wasn’t around in 1939, but thanks to a clever script and Fonda’s gentle and intelligent performance, the building blocks can be seen stacking to the monument that would become Lincoln.
9. THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945)
Having served in the Navy during WWII and earning a Purple Heart, Ford had a love of American fortitude. This realistic and somewhat grim exploration of war centers around a PT boat crew during a Japanese invasion of the Philippines, with real-life war hero Robert Montgomery and budding superstar John Wayne. Ford went for realism here and pulled no punches, setting a new standard for films of war.
8. THE LONG VOYAGE HOME (1940)
In 1940, Ford would pull off the rare feat of earning two Best Picture nominations in one year, one for this sea-bound drama and the other you’ll find out in a few minutes. THE LONG VOYAGE HOME drew back on Ford’s love for the sea, and followed a ragtag crew board a British steamer on a perilous journey. Shot in glorious black-and-white, it would be considered to be one of the best film noir movies.
7. THE INFORMER (1935)
Ford would win his first Oscar for Best Director in this drama set in 1922 Ireland, following a young man (Victor McLaglen), trying to get into the IRA. McLageln would win Best Actor for his performance, and despite a tragic ending, sends us out the door on a hopeful note.
6. HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941)
Ford had a way of presenting the chasing and failing of dreams, and this one of his strongest. Despite Ford’s four Oscars for Best Director, this would be his only film to win Best Picture…famously beating out CITIZEN KANE. Based around a Welsh mining family at the turn of the century, VALLEY would be an awards-gobbler, with 10 nominations and five wins including Best Director for Ford and Best Supporting Actor for Donald Crisp.
5. THE QUIET MAN (1952)
Ford’s final win for Best Director in this classic that has become a vital element of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day as much as whiskey and beer. A romantic journey into Ford’s own Irish roots, the film was a departure for both Ford and star John Wayne, who strayed from their tough-guy, put-em-up roots. Wayne plays an ex-boxer who returns to his homeland and falls in love with a fiery red head (a lovely Maureen O’Hara). Although THE QUIET MAN would end in a fistfight anyway, it stands as an early rom-com and shows the diversity of both Ford and Wayne.
4. THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962)
In this late career masterpiece, Ford takes the Western, a genre that he practically invented for the big screen, and finds an exploration of truth and myth. John Wayne and James Stewart are given the opportunity to find new layers to character-types they had played for decades, courtesy of a late-film twist that has consequences for both characters. Home to one of the greatest movie lines of all time: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend”.
3. STAGECOACH (1939)
The film that would make a star out of John Wayne and define the Old West for cinema. Following a group of strangers taking a stagecoach across dangerous Apache territory, it would be the first of many Westerns shot in Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border, and would set a new standard for location shooting as future productions would finally move away from soundstage filming. Before STAGECOACH, the Western would be known as B-movie shorts. Afterwards, it would be a new genre of cinema that would dominate for 60 years. The first of many Westerns for Ford and Wayne together, which would include gems such as FORT APACHE (1948), and RIO GRANDE (1950).
2. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
Ford’s adaptation of the 1939 John Steinbeck novel would earn him an Academy Award for Best Director, and would be one of his two films nominated for Best Picture in this year. In telling the story of a family who migrates to California after losing everything in the Great Depression, this was one of Ford’s many fascinations with chasing and losing dreams and pushing out beyond boundaries to find them again. Often considered to be the definitive adaptations of the novel and one of the greatest films ever made.
1. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
Ford may have elevated the Old West for cinema with STAGECOACH, but with THE SEARCHERS he sent it up even further. John Wayne plays an angry Civil War veteran who digs into his hatred of Native Americans when his niece (Natalie Wood), is kidnapped by Comanches. In what could have been a cliched tale of Cowboys and Indians, Ford finds new depth of character when Wayne and his partner (Jeffrey Hunter, years before his STAR TREK role of Capt. Pike), finds the niece living happily with the Comanches. The moral ambiguity the characters explore would set the stage for future anti-heroes in cinema such as Travis Bickle and Michael Corleone. Beautifully shot, edited, and scored…THE SEARCHERS would set a standard not only for Westerns but for all of cinema, and future franchises such as STAR WARS and Indiana Jones would take influence from here. When Spielberg met Ford, it was THE SEARCHERS that sent him on his way.
REEL SPEAK'S TOP 10 BEST FILMS OF JOHN FORD
- THE SEARCHERS
- THE GRAPES OF WRATH
- STAGECOACH
- THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
- THE QUIET MAN
- HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY
- THE INFORMER
- THE LONG VOYAGE HOME
- THEY WERE EXPENDABLE
- YOUNG MR. LINCOLN
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