John Ford

Born: 1894-02-01 in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA

Died: 1973-08-31

Known For: Directing

Biography

John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973) was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath (1940). His four Academy Awards for Best Director (1935, 1940, 1941, 1952) is a record, and one of those films, How Green Was My Valley (1941), also won Best Picture. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ford directed more than 140 films (although nearly all of his silent films are now lost) and he is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. Ford's films and personality were held in high regard by his colleagues, with Ingmar Bergman and Orson Welles among those who have named him as one of the greatest directors of all time. In particular, Ford was a pioneer of location shooting and the long shot which frames his characters against a vast, harsh and rugged natural terrain.

Filmography

2023

Filmmakers for the Prosecution as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

2019

John Ford: The Man Who Invented America as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

2017

Five Came Back as Self (archive footage)
Five Came Back as Self (archive footage)

2015

Spanish Western as Self (archive footage)

2013

John Ford & Monument Valley as Self (archive footage)

2009

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year as Self (archive footage)
The Size of Legends, The Soul of Myth as Self (archive footage)

2006

Monument Valley: John Ford Country as Self (voice) (archive footage)
Serenity at Sea: John Ford and the Araner as Himself (archive footage)

2004

Battleground ... (Director)

2000

Backstory: 'How Green Was My Valley' as Self (archive footage)
John Wayne-A Life on Film as Self (archive footage)
Shooting War as himself

1999

National Geographic Explorer: The Battle For Midway as Himself - Filmmaker (archive footage) (unaccredited)

1995

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies as Self (archive footage)

1992

Unforgiven ... (Thanks)
John Wayne's 'The Alamo' as Self
Fonda on Fonda as Self (archive footage)
Omnibus: John Ford, Part One as Self (archive footage)

1989

John Ford's America as Himself (Archive Footage)

1963

Donovan's Reef ... (Director)

1962

How the West Was Won ... (Director)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ... (Director)
Flashing Spikes ... (Director)

1961

Alcoa Premiere ... (Director)
Two Rode Together ... (Director)

1960

The Alamo ... (Second Unit Director)
Sergeant Rutledge ... (Director)
The Colter Craven Story ... (Director)

1959

The Horse Soldiers as Ned (uncredited)
Korea ... (Director)

1958

Gideon's Day ... (Director)
The Last Hurrah ... (Director)
The Western: A Lost TV Special as Self

1957

Wagon Train ... (Director)
The Wings of Eagles ... (Director)
The Rising of the Moon ... (Director)
John Ford at the NFT
The Growler Story ... (Director)

1956

The Searchers ... (Director)

1955

Screen Director's Playhouse as Self - Introduction
The Jane Wyman Show ... (Director)
Mister Roberts ... (Director)
The Long Gray Line ... (Director)
Rookie of the Year ... (Director)
The Red, White and Blue Line ... (Director)

1953

The Sun Shines Bright ... (Producer)
Mogambo ... (Director)

1952

The Quiet Man ... (Writer)
What Price Glory ... (Director)
Ton Diagonismon Dia Thn Anadixin Tis Star Ellas as Himself (Grand Ball Attendee)

1951

This Is Korea! ... (Director)
The Screen Director as Self (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)

1950

Rio Grande ... (Director)
When Willie Comes Marching Home ... (Director)
Wagon Master ... (Director)

1949

Mighty Joe Young ... (Executive Producer)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ... (Director)

1948

3 Godfathers ... (Producer)
Fort Apache ... (Director)

1947

The Fugitive ... (Director)

1946

My Darling Clementine ... (Director)
It's Your America ... (Director)

1945

They Were Expendable ... (Director)
Nazi Concentration Camps ... (Producer)

1944

In Memoriam Manuel Quezon ... (Director)

1943

Show-Business at War as Self
December 7th ... (Director)
Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines as J.P. Baldwin
We Sail at Midnight ... (Director)
German Industrial Manpower ... (Director)
At the Front in North Africa with the U.S. Army ... (Director)

1942

The Battle of Midway ... (Producer)
Torpedo Squadron 8 ... (Director)
Sex Hygiene ... (Director)

1941

How Green Was My Valley ... (Director)
Tobacco Road ... (Director)
Women in Defense ... (Producer)

1940

The Grapes of Wrath ... (Director)
The Long Voyage Home ... (Director)

1939

Stagecoach ... (Producer)
Drums Along the Mohawk ... (Director)
Young Mr. Lincoln ... (Director)

1938

Four Men and a Prayer ... (Director)
Submarine Patrol ... (Director)

1937

The Hurricane ... (Director)
Wee Willie Winkie ... (Director)

1936

The Prisoner of Shark Island ... (Director)
Mary of Scotland ... (Director)
The Plough and the Stars ... (Director)
The Last Outlaw ... (Story)

1935

The Whole Town's Talking ... (Director)
Steamboat Round the Bend ... (Director)
The Informer ... (Director)

1934

The Lost Patrol ... (Director)
Judge Priest ... (Director)
The World Moves On ... (Director)

1933

Doctor Bull ... (Director)
Pilgrimage ... (Director)

1932

Air Mail ... (Director)
Flesh ... (Director)

1931

Arrowsmith ... (Director)
The Brat ... (Director)
Seas Beneath ... (Director)

1930

Men Without Women ... (Director)
Up the River ... (Director)
Born Reckless ... (Director)

1929

Salute ... (Director)
Big Time as John Ford (uncredited)
The Black Watch ... (Director)
Strong Boy ... (Director)

1928

Four Sons ... (Director)
Napoleon's Barber ... (Director)
Riley the Cop ... (Director)
Hangman's House ... (Producer)

1927

Upstream ... (Director)
Mother Machree ... (Director)

1926

3 Bad Men ... (Director)
The Blue Eagle ... (Director)
The Shamrock Handicap ... (Director)

1925

The Iron Horse ... (Producer)
Kentucky Pride ... (Director)
The Fighting Heart ... (Director)
Thank You ... (Director)
Lightnin' ... (Director)

1924

Hearts of Oak ... (Director)

1923

Hoodman Blind ... (Director)
North of Hudson Bay ... (Director)
The Face on the Barroom Floor ... (Director)
Cameo Kirby ... (Director)
Three Jumps Ahead ... (Writer)

1922

The Village Blacksmith ... (Director)
Little Miss Smiles ... (Director)
Silver Wings ... (Director)

1921

Action ... (Director)
The Freeze-Out ... (Director)
Desperate Trails ... (Director)
Sure Fire ... (Director)
The Big Punch ... (Writer)
The Wallop ... (Director)
Jackie ... (Director)

1920

The Girl in Number 29 ... (Director)
Just Pals ... (Director)
The Prince of Avenue A ... (Director)
Hitchin' Posts ... (Director)

1919

Bare Fists ... (Director)
The Ace of the Saddle ... (Director)
Rider of the Law ... (Director)
The Outcasts of Poker Flat ... (Director)
Riders of Vengeance ... (Screenplay)
A Gun Fightin' Gentleman ... (Director)
Roped ... (Director)
The Fighting Brothers ... (Director)
A Fight For Love ... (Director)
The Gun Packer ... (Story)
The Last Outlaw ... (Director)
Marked Men ... (Director)
By Indian Post ... (Director)
Gun Law ... (Director)
The Rustlers ... (Director)

1918

Hell Bent ... (Story)
A Woman's Fool ... (Director)
The Scarlet Drop ... (Story)
Three Mounted Men ... (Director)
The Phantom Riders ... (Director)
Wild Women ... (Director)
Thieves' Gold ... (Director)
The Craving ... (Writer)

1917

The Secret Man ... (Director)
A Marked Man ... (Director)
Cheyenne's Pal ... (Director)
Straight Shooting ... (Director)
The Trail of Hate as Lt. Jack Brewer
Bucking Broadway ... (Director)
The Soul Herder ... (Director)
The Tornado as Jack Dayton (as Jack Ford)
The Scrapper as Buck, the scrapper

1916

The Bandit's Wager as Nan's Brother
The Purple Mask as (unconfirmed)

1915

The Birth of a Nation as Klansman (uncredited)
The Broken Coin as Sacchio's Accomplice (as Jack Ford)

1914

Lucille Love: The Girl of Mystery
A Study in Scarlet as John H. Watson, M.D.