John Ford
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Born:February 1, 1895 |
Born as:John Martin Feeney (He claimed his real Gaelic name was Sean Aloysius O'Feeney / Ó Fidhne, but research has shown his given name) |
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Died:August 31, 1973 |
It is easier to get an actor to be a cowboy than to get a cowboy to be an actor
Biography:
John's brother Francis took Ford as a stage name and entered pictures in 1907. In 1914 Feeney went to Hollywood, where he worked as stunt man, actor, and assistant director at the Universal Studios.
He changed his name and was assigned to work on shorts and westerns.
Ford shot to the top rank with The Iron Horse (1924), the story of the first transcontinental railroad, filmed on location.
The 1930s found Johns further developing a distinctive style cumulating in the high-budget movie The Informer (1935) which established Ford's critical reputation.
1939 was a great year for Ford. In a twelve month period, he achieved the astonishing task of directing Stagecoach , Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums along the Mohawk and The Grapes of Wrath (1940).
In the late 1940s Ford directed the Cavalry trilogy: Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and Rio Grande (1950).
In 1973, Ford was the first person to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award.
Selected Movies
- The Searchers (1956)
- The man who shot Liberty Valance (1962)
- The Grapes of wrath (1940)
- Stagecoach (1939)
- My darling clementine (1946)
- The quiet man (1952)
- Mister Roberts (1955)
- How green was my valley (1941)
- She wore a yellow ribbon (1949)
- Fort Apache (1948)
Bibliography » Books: