John Ford

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.

Known For

Screen Director's Playhouse

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

The Horse Soldiers

The Birth of a Nation

Five Came Back

Directed by John Ford

Shooting War

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

All Movies (38)

• Filmmakers for the Prosecution2023 · as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
• John Ford: The Man Who Invented America2019 · as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
• Five Came Back2017 · as Self (archive footage)
• Spanish Western2015 · as Self (archive footage)
• John Ford & Monument Valley2013 · as Self (archive footage)
• 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year2009 · as Self (archive footage)
• The Size of Legends, The Soul of Myth2009 · as Self (archive footage)
• Monument Valley: John Ford Country2006 · as Self (voice) (archive footage)
• Serenity at Sea: John Ford and the Araner2006 · as Himself (archive footage)
• Shooting War2000 · as himself
• Backstory: 'How Green Was My Valley'2000 · as Self (archive footage)
• John Wayne-A Life on Film2000 · as Self (archive footage)
• National Geographic Explorer: The Battle For Midway1999 · as Himself - Filmmaker (archive footage) (unaccredited)
• Omnibus: John Ford, Part One1992 · as Self (archive footage)
• John Wayne's 'The Alamo'1992 · as Self
• Fonda on Fonda1992 · as Self (archive footage)
• John Ford's America1989 · as Himself (Archive Footage)
• Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend1976 · as Himself/Interviewer
• The American West of John Ford1971 · as Self
• Directed by John Ford1971 · as Self (uncredited)
• My Name Is John Ford, I Make Westerns1970 · as Self
• Sean O'Casey: The Spirit of Ireland1965 · as self
• The Horse Soldiers1959 · as Ned (uncredited)
• The Western: A Lost TV Special1958 · as Self
• Ton Diagonismon Dia Thn Anadixin Tis Star Ellas1952 · as Himself (Grand Ball Attendee)
• The Screen Director1951 · as Self (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
• Show-Business at War1943 · as Self
• Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines1943 · as J.P. Baldwin
• Big Time1929 · as John Ford (uncredited)
• The Scrapper1917 · as Buck, the scrapper
• The Trail of Hate1917 · as Lt. Jack Brewer
• The Tornado1917 · as Jack Dayton (as Jack Ford)
• The Purple Mask1916 · as (unconfirmed)
• The Bandit's Wager1916
• The Broken Coin1915 · as Sacchio's Accomplice (as Jack Ford)
• The Birth of a Nation1915 · as Klansman (uncredited)
• A Study in Scarlet1914 · as John H. Watson, M.D.
• Lucille Love: The Girl of Mystery1914

All TV Shows (2)

• The American Film Institute Salute to ...1973 · as Self
• Screen Director's Playhouse1955 · as Self - Introduction