Portrait of John Ford

John Ford

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.

Born: February 1, 1894

Place of Birth: Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA

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)

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)

2009
The Size of Legends, The Soul of Myth

as Self (archive footage)

2006
Monument Valley: John Ford Country

as Self (voice) (archive footage)

2006
Serenity at Sea: John Ford and the Araner

as Himself (archive footage)

2000
Shooting War

as himself

2000
Backstory: 'How Green Was My Valley'

as Self (archive footage)

2000
John Wayne-A Life on Film

as Self (archive footage)

1999
National Geographic Explorer: The Battle For Midway

as Himself - Filmmaker (archive footage) (unaccredited)

1992
Omnibus: John Ford, Part One

as Self (archive footage)

1989
John Ford's America

as Himself (Archive Footage)

1971
Directed by John Ford

as Self (uncredited)

1959
The Horse Soldiers

as Ned (uncredited)

1955
Screen Director's Playhouse

as Self - Introduction

1929
Big Time

as John Ford (uncredited)

1917
The Scrapper

as Buck, the scrapper

1917
The Tornado

as Jack Dayton (as Jack Ford)

1916
The Purple Mask

as (unconfirmed)

1915
The Broken Coin

as Sacchio's Accomplice (as Jack Ford)

1915
The Birth of a Nation

as Klansman (uncredited)

1914
A Study in Scarlet

as John H. Watson, M.D.