Key Films in Ford's Oeuvre
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A
favorite of filmmakers, critics, and audiences alike, John Ford is one
of film history's most revered directors. Eighteen of Ford's films
appear on the Top 1,000 Greatest Films (They Shoot
Pictures, Don't They?), ten of which appear in the top 500 (The Grapes of Wrath (#119), How Green Was My Valley (#367), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(#85), My Darling Clementine
(#86), The Quiet Man (#188),
The Searchers (#7), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (#415), Stagecoach (#101), They Were Expendable (#362), and Young Mr. Lincoln (#491)).Ford tackled many genres throughout his career, but he is most remembered for his Westerns, such as The Searchers, My Darling Clementine, and Stagecoach. Though he is often regarded as the single most influential director in shaping the classic Hollywood Western, Ford subverted many of the myths and cliches perpetuated by the classic Western with The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The Quiet Man is another notable Ford film because he had felt a strong personal connection to the Irish story and had wanted to make the film for many years.
Director John Ford and actors Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne on the set of The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Stewart and Wayne were two of Ford's favorite act-
ors to work with.
1.
My Darling Clementine (1946)
2.
They Were Expendable (1945)
3. Fort Apache (1948)
4. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
5.
The Long Voyage
Home (1940)6. Donovan's Reef (1963)
7. Stagecoach (1939)
8. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
9. The Informer (1935)
10. Two Rode Together (1961)
John Ford and various cast and crew examine an ongoing scene. Though Ford was known as a
stubborn director, he maintained many lasting relationships, working with many of the same act-
ors and technicians throughout his career.
