John Ford Sound Films, Part 3: 1939-1945
Stagecoach through They Were Expendable

The following is a list of John Ford sound films.  These film pages are taken from Wikipedia entries (with some minor editing).  I will be adding bibliographic material and John Ford film stills from my personal collection to add to these pages.  Also, I will be adding bibliographic material and references from noted writers.

Return to John Ford Table of Contents

Stagecoach (1939)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Walter Wanger

Screenplay by

Dudley Nichols

Based on

"The Stage to Lordsburg" by Ernest Haycox

Starring

Claire Trevor
John Wayne
Andy Devine
John Carradine
Thomas Mitchell
Louise Platt
George Bancroft
Donald Meek
Berton Churchill
Tim Holt

Music by

Richard Hageman
Franke Harling
Louis Gruenberg
John Leipold
Leo Shuken
Gerard Carbonara (uncredited)
Stephen Pasternacki (uncredited)

Cinematography

Bert Glennon

Edited by

Otho Lovering
Dorothy Spencer

Production company

Walter Wanger Productions

Distributed by

United Artists

Release date

February 2, 1939 (Los Angeles)

March 3, 1939 (U.S.)

Running time

96 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

$531,374

Box office

$1,103,757

Stagecoach is a 1939 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne in his breakthrough role. The screenplay by Dudley Nichols is an adaptation of "The Stage to Lordsburg", a 1937 short story by Ernest Haycox. The film follows a group of strangers riding on a stagecoach through Apache territory.

Stagecoach was the first of many Westerns that Ford shot using Monument Valley, in the American Southwest on the Arizona–Utah border, as a location, many of which also starred John Wayne. Scenes from Stagecoach, including a sequence introducing John Wayne's character the Ringo Kid, blended shots of Monument Valley with shots filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, RKO Encino Movie Ranch, and other locations. Similar geographic incongruencies are evident throughout the film, up to the closing scene of Ringo (Wayne) and Dallas (Trevor) departing Lordsburg, in southwestern New Mexico, by way of Monument Valley.

The film has long been recognized as an important work that transcends the Western genre. In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. Still, Stagecoach has not avoided controversy. Like most Westerns of the era, its depiction of Native Americans has been criticized.

Plot

In June 1880, a group of strangers boards the stagecoach from Tonto, Arizona Territory, to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Among them are Dallas, a prostitute driven out of town by the "Law and Order League"; the alcoholic Doc Boone; pregnant Lucy Mallory, who is travelling to join her cavalry officer husband; and whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock, of whose samples Doc Boone takes charge and starts drinking.

When the stage driver, Buck, looks for his shotgun guard Marshal Curley Wilcox tells him that he is off searching for a fugitive. The Ringo Kid has broken out of prison after hearing that his father and brother had been murdered by Luke Plummer. Buck tells Curley that Ringo is heading for Lordsburg. Knowing that Ringo has vowed vengeance, Curley decides to ride the stage as guard.

As the stagecoach sets out, U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant Blanchard announces that Geronimo and his Apaches are on the warpath; his small troop will provide an escort to Dry Fork. Upon seeing her distress, gambler and Southern gentleman Hatfield offers his protection to Mrs. Mallory and climbs aboard. At the edge of town another passenger flags down the stage – an assertive banker, Henry Gatewood, who is absconding with money embezzled from his bank.

Further along the road, the stage comes across the Ringo Kid, stranded after his horse has gone lame. Though they are friends, Curley has to take Ringo into custody and crowds him into the coach. When they reach Dry Fork, they learn the expected cavalry detachment has gone on to Apache Wells. Buck wants to turn back, but most of the party votes to proceed. At lunch before departing the group is taken aback when Ringo invites Dallas to sit at the main table.

Back on the road, Hatfield offers Mrs. Mallory his silver folding cup rather than have her drink from a canteen directly. She recognizes the family crest on the cup and asks Hatfield whether he was ever in Virginia. He says that he served in the Confederate Army under her father's command.

At Apache Wells, Mrs. Mallory learns that her husband had been wounded in battle with the Apaches. When she faints and goes into labor, Doc Boone sobers up and delivers the baby with Dallas assisting. Later that night, Ringo asks Dallas to marry him and live on a ranch he owns in Mexico. Afraid to reveal her past, she does not answer immediately. The next morning, she accepts, but does not want to leave Mrs. Mallory and the new baby, so she tells Ringo to go on alone to his ranch, where she will meet him later. As Ringo is escaping, he sees smoke signals heralding an Apache attack and returns to custody.

The stage reaches Lee's Ferry, which the Apaches have destroyed. Curley uncuffs Ringo to help lash logs to the stagecoach and float it across the river. Just when they think the danger has passed, the Apaches attack. A long chase follows, where some of the party are injured fighting off their pursuers. Just as they run out of ammunition and Hatfield is getting ready to save Mrs. Mallory from capture by killing her with his last bullet, the U.S. Cavalry rides to the rescue.

At Lordsburg Gatewood is arrested by the local sheriff, and Mrs. Mallory learns that her husband's wound is not serious. She thanks Dallas, who gives Mrs. Mallory her shawl. Dallas then begs Ringo not to confront the Plummers, but he is determined to settle matters. As they walk through town, he sees the brothel to which she is returning. Luke Plummer, who is playing poker in one of the saloons, hears of Ringo's arrival and gets his brothers to join him in finishing off the Ringo Kid.

Ringo survives the three-against-one shootout that follows, then surrenders to Curley, expecting to go back to prison. As Ringo boards a wagon, Curley invites Dallas to ride with them to the edge of town; but when she does so Curley and Doc stampede the horses, letting Ringo "escape" with Dallas to his ranch across the border.

Cast

·       Claire Trevor as Dallas

·       John Wayne as Ringo Kid

·       Andy Devine as Buck

·       John Carradine as Hatfield

·       Thomas Mitchell as Doc Boone

·       Louise Platt as Lucy Mallory

·       George Bancroft as Marshal Curley Wilcox

·       Donald Meek as Samuel Peacock

·       Berton Churchill as Henry Gatewood

·       Tim Holt as Lieutenant Blanchard

·       Tom Tyler as Luke Plummer

Uncredited:

·       Chief John Big Tree as Indian scout

·       Yakima Canutt as Cavalry scout

·       Nora Cecil as Boone's landlady

·       Francis Ford as Sergeant Billy Pickett

·       Brenda Fowler as Mrs. Gatewood

·       William Hopper as Sergeant

·       Duke R. Lee as Lordsburg sheriff

·       Chris-Pin Martin as Chris, innkeeper

·       Vester Pegg as Hank Plummer

·       Jack Pennick as Jerry, barkeeper in Tonto

·       Joe Rickson as Ike Plummer

·       Elvira Ríos as Yakima, Chris's Apache wife

·       Whitehorse as Indian chief

Production

Development

The screenplay is an adaptation by Dudley Nichols of "The Stage to Lordsburg," a short story by Ernest Haycox. The rights to "Lordsburg" were bought by John Ford soon after it was published in Collier's magazine on April 10, 1937. According to Thomas Schatz, Ford claimed that his inspiration in expanding Stagecoach beyond the bare-bones plot given in "The Stage to Lordsburg" was his familiarity with another short story, "Boule de Suif" by Guy de Maupassant, although Schatz believes "this scarcely holds up to scrutiny". Ford's statement also seems to be the basis for the claim that Haycox himself relied upon Guy de Maupassant's story. However, there appears to be no concrete evidence for Haycox actually being familiar with the earlier story, especially as he was documented as going out of his way to avoid reading the work of others that might unconsciously influence his writing, and he focused his personal reading in the area of history.

Before production, Ford shopped the project around to several Hollywood studios, all of which turned him down because big budget Westerns were out of vogue, and because Ford insisted on using John Wayne in the key role in the film. Independent producer David O. Selznick finally agreed to produce it, but was frustrated by Ford's indecision about when shooting would begin, and had his own doubts over the casting. Ford withdrew the film from Selznick's company and approached independent producer Walter Wanger about the project. Wanger had the same reservations about producing an "A" western and even more about one starring John Wayne. Ford had not directed a western since the silent days Wanger said he would not risk his money unless Ford replaced John Wayne with Gary Cooper and brought in Marlene Dietrich to play Dallas.

Ford refused to budge; it would be Wayne or no one. Eventually they compromised, with Wanger putting up $250,000, a little more than half of what Ford had been seeking, and Ford would give top billing to Claire Trevor, better known than John Wayne at the time.

Filming

The members of the production crew were billeted in Kayenta, in Northeastern Arizona, in an old CCC camp. Conditions were spartan, production hours long, and weather conditions at this 5700 foot elevation were extreme with constant strong winds and low temperatures. Nonetheless, director John Ford was satisfied with the crew's location work. For this location, filming took place near Goulding's Trading Post on the Utah border, about 25 miles from Kayenta.[12] Scenes were filmed in Monument Valley locations as well as the Iverson Movie Ranch and the RKO Encino Movie Ranch.

Reception

Following the film's release on March 2, 1939, Ford's faith in John Wayne was rewarded as the film met with immediate critical and trade paper success. Cast member Louise Platt, in a letter recounting the experience of the film's production, quoted Ford on saying of Wayne's future in film: "He'll be the biggest star ever because he is the perfect 'everyman'".

Stagecoach has been lauded as one of the most influential films ever made. Orson Welles argued that it was a perfect textbook of film-making and claimed to have watched it more than 40 times in preparation for the making of Citizen Kane.  The film made a profit of $297,690.

Awards and honors

Academy Awards

Wins

·       Best Supporting Actor – Thomas Mitchell

·       Best Music (Scoring) – Richard Hageman, W. Franke Harling, John Leipold, Leo Shuken

 Nominations

·       Best Picture

·       Best Director – John Ford

·       Best Art Direction – Alexander Toluboff

·       Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) – Bert Glennon

·       Best Film Editing – Otho Lovering, Dorothy Spencer

 Other Awards

·       John Ford won the 1939 New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Director. Other critics gave the film uniformly glowing reviews.

·       In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten Top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Stagecoach was acknowledged as the ninth best film in the western genre.

Re-Releases and Restoration

The film was originally released through United Artists, but under the terms of its seven-year-rights rule, the company surrendered distribution rights to producer Walter Wanger in 1946. Many independent companies were responsible for this film in the years since. The film's copyright (originally by Walter Wanger Productions) was renewed by 20th Century Fox, who produced a later 1966 remake of Stagecoach. The rights to the original 1939 film were subsequently acquired by Time-Life Films during the 1970s. The copyright has since been reassigned to Wanger Productions through the late producer's family under the Caidin Trust/Caidin Film Company, the ancillary rights holder. However, distribution rights are now held by Shout! Factory, which in 2014 acquired Jumer Productions/Westchester Films (which in turn had bought the Caidin Film holdings after the folding of former distributor Castle Hill Productions). Warner Bros. Pictures handles sales and additional distribution.

The original negative of Stagecoach was either lost or destroyed. Wayne had one positive print that had never been through a projector gate that director Peter Bogdanovich noticed in Wayne's garage while visiting. In 1970, Wayne allowed it to be used to produce a new negative and that is the film seen today at film festivals.[21] UCLA fully restored the film in 1996 from surviving elements and premiered it on cable's American Movie Classics network. The previous DVD releases by Warner Home Video did not contain the restored print but rather a video print held in the Castle Hill/Caidin Trust library. A digitally restored Blu-ray/DVD version was released in May 2010 via The Criterion Collection.

References

1.         Matthew Bernstein, Walter Wagner: Hollywood Independent, Minnesota Press, 2000 p439

2.       Pippins, Robert (2010). Hollywood Westerns and American Myth. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 3, 5. 

3.       "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

4.       Ernest Haycox, Jr. (2001). "Ernest Haycox (1899–1950)". Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission.

5.       Thomas Schatz (2003). Stagecoach and Hollywood's A-Western Renaissance (PDF). John Ford's Stagecoach edited by Barry Keigh Grant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 21–47. 

6.       Nick Clooney (November 2002). The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen. New York: Atria Books.

7.       "John Wayne - Stagecoach". museumofwesternfilmhistory.org. Museum of Western Film History.

8.        Stagecoach, by Edward Buscombe, British Film Institute, 1992, pp. 76–82.

9.        Letter, Louie Platt to Ned Scott Archive, July 7, 2002, Thenedscottarchive.com pp. 39, 40

10.    Welles, Orson and Bogdanovich, Peter, This is Orson Welles, Da Capo Press, 1998, pp. 28–29. "After dinner every night for about a month, I'd run Stagecoach.... It was like going to school."

11.     American Film Institute (June 17, 2008). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net.

12.    "Top 10 Western". American Film Institute.

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Darryl F. Zanuck
Kenneth Macgowan

Written by

Lamar Trotti

Starring

Henry Fonda
Alice Brady
Marjorie Weaver
Arleen Whelan

Music by

Alfred Newman

Cinematography

Bert Glennon
Arthur C. Miller

Edited by

Walter Thompson

Production company

Cosmopolitan Productions

Distributed by

20th Century Fox

Release date

May 30, 1939

Running time

100 min.

Language

English

Budget

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Young Mr. Lincoln is a 1939 American biographical drama film about the early life of President Abraham Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda.[1][2] Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to the point where Ford destroyed unwanted takes for fear the studio would use them in the film. Screenwriter Lamar Trotti was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing/Original Story.

In 2003, Young Mr. Lincoln was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

In 1832, a family traveling through New Salem, Illinois in its wagon need groceries from Lincoln's (Henry Fonda) store, and the only thing of value that they have to trade is a barrel of old books including a law book, Blackstone's Commentaries. After thoroughly reading the book, Lincoln opts for the law after receiving encouragement from his early, ill-fated love, Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore), who soon dies. Too poor to own even a horse, he arrives in Springfield, Illinois, on a mule and soon establishes a law practice in 1837 with his friend John Stuart (Edwin Maxwell). After a raucous, day-long Independence Day celebration, a man, Skrub White, is killed after he pulled a gun in a fight. The accused are two brothers, Matt and Adam Clay (Richard Cromwell and Eddie Quillan). Lincoln prevents the lynching of the accused at the jail by shaming the angry, drunken mob. He also convinces it that he really needs the clients for his first real case.

Admiring his courage, Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver) invites Lincoln to her sister's soiree. Despite being aggressively courted by the very polished Stephen Douglas (Milburn Stone), Mary is interested in Lincoln. She faithfully attends the trial of the Clay boys, sits in the front row, and listens closely.

The boys' mother, Abigail Clay (Alice Brady), who witnessed the end of the fight, and Lincoln are pressured by the prosecutor (Donald Meek) to save one of the brothers at the expense of the other's conviction. However, the key witness to the crime, J. Palmer Cass (Ward Bond), is a friend of the victim who claims to have seen the murder at a distance of about 100 yards under the light of the moon: "It was moon bright." However, Lincoln persists and is able, by using an almanac, to demonstrate that on the night in question, the moon had set before the time of death. He then drives Cass to confess that he had actually stabbed his friend.

Cast

·       Henry Fonda as Abraham Lincoln

·       Alice Brady as Abigail Clay (final film role)

·       Marjorie Weaver as Mary Todd

·       Arleen Whelan as Sarah Clay

·       Eddie Collins as Efe Turner

·       Pauline Moore as Ann Rutledge

·       Richard Cromwell as Matt Clay

·       Donald Meek as Prosecutor John Felder

·       Dorris Bowdon as Carrie Sue (Judith Dickens, who was obviously replaced by Bowden, is falsely credited)[3]

·       Eddie Quillan as Adam Clay

·       Spencer Charters as Judge Herbert A. Bell

·       Ward Bond as John Palmer Cass

·       Milburn Stone as Stephen A. Douglas

·       Cliff Clark as Sheriff Gil Billings

Background

The film has as its basis the murder case against William "Duff" Armstrong, which took place in 1858 at the courthouse in Beardstown, Illinois, the only courthouse in which Lincoln practiced law that is still in use.

It is referred to as the "Almanac Trial" on Armstrong's grave, and Lincoln proved the witness against the accused was lying about being able to see by the light of the moon, using an almanac. Armstrong was acquitted. That is the closest element of reality referenced in the film.

Adaptations

Young Mr. Lincoln was adapted as a radio play on the July 10, 1946 episode of Academy Award Theater.

References

1.        Variety film review; June 7, 1939, page 12.

2.       Harrison's Reports film review; June 17, 1939, page 94.

3.      Gallagher, Tag (20 April 1988). John Ford: The Man and His Films. 

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Darryl F. Zanuck

Screenplay by

Sonya Levien
Lamar Trotti

Based on

Drums Along the Mohawk, 1936 novel, by Walter D. Edmonds

Starring

Claudette Colbert
Henry Fonda
Edna May Oliver
John Carradine
Ward Bond

Music by

Alfred Newman

Cinematography

Bert Glennon
Ray Rennahan

Edited by

Robert L. Simpson

Distributed by

20th Century Fox

Release date

November 3, 1939

Running time

103 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

over $2 million[1]

Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 American historical drama film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the American Revolution. The couple suffer British, Tory, and Indian attacks on their farm before the Revolution ends and peace is restored.

Edmonds based the novel on a number of historic figures who lived in the valley. The film—Ford's first Technicolor feature—was well received. It was nominated for one Academy Award and became a major box office success, grossing over US$1 million in its first year.

Plot

In colonial America, Lana Borst, the eldest daughter of a wealthy family, marries Gilbert Martin. Together they leave her family's luxurious home to embark on a frontier life on Gil's small farm in Deerfield in the Mohawk Valley of central New York. The time is July 1776, and the spirit of revolution is in the air. The valley's mostly ethnic German settlers have formed a local militia in anticipation of an imminent war, and Gil joins up.

As Gil and his neighbors are clearing his land for farming, Blue Back, a friendly Oneida man, arrives to warn them that a raiding party of Seneca, led by a Tory named Caldwell, is in the valley. The settlers leave their farms and take refuge in nearby Fort Schuyler. Lana, who is pregnant, miscarries during the frantic ride to the fort. The Martin farm is destroyed by the Seneca raiding party. With no home and winter approaching, the Martins accept work on the farm of a wealthy widow, Mrs. McKlennar.

During a peaceful interlude, Mrs. McKlennar and the Martins prosper. Then, word comes that a large force of British soldiers and Indians is approaching the valley. The militia sets out westward to intercept the attackers; but their approach is badly timed, and the party is ambushed. Though the enemy is eventually defeated at Oriskany, more than half of the militiamen are killed. Gil returns home, wounded and delirious, but slowly recovers. Lana is again pregnant and delivers a son in May. That summer Indian and Tory raiding parties burn and pillage farms and small settlements. The harvest is small, and while Mrs. McKlennar's stone house is not burned, there is barely enough food to survive the winter. Lana bears her second child, another son, the following August. The raids continue but the crops fare much better, so there is plenty to eat that winter, although the cold is severe.

After the spring thaw, the British and their Indian allies mount a major attack to take the valley, and the settlers again take refuge in the fort. Mrs. McKlennar is mortally wounded, and ammunition runs short. Gil makes a heroic dash through enemy lines to secure help from nearby Fort Dayton. Reinforcements arrive just in time to beat back the attackers, who are about to overwhelm the fort. The militia pursues, harasses, and defeats the British force, scattering its surviving soldiers in the wilderness. The Mohawk Valley is saved.

Three years later, with the war over, Gil and Lana return to their farm at Deerfield. They have a third child, a baby girl. They look forward to a happy and peaceful life in the valley as citizens of the new, independent United States of America.

Cast

·       Claudette Colbert as Magdalena "Lana" Borst Martin

·       Henry Fonda as Gilbert "Gil" Martin

·       Edna May Oliver as Mrs. McKlennar

·       Eddie Collins as Christian Reall

·       John Carradine as Caldwell

·       Ward Bond as Adam Helmer

·       Roger Imhof as General Nicholas Herkimer

·       Arthur Shields as Reverend Rosenkrantz

·       Chief John Big Tree as Blue Back

·       Francis Ford as Joe Boleo

·       Jessie Ralph as Mrs. Weaver

·       Robert Lowery as John Weaver

·       Kay Linaker as Mrs. Demooth

·       Russell Simpson as Dr. Petry

·       Spencer Charters as Innkeeper

·       Tom Tyler as Captain Morgan (uncredited)

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Utah, specifically in Duck Creek, Strawberry Valley, Mirror Lake, Navajo Lake, Sidney Valley, and Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Historical Accuracy

Like most of John Ford's films, Drums Along the Mohawk is loosely based on historical events. A central feature of the plot is the Battle of Oriskany, a pivotal engagement of the Saratoga campaign during the American Revolutionary War, in which a British contingent drove southward from Canada in an attempt to occupy the Hudson Valley and isolate Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Massachusetts from the remaining colonies.[3] A smaller force invaded the Mohawk Valley as a diversion, but the siege of Fort Schuyler depicted in the film had no direct historical counterpart. The actual fort besieged during the battle—Fort Stanwix—was situated far from any civilian settlements, and was attacked by British and Hessian soldiers aided by local Iroquois tribes, not solely by Indians; and was defended by Continental Army soldiers, not militiamen.[4] The Tryon County militia, under General Nicholas Herkimer, did attempt to assist in the fort's defense, but they were ambushed on their way there by a predominantly Indian force at Oriskany, six miles east of Stanwix.[5]

Some sources contend that the attacks on settlements in the Mohawk Valley likewise lacked a historical basis, and were included because Ford felt obliged to perpetuate the mythology;[6] but others claim that raids were indeed conducted, often by hostile Indians allied with Tories—British loyalists who had moved to Canada from the valley before the war's onset.[7]

The film portrays only Indians and Tories as antagonists; British soldiers are seldom referenced or seen. While local Indian tribes and Tory loyalists were a factor in the actual Mohawk Valley campaign,[8] their role was a minor one compared to that of the British Army. Ford chose to minimize the British role because of the political situation in 1939: "He knew that war with Germany was coming, and he had little desire to show the British as villains when they were fighting for their lives against the Nazis."

Reception and Legacy

Frank S. Nugent reviewed the film for The New York Times of November 4, 1939 and wrote:

Walter D. Edmonds's exciting novel of the Mohawk Valley during the American Revolution has come to the...screen in a considerably elided, but still basically faithful, film edition bearing the trademark of Director John Ford...It is romantic enough for any adventure-story lover. It has its humor, its sentiment, its full complement of blood and thunder...a first-rate historical film, as rich atmospherically as it is in action...Mr. Fonda and Miss Colbert have done rather nicely with the Gil and Lana Martin...Miss Oliver could not have been bettered as the warlike Widow McKlennar...Mr. Shields's Rev. Rosenkrantz...Mr. Imhof's General Herkimer, Mr. Collins's Christian Reall, Spencer Charters's landlord, Ward Bond's Adam Helmer...They've matched the background excellently, all of them.[10]

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Edna May Oliver).[11]

Drums Along the Mohawk was restored by the Academy Film Archive, in conjunction with the Film Foundation, in 2007.[12]

References

1.        "52 FEATURE FILMS ON FOX '39-40 LIST: Five Will Cost $2,000,000 Each--Zanuck to Supervise 24 Large Productions 'THE RAINS CAME' ON BILL 'Drums Along Mohawk,' 'Little Old New York,' 'Brigham Young' Scheduled Edmonds's Story in Color Elsa Maxwell Featured". New York Times. Apr 4, 1939. p. 29.

2.       D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. 

3.       Boehlert, P. A. The Battle of Oriskany and General Nicholas Herkimer: Revolution in the Mohawk Valley. The History Press (2013), pp. 78-84. 

4.       Boehlert (2013), pp. 99-102.

5.       Simms, JR. History of Schohairie County, and Border Wars of New York. Albany, New York: Munsell and Tanner Printers, 1845, pp. 232–3

6.       Simms (1845), pp. 337–8, 344-54, 360, 373, 375-87, 381, 399.

7.       Rollins, PC. Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film. The University Press of Kentucky (2003), pp. 74-5. 

8.       Drums Along the Mohawk. historyonfilm.com.

9.       Frank S. Nugent (2009-11-04). "John Ford's Film of 'Drums Along the Mohawk' Opens at the Roxy". The New York Times.

10.    Oscars.org page showing Academy Award nominees and awards for 12th Academy Awards. Retrieved July 11, 2020.

11.     "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.

Further Reading

·      For a detailed comparison of the film with Edmonds' novel, see: Countryman, Edward (1980). "John Ford's Drums Along the Mohawk: The Making of an American Myth". Radical History Review. 1980 (24): 93–112. . Edmonds wrote a novel that combined hard research into the dynamics of a social crisis with a form that opened that research to a mass public. Ford made of that novel a film which pictures two forces that must conflict because their nature demands it and which argues that the triumph of the American cause obliterates all divisions, whether of race, class, or sex.

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Darryl F. Zanuck
Nunnally Johnson

Screenplay by

Nunnally Johnson

Based on

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

Starring

Henry Fonda
Jane Darwell
John Carradine
Shirley Mills
John Qualen
Eddie Quillan

Music by

Alfred Newman

Cinematography

Gregg Toland

Edited by

Robert L. Simpson

Distributed by

20th Century Fox

Release date

January 24, 1940 (United States)

Running time

129 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

$800,000

Box office

$1,591,000 (rentals)

The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 American drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's 1939 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F. Zanuck.

The film tells the story of the Joads, an Oklahoma family, who, after losing their farm during the Great Depression in the 1930s, become migrant workers and end up in California. The motion picture details their arduous journey across the United States as they travel to California in search of work and opportunities for the family members, and features cinematography by Gregg Toland.

The film is widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. In 1989, it was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

The film opens with Tom Joad, released from prison and hitchhiking his way back to his parents' family farm in Oklahoma. Tom finds an itinerant man named Jim Casy sitting under a tree by the side of the road. Tom remembers Casy as the preacher who baptized him, but now Casy has "lost the spirit" and his faith. Casy goes with Tom to the Joad property only to find it deserted. There, they meet Muley Graves who is hiding out. In a flashback, he describes how farmers all over the area were forced from their farms by the deed holders of the land, and had their houses knocked down by Caterpillar tractors. Tom soon reunites with his family at his Uncle's house, all of the Joads have planned to migrate with other evicted families to the promised land of California. They pack everything the next day into a dilapidated 1926 Hudson "Super Six" adapted to serve as a truck in order to make the long journey, Casy decides to accompany them.

The trip along Highway 66 is arduous, and it soon takes a toll on the Joad family. The elderly Grandpa dies along the way. Tom writes the circumstances surrounding the death on a page from the family Bible and places it on the body before they bury it so that if his remains were found, his death would not be investigated as a possible homicide. They park in a camp and meet a man, a migrant returning from California, who laughs at Pa's optimism about conditions in California. He speaks bitterly about his experiences in the West. Grandma dies when they reach California, the son Noah and son-in-law Connie also leave the family group.

The family arrives at the first transient migrant campground for workers and finds the camp is crowded with other starving, jobless and desperate travelers. Their truck slowly makes its way through the dirt road between the shanty houses and around the camp's hungry-faced inhabitants. Tom says, "Sure don't look none too prosperous."

After some trouble with an agitator, the Joads leave the camp in a hurry. The Joads make their way to another migrant camp, the Keene Ranch. After doing some work in the fields, they discover the high food prices in the company store. The store is also the only one in the area by a long shot. Later they find a group of migrant workers are striking, and Tom wants to find out all about it. He goes to a secret meeting in the dark woods. When the meeting is discovered, Casy is killed by one of the camp guards. As Tom tries to defend Casy from the attack, he inadvertently kills the guard.

Tom suffers a serious wound on his cheek, and the camp guards realize it will be easy to identify him. That evening the family hides Tom under the mattresses of the truck just as guards arrive to question them; they are searching for the man who killed the guard. Tom avoids being spotted and the family leaves the Keene Ranch without further incident. After driving for a while, they must stop at the crest of a hill when the engine overheats due to a broken fan belt; they have little gas, but decide to try coasting down the hill to some lights. The lights are from a third type of camp: Farmworkers' Weedpatch camp, a clean camp run by the Department of Agriculture, complete with indoor toilets and showers, which the Joad children had never seen before.

Tom is moved to work for change by what he has witnessed in the various camps. He tells his family that he plans to carry on Casy's mission in the world by fighting for social reform. He leaves to seek a new world and to join the movement committed to social justice.

Tom Joad says:

I'll be all around in the dark. I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look, wherever there's a fight, so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build, I'll be there, too.

As the family moves on again, they discuss the fear and difficulties they have had. Ma Joad concludes the film, saying:

I ain't never gonna be scared no more. I was, though. For a while it looked as though we was beat. Good and beat. Looked like we didn't have nobody in the whole wide world but enemies. Like nobody was friendly no more. Made me feel kinda bad and scared too, like we was lost and nobody cared.... Rich fellas come up and they die, and their kids ain't no good and they die out, but we keep a-coming. We're the people that live. They can't wipe us out, they can't lick us. We'll go on forever, Pa, cos we're the people.

Cast

·       Henry Fonda as Tom Joad

·       Jane Darwell as Ma Joad

·       John Carradine as Jim Casy

·       Charley Grapewin as William James "Grandpa" Joad

·       Dorris Bowdon as Rose of Sharon "Rosasharn"

·       Russell Simpson as Pa Joad

·       O. Z. Whitehead as Al Joad

·       John Qualen as Muley Graves

·       Eddie Quillan as Connie Rivers

·       Zeffie Tilbury as Grandma Joad

·       Frank Sully as Noah Joad

·       Frank Darien as Uncle John

·       Darryl Hickman as Winfield Joad

·       Shirley Mills as Ruth "Ruthie" Joad

·       Roger Imhof as Mr. Thomas

·       Grant Mitchell as Caretaker

·       Charles D. Brown as Wilkie

·       John Arledge as Davis

·       Ward Bond as Policeman

·       Harry Tyler as Bert

·       William Pawley as Bill

·       Charles Tannen as Joe

·       Selmer Jackson as Inspection Officer

·       Charles Middleton as Leader

·       Eddie Waller as Proprietor

·       Paul Guilfoyle as Floyd

·       David Hughes as Frank

·       Cliff Clark as City Man

·       Joseph Sawyer as Keene Ranch Foreman

·       Frank Faylen as Tim

·       Adrian Morris as Agent

·       Hollis Jewell as Muley's Son

·       Robert Homans as Spencer

·       Irving Bacon as Driver

·       Kitty McHugh as Mae

·       Tom Tyler as Deputy (uncredited)

·       Joe Bordeaux as Migrant (uncredited)

Novel

According to The New York Times, The Grapes of Wrath was America's best-selling book of 1939 and 430,000 copies had been printed by February 1940.[6] In that month it won the National Book Award, favorite fiction book of 1939, voted by members of the American Booksellers Association Soon it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.[7]

In 1962, the Nobel Prize committee said The Grapes of Wrath was "great work" and one of the committee's main reasons for granting Steinbeck the Nobel Prize for Literature. Time magazine included the novel in its "TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005". In 2009, The Daily Telegraph also included the novel in its "100 novels everyone should read". In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Grapes of Wrath tenth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Differences from the Novel

The first part of the film follows the book fairly closely. However, the second half and the ending in particular are significantly different from the book. While the book ends with the downfall and break-up of the Joad family, the film switches the order of sequences so that the family ends up in a "good" camp provided by the government, and events turn out relatively well.

In the novel, Rose-of-Sharon ("Rosasharn") Rivers (played in the film by Dorris Bowdon) gives birth to a stillborn baby. Later she offers her milk-filled breasts to a starving man, dying in a barn. These scenes were not included in the film.

While the film is somewhat stark, it has a more optimistic and hopeful view than the novel, especially when the Joads land at the Department of Agriculture camp – the clean camp. Also, the producers decided to tone down Steinbeck's political references, such as eliminating a monologue using a landowner’s description of "reds" as anybody "that wants thirty cents an hour when we're payin' twenty-five," to show that under the prevalent conditions that definition applies to every migrant worker looking for better wages.

The film emphasizes Ma Joad's pragmatic, forward-looking way of dealing with their situation despite Tom's departure, as it concludes with her spiritual "We're the people" speech.

Soundtrack

·       Henry Fonda – "Red River Valley"

·       Eddie Quillan – "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" (Traditional)

·       "A Tisket, A Tasket" (Words & music by Ella Fitzgerald & Van Alexander)

Production

Executive producer Darryl F. Zanuck was nervous about the left-wing political views of the novel, especially the ending. Due to the red-baiting common to the era, Darryl Zanuck sent private investigators to Oklahoma to help him legitimize the film.

When Zanuck's investigators found that the "Okies'" predicament was indeed terrible, Zanuck was confident he could defend political attacks that the film was somehow pro-Communist. 

Production on the film began on October 4, 1939, and was completed on November 16, 1939. Some of the filming locations include: McAlester, Sayre both in Oklahoma; Gallup, Laguna Pueblo, and Santa Rosa, all in New Mexico; Thousand Oaks, Lamont, Needles, San Fernando Valley, all in California; Topock, Petrified Forest National Park, all in Arizona.

The film score by Alfred Newman is based on the song "Red River Valley". Additionally, the song "Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad" is sung in a nighttime scene at a labor camp.

The film premiered in New York City on January 24, 1940, and Los Angeles on January 27, 1940. The wide release date in the United States was March 15, 1940.

Reception

Critical response

Frank Nugent of The New York Times wrote:

In the vast library where the celluloid literature of the screen is stored there is one small, uncrowded shelf devoted to the cinema's masterworks, to those films which by dignity of theme and excellence of treatment seem to be of enduring artistry, seem destined to be recalled not merely at the end of their particular year but whenever great motion pictures are mentioned. To that shelf of screen classics Twentieth Century-Fox yesterday added its version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, adapted by Nunnally Johnson, directed by John Ford and performed at the Rivoli by a cast of such uniform excellence and suitability that we should be doing its other members an injustice by saying it was "headed" by Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine and Russell Simpson.

When critic Bosley Crowther retired in 1967, he named The Grapes of Wrath one of the best fifty films ever made.

A review in Variety reported, "Here is outstanding entertainment, projected against a heart-rending sector of the American scene," concluding, "It possesses an adult viewpoint and its success may lead other producers to explore the rich field of contemporary life which films long have neglected and ignored."  John Mosher wrote in The New Yorker, "With a majesty never before so constantly sustained on any screen, the film never for an instant falters. Its beauty is of the sort found in the art of Burchfield, Benton and Curry, as the landscape and people involved belong to the world of these painters."

The Film Daily year-end poll of 546 critics nationwide ranked The Grapes of Wrath as the second-best film of 1940, behind only Rebecca.

Awards

Academy Awards  (1941)

·       Best Supporting Actress, Jane Darwell as Ma Joad.

·       Best Director, John Ford.

Academy Awards nominations (1941)

·       Best Actor in a Leading Role, Henry Fonda as Tom Joad.

·       Best Film Editing, Robert L. Simpson.

·       Best Picture, Darryl F. Zanuck and Nunnally Johnson.

·       Best Sound Recording, Edmund H. Hansen.

·       Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, Nunnally Johnson.

Other Awards

·       National Board of Review of Motion Pictures: NBR Award; Best Picture- 1940.

·       New York Film Critics: NYFCC Award; Best Director, John Ford; Best Film- 1940.

·       Blue Ribbon Awards, Japan: Blue Ribbon Award Best Foreign Language Film, John Ford- 1963.

·       National Film Registry – 1989.

American Film Institute recognition

·       AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies – #21

·       AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains:

o   Tom Joad – #12 Hero

·       AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:

o   "Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there." – Nominated

·       100 Years...100 Cheers – #7

·       100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary) – #23

Home media

The film's trailer

The film was released on VHS in 1988 by Key Video. It was later released in video format on March 3, 1998 by 20th Century Fox on its Studio Classic series.

A DVD was released on April 6, 2004 by 20th Century Fox Entertainment. The DVD contains a special commentary track by scholars Joseph McBride and Susan Shillinglaw. It also includes various supplements: a A&E Network biography of Daryl F. Zanuck, outtakes, a gallery, Franklin D. Roosevelt lauds motion pictures at Academy featurette, Movietone news: three drought reports from 1934, etc.

The film was released on Blu-ray on April 3, 2012, and features all supplemental material from the DVD release.

References

1.         Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 240, 

2.       "ENTERTAINMENT: Film Registry Picks First 25 Movies". Los Angeles Times. Washington, D.C. September 19, 1989. Retrieved April 22, 2020.

3.        "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2020-10-08.

4.        Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, 1939..

5.       Sobchack, Vivian C. (1979). "The Grapes of Wrath (1940): Thematic Emphasis Through Visual Style". American Quarterly. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 31 (5): 596–615. 

6.        Nugent, Frank S. The Grapes of Wrath (1940). The New York Times January 25, 1940.

7.       Crowther, Bosley. "The 50 Best Films of All Time". The New York Times,

8.       Flinn, Sr., John C. (January 31, 1940). "Grapes of Wrath". Variety. p. 14.

9.       Mosher, John (February 3, 1940). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 61.

10.    "'Rebecca' Wins Critics' Poll". Film Daily. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.: 1 January 14, 1941.

11.     "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners." 

The Long Voyage Home (1940)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

John Ford
Walter Wanger (uncredited)

Screenplay by

Dudley Nichols

Based on

The Moon of the Caribees, In The Zone, Bound East for Cardiff, and The Long Voyage Home, by Eugene O'Neill

Starring

John Wayne
Thomas Mitchell
Ian Hunter

Music by

Richard Hageman

Cinematography

Gregg Toland

Edited by

Sherman Todd

Production company

Argosy Pictures

Distributed by

United Artists

Release date

October 8, 1940 (New York City)[1][2]

Running time

105 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

$682,495[3]

Box office

$580,129[3]

The Long Voyage Home is a 1940 American drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter. It features Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, and Ward Bond, among others.

The film was adapted by Dudley Nichols from the plays The Moon of the Caribbees, In the Zone, Bound East for Cardiff, and The Long Voyage Home by Eugene O'Neill. The original plays by Eugene O'Neill were written around the time of World War I and were among his earlier plays. Ford set the story for the motion picture, however, during the early days of World War II.[4]

While not one of Ford's best-known works, The Long Voyage Home continues to be well received. Film critics and scholars have noted Gregg Toland's distinctive cinematography, which serves as a precursor of the film noir aesthetic[5] and hinted at his work for Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane (1941).

Plot

The film tells the story of the crew aboard a British tramp steamer named the SS Glencairn on the long voyage home from the West Indies to Baltimore and then to England. The crew is a motley, fun-loving, hard-drinking lot. Among them is their consensus leader, a middle-aged Irishman named Driscoll ("Drisk") (Thomas Mitchell), a young Swedish ex-farmer Ole Olsen (John Wayne), a spiteful steward nicknamed Cocky (Barry Fitzgerald), a brooding Lord Jim-like Englishman Smitty (Ian Hunter), and a burly, thoroughly dependable bruiser Davis (Joseph Sawyer), among others. The film opens on a sultry night in a port in the West Indies where the crew have been confined to their ship by order of the captain, yet they yearn as ever for an opportunity to drink and have fun with the ladies. Drisk has arranged to import a boat-load of local ladies, who along with baskets of fruit, have agreed to smuggle bottles of rum on board where, with the acquiescence of the captain, the crew carouse until a minor drunken brawl breaks out and the ladies are ordered off the ship and denied any of their promised compensation. The next day the ship sails to pick up its cargo for its return trip to England. When the crew discovers that the cargo is high explosives, they at first rebel and grumble among themselves that they won't crew the ship if it is carrying such a cargo. But they are easily cowed into submission by the captain and the ship sails, crossing the Atlantic and passing through what they all know is a war zone and potential disaster.

After the ship leaves Baltimore with its load of dynamite, the rough seas they encounter become nerve-racking to the crew. When the anchor breaks loose, Yank (Ward Bond) is injured in the effort to secure it. With no doctor on board, nothing can be done for his injury, and he dies.

They're also concerned that Smitty might be a German spy because he's so aloof and secretive. After they assault Smitty and restrain and gag him, they force him to give up the key to a small metal box they have found in his bunk which they at first think is a bomb. Opening the box against Smitty's vigorous protests, they discover a packet of letters. When Drisk reads a few, it becomes clear that they are letters from Smitty's wife revealing the fact that Smitty has been an alcoholic, disgraced and perhaps dishonorably discharged from his service with the British navy, and that he is now too ashamed to show himself before his family even though his wife urges him to come home. In the war zone as they near port, a German plane attacks the ship, killing Smitty in a burst of machine gun fire. Reaching England without further incident, the rest of the crew members decide not to sign on for another voyage on the Glencairn and go ashore, determined to help Ole return to his family in Sweden, whom he has not seen in ten years.

In spite of their determination to help the simple, gullible Ole get on his ship for Stockholm, the crew is incapable of passing up the opportunity for a good time drinking and dancing in a seedy bar to which they have been lured by an agent for ships in port looking for crew members. He has his eye on Ole because he is the biggest and strongest of the lot. He drugs Ole's drink, and calls his confederates in to shanghai Ole aboard another ship, the Amindra. Driscoll and the rest of the crew, even though drunk and almost too late, rescue Ole from the Amindra, but Driscoll is clubbed and left on board as the crew makes its escape with Ole. The next morning, the crew straggles back somewhat dejectedly and resignedly to the Glencairn to sign on for another voyage. A newspaper headline reveals that the Amindra has been sunk in the Channel by German torpedoes, killing all on board.

Cast

·       John Wayne as Olsen

·       Thomas Mitchell as Driscoll

·       Ian Hunter as Smitty

·       Barry Fitzgerald as Cocky

·       Wilfrid Lawson as Captain

·       John Qualen as Axel

·       Mildred Natwick as Freda

·       Ward Bond as Yank

·       Arthur Shields as Donkeyman

·       Joseph Sawyer as Davis

·       J.M. Kerrigan as Crimp

·       Rafaela Ottiano as Bella

·       Carmen Morales as Principal Spanish Girl

·       Jack Pennick as Johnny

·       Bob E. Perry as Paddy

·       Constant Frenke as Norway

·       David Hughes as Scotty

·       Constantine Romanoff as Big Frank

·       Dan Borzage as Tim

·       Harry Tenbrook as Max

·       Cyril McLaglen as First Mate

·       Douglas Walton as Second Mate

·       Billy Bevan as Joe, the Limehouse Barman (uncredited)

Production

Barry Fitzgerald, John Wayne and John Qualen in The Long Voyage Home

Independent film producer Walter Wanger made film-making history during the production of this film. He hired nine prominent American artists, all painters, to document the dramatic scenes during the film's production. Mr. Wanger offered a commission of over $50,000 to encourage the artists to participate, these funds were secured with the help of Reeves Lowenthal, Director of the Associated American Artists. No other undertaking of this magnitude and purpose had been done before in Hollywood film making. The artists insisted on three things to ensure a quality effort: freedom of choice on subject matter, studios on the production lot, and a projection room for viewing rushes. The artists who participated were Thomas Benton, Grant Wood, George Biddle, James Chapin, Ernest Fiene, Robert Philipp, Luis Quintanilla [es], Raphael Soyer and Georges Schreiber. Eleven original paintings emerged from this inaugural effort. These toured the country in the museum circuit of the day beginning with a display in the Associated American Artists Galleries on Fifth Avenue in New York City.[6]

As Orson Welles did the following year in Citizen Kane, director John Ford shared his title card with cinematographer Gregg Toland in the opening credits for The Long Voyage Home.[7]

Release

The film did poorly in its theatrical release, losing $224,336.[3] Some critics suggested that the film failed to appeal to the general public because it was too dark and lacked a romance.[8]

It was released on DVD in 2006 by Warner Bros. Home Video but is now out-of-print. The Criterion Collection has the home video rights to release it. It has not yet been released on DVD or Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection, but is available for streaming on Criterion Channel as of June 2020.

It is available as part of a John Ford box set, Region 2.

Reception

Critic Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, liked the screenplay, the message of the film, and John Ford's direction, and wrote "John Ford has truly fashioned a modern Odyssey—a stark and tough-fibered motion picture which tells with lean economy the never-ending story of man's wanderings over the waters of the world in search of peace for his soul...it is harsh and relentless and only briefly compassionate in its revelation of man's pathetic shortcomings. But it is one of the most honest pictures ever placed upon the screen; it gives a penetrating glimpse into the hearts of little men and, because it shows that out of human weakness there proceeds some nobility, it is far more gratifying than the fanciest hero-worshiping fare." [9]

The staff at Variety magazine wrote "Combining dramatic content of four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays, John Ford pilots adventures of a tramp steamer from the West Indies to an American port, and then across the Atlantic with [a] cargo of high explosives. Picture is typically Fordian, his direction accentuating characterizations and adventures of the voyage." [10] Harrison's Reports called it "A powerful picture, directed with skill and acted with artistry." [11] Film Daily called it "a powerful, realistic vehicle, human and dramatic from main title to finis." [12] John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote a rave review, calling it "one of the magnificent films of film history. Never has the sea, its infinite pictorial possibilities, been so comprehended upon the screen and its beauty and its threat so eloquently conveyed." 

O'Neill told Ford the film was a "grand, deeply moving and beautiful piece of work...a great picture."[14]

Rotten Tomatoes reports 100% approval from critics, based on nine reviews.[15]

Awards

Wins

·       New York Film Critics Circle Awards: NYFCC Award; Best Director, John Ford; 1940.

Nominations

·       Academy Awards:

o   Best Black-and-White Cinematography, Gregg Toland

o   Best Special Effects, R.T. Layton (photographic), Ray Binger (photographic) and Thomas T. Moulton (sound)

o   Best Film Editing, Sherman Todd

o   Best Original Score, Richard Hageman

o   Best Picture, John Ford

o   Best Screenplay Writing, Dudley Nichols

References

1.        "The Long Voyage Home". thenedscottarchive.com.

2.       Eyman, Scott; Duncan, Paul (2004). John Ford, The Complete Films. Köln; Los Angeles: Taschen. p. 116. 

3.       Doss, p. 252

4.       Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, "The Long Voyage Home, Magnificent Drama of the Sea," October 9, 1940.

5.       Variety. Film review, October 9, 1940.

6.       "'The Long Voyage Home' with John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter". Harrison's Reports: 167. October 19, 1940.

7.       "Reviews of the New Films". Film Daily. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.: 8 October 9, 1940.

8.       Mosher, John (October 19, 1940). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. New York: F-R Publishing Corp. p. 97.

9.      Eyman, Scott. Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford. p. 232. 

Tobacco Road (1941)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Darryl F. Zanuck

Written by

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay)
Erskine Caldwell (novel)
Jack Kirkland (play)

Starring

Charley Grapewin
Marjorie Rambeau
Gene Tierney
Dana Andrews

Music by

David Buttolph

Cinematography

Arthur C. Miller

Edited by

Barbara McLean

Distributed by

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Release date

February 20, 1941

Running time

84 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Box office

$1,900,000 (US) (1973)

Tobacco Road is a 1941 film directed by John Ford and starring Charley Grapewin, Marjorie Rambeau, Gene Tierney, William Tracy, Dana Andrews, and Ward Bond. It was based on the 1932 novel of the same name by Erskine Caldwell and the 1933 Broadway play that Jack Kirkland adapted from the novel.[1] The plot was rewritten for the film by Nunnally Johnson, however.[2]

Cast

·       Charley Grapewin as Jeeter Lester

·       Marjorie Rambeau as Sister Bessie Rice

·       Gene Tierney as Ellie May Lester

·       William Tracy as Dude Lester

·       Elizabeth Patterson as Ada Lester

·       Dana Andrews as Capt. Tim Harmon

·       Ward Bond as Lov Bensey

·       Slim Summerville as Henry Peabody

·       Grant Mitchell as George Payne

·       Zeffie Tilbury as Grandma Lester

Production

Studios attempted to acquire the screen rights to the novel from 1933.[3] RKO Pictures and Warner Bros. considered buying the rights, the first intending to assign Charles Laughton in the lead role, but were discouraged from doing so.[3] In March 1940, Columbia Pictures showed interest, but was informed that Tobacco Road was on the list of banned titles.[3] Eventually, 20th Century Fox gained the rights in August 1940, with RKO as its main competitor.[3] It was believed that Fox won due to the success of The Grapes of Wrath (1940).[3] They were the main preference of the copyright holders Erskine Caldwell and Jack Kirkland, who were reluctant to sell the rights unless the film "would be picturized honestly and fearlessly."[4]

Initially, Henry Hull was sought from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to reprise the main role previously portrayed on Broadway.[3] However, in October 1940 he was revealed to be only in consideration, along with Walter Brennan and Henry Fonda.[3]

Much to the "immense satisfaction of the studio",[4] John Ford was signed on as the director as early as March 1940.[5] On production, he commented in a December 1940 interview: "We have no dirt in the picture. We've eliminated the horrible details and what we've got left is a nice dramatic story. It's a tear-jerker, with some comedy relief. What we're aiming at is to have the customers sympathize with our people and not feel disgusted."[6] The decision was most likely a result of a November 1940 warning that "many religious folk throughout the nation may be offended by the religious aspects."[3]

Casting was a huge problem, and it was reported that producer Darryl F. Zanuck and director Ford deliberated for weeks.[7] Marjorie Rambeau and Gene Tierney were cast in November 1940.[8] Most other cast members were signed on in the same month. Ford personally insisted that Charley Grapewin was cast as Jeeter, because of their previous collaboration on The Grapes of Wrath. To portray Dude, William Tracy had to diet and lose teeth.[6] On his role, Tracy commented in a December 1940 interview: "It's a swell part. It's one you can sink your teeth in, if you have your teeth."

While in production, Tobacco Road was thought to be received as even greater than The Grapes of Wrath.[4] Filming was initially set on location in Georgia, but to avoid any controversy, the studio decided in November 1940 that the film would be shot in the studio on closed sets.[10] To further prevent the film from being banned before its release, there was no publicity.[10]

Reception

Many critics compared the film of Tobacco Road to the stage version, which was still running on Broadway at the time of the film's release. Variety wrote, "The slightest attempt to clean up Jeeter and his brood dooms the effort to failure... He's better entertainment--and box office--with rough edges."

Despite the studio's concerns over the censorship, the film was only banned in Australia. Although the film received mixed reviews, it became a success at the box office, and it had grossed up to $1.9 million by 1973.

References

1.        Crowther, Bosley. “Tobacco Road (1941)",New York Times, February 21, 1941

2.       "Sensational Screen Play Comes Thurs. To Fox California", San Jose Evening News, March 12, 1941, p. 13

3.       "Hollywood Now Only Talks In Millions" by Sheilah Graham, The Miami News, March 31, 1940, p. 2

4.       "'Tobacco Road' Cleaned Up For Production as Movie" by Frederick C. Othman, St. Petersburg Times, December 15, 1940

5.       "'Tobacco Road' To Be Here Soon", Spartanburg Herald-Journal, March 30, 1941, p. 8

6.       "Gene Tierney Wins Big Role in 'Tobacco Road'", Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1940

7.       "Director Ford Operates Own 'Stock' Group" by Robbin Coons, Toledo Blade, January 15, 1941

8.        "'Tobacco Road' Will Be Filmed On Closed Sets" by Cameron Shipp, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, November 25, 1940, p. 5

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 American drama film directed by John Ford. The film, based on the best-selling 1939 novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn, was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and scripted by Philip Dunne. The film stars Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, and a very young Roddy McDowall. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards,[3] famously beating Citizen Kane, Sergeant York and The Maltese Falcon for Best Picture. It also won Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Actor, and Best Set Design.

The film tells the story of the Morgans, a hard-working Welsh mining family, from the point of view of the youngest child Huw, who lives with his affectionate, kind parents and his five brothers, in the South Wales Valleys during the late Victorian era. The story chronicles life in the South Wales coalfields, the loss of that way of life and its effects on the family. The fictional village in the film is based on Gilfach Goch; where Llewellyn spent many summers visiting his grandfather, and it served as the inspiration for the novel.

In 1990, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Academy Film Archive preserved How Green Was My Valley in 1998.

Contents

The Welsh mining village of How Green Was My Valley

The film begins with a monologue by an older Huw Morgan (voiced by Irving Pichel): "I am packing my belongings in the shawl my mother used to wear when she went to the market. And I'm going from my valley. And this time, I shall never return." The valley and its villages are now blackened by the dust of the coal mines that surround the area.

A young Huw (Roddy McDowall), the youngest child of Gwilym Morgan (Donald Crisp), walks home with his father to meet his mother, Beth (Sara Allgood). His older brothers, Ianto (John Loder), Ivor (Patric Knowles), Davy (Richard Fraser), Gwilym Jr. (Evan S. Evans), and Owen (James Monks) all work in the coal mines with their father, while sister Angharad (Maureen O'Hara) keeps house with their mother. Huw's childhood is idyllic, the town, not yet overrun with mining spoil, is beautiful, and the household is warm and loving, the miners sing as they walk home (in this case "Bread of Heaven" in Welsh). The wages are collected, the men wash then eat together. Afterwards the spending money is given out. Huw is smitten on meeting Bronwyn (Anna Lee), a girl engaged to be married to his eldest brother, Ivor (Patric Knowles). At the boisterous wedding party Angharad meets the new preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon), and there is an obvious mutual attraction.

Trouble begins when the mine owner decreases wages, and the miners’ strike in protest. Gwilym's attempt to mediate by not endorsing a strike estranges him from the other miners as well as his older sons, who quit the house. Beth interrupts a late night meeting of the strikers, threatening to kill anyone who harms her husband. While returning home, crossing the fields in a snowstorm in the dark, Beth falls into the river. Huw dives in to save her with the help of the townspeople, and temporarily loses the use of his legs. He recovers with the help of Mr. Gruffydd, which further endears the latter to Angharad.

The strike is eventually settled, and Gwilym and his sons reconcile, yet many miners have lost their jobs. Angharad is courted by the mine owner's son, Iestyn Evans (Marten Lamont), though she loves Mr. Gruffydd. Mr. Gruffydd loves her too, to the malicious delight of the gossipy townswomen, but cannot bear to subject her to an impoverished churchman's life. Angharad submits to a loveless marriage to Evans, and they relocate out of the country.

Huw begins school at a nearby village. Abused by other boys, he is taught to fight by boxer Dai Bando (Rhys Williams) and his crony, Cyfartha (Barry Fitzgerald). After a beating by the cruel teacher Mr. Jonas (Morton Lowry), Dai Bando avenges Huw with an impromptu boxing display on Mr. Jonas to the delight of his pupils.

On the day that Bronwyn gives birth to their child, Ivor is killed in a mine accident. Later, two of Morgan's sons are dismissed in favor of less experienced, cheaper laborers. With no job prospects, they leave to seek their fortunes abroad. Huw is awarded a scholarship to university, but to his father's dismay he refuses it to work in the mines. He relocates with Bronwyn, to help provide for her and her child.

When Angharad returns without her husband, vicious gossip of an impending divorce spreads through the town. Mr. Gruffydd is denounced by the church deacons, and after condemning the town's small-mindedness, he decides to leave.

Just then, the alarm whistle sounds, signalling another mine disaster. Several men are injured, and Gwilym and others are trapped in a cave-in. Young Huw, Mr. Gruffydd, and Dai Bando descend with others for a rescue attempt. Gwilym and his son are briefly re-united before he succumbs to his injuries. Huw rides the lift to the surface cradling his father's body, his coal-blackened face devoid of youthful innocence.

Narration by an older Huw recalls, "Men like my father cannot die. They are with me still, real in memory as they were in flesh, loving and beloved forever. How green was my valley then." The movie ends with a montage of family vignettes showing Huw with his father and mother, his brothers and sister.

Cast

·       Walter Pidgeon as Mr. Gruffydd, pastor of the village chapel

·       Maureen O'Hara as Angharad Morgan

·       Donald Crisp as Gwilym Morgan

·       Roddy McDowall as Huw Morgan

·       Sara Allgood as Mrs. Beth Morgan

·       Anna Lee as Bronwyn, Ivor's wife

·       Patric Knowles as Ivor Morgan

·       John Loder as Ianto Morgan

·       Barry Fitzgerald as Cyfartha, boxing manager

·       Rhys Williams as Dai Bando, boxer

·       Morton Lowry as Mr. Jonas, schoolteacher

·       Arthur Shields as Mr. Parry, deacon

·       Frederick Worlock as Dr. Richards

·       Richard Fraser as Davy Morgan

·       Evan S. Evans as Gwilym Morgan Jr.

·       James Monks as Owen Morgan

·       Ethel Griffies as Mrs. Nicholas, housekeeper

·       Lionel Pape as Mr. Evans senior

·       Marten Lamont as Iestyn Evans, his son

·       Ann E. Todd as Ceinwen, school girl

·       Clifford Severn as Mervyn Phillips, school bully

·       Irving Pichel as adult Huw Morgan (the unseen narrator)

The script was written by Philip Dunne. He later recalled reading the original novel "in horror, turgid stuff, long speeches about Welsh coal miners on strike."

William Wyler, the original director, saw the screen test of McDowall and chose him for the part. Wyler was replaced by John Ford. Fox wanted to shoot the movie in Wales in Technicolor, but it was impossible to do so during World War II. Instead, Ford had the studio build an 80-acre authentic replica of a Welsh mining town at Brent's Crags (subsequently Crags Country Club) in the Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu, California.

The cast had only one Welsh actor, Rhys Williams.

On Rotten Tomatoes, How Green Was My Valley holds an approval rating of 89% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 7.92/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though it perhaps strays into overly maudlin territory, this working-class drama is saved by a solid cast and director John Ford's unmistakable style." Tim Dirks of Filmsite.org lauded the film as "one of John Ford's masterpieces of sentimental human drama."

How Green Was My Valley continues to be well received in its own right and, in 1990, was added to the American National Film Registry. Academy Award-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood named it as one of his favorite movies.

Awards

Award Category Nominee Result

Academy Awards Best Picture Darryl F. Zanuck Won

Best Director John Ford Won

Best Supporting Actor Donald Crisp Won

Best Supporting Actress Sara Allgood Nominated

Best Adapted Screenplay Philip Dunne Nominated

Best Black-and-White Arthur Miller Won
Cinematography

Best Black-and-White Richard Day,  Won
Art Direction-Interior Nathan H. Juran,
Decoration and Thomas Little

Best Film Editing James B. Clark Nominated

Best Music, Scoring Alfred Newman Nominated
of a Dramatic Picture

Best Recording Sound Edmund H. Hansen Nominated

New York Film Best Director John Ford Won
Critics Circle Awards

1943 Argentine Silver Condor Award John Ford Won
Film Critics for Best Foreign Film
Association Awards

Other awards

·       1990—National Film Registry

American Film Institute Lists

·       AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - Nominated

·       AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:

o   "Men like my father cannot die. They are with me still -- real in memory as they were in flesh, loving and beloved forever. How green was my valley then." - Nominated

·       AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores - Nominated

·       AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated

Adaptations

How Green Was My Valley was adapted as a radio play on the March 22, 1942 broadcast of the Ford Theatre, with Sara Allgood, Donald Crisp, Roddy McDowall, Maureen O'Hara and Walter Pidgeon.

It was also adapted on three broadcasts of Lux Radio Theatre: on September 21, 1942, with Allgood, Crisp, O'Hara, McDowall and Pidgeon; on March 31, 1947, with Crisp and David Niven; and on September 28, 1954, with Crisp and Donna Reed.

A Broadway musical adaptation, entitled A Time for Singing, produced by Alexander H. Cohen, opened at the Broadway Theatre on May 21, 1966. The music was by John Morris; book and lyrics by Morris and Gerald Freedman, who also served as the director. Cast included Laurence Naismith as Gwillym, Tessie O'Shea as Beth Morgan, Shani Wallis as Angharad and Frank Griso as Huw.

Bibliography

Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 241.

"How Green Was My Valley". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide.   2009.

Gamarekian, Barbara; Times, Special To the New York (1990-10-19). "Library of Congress Adds 25 Titles to National Film Registry (Published 1990)". The New York Times. .

"Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

"Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.

 Philip Dunne looks back at movies' golden age: Jim Bawden Toronto Star 27 Jan 1990:

 "How Green Was My Valley (1941)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.

Dirks, Tim. "How Green Was My Valley (1941)".

Susman, Gary (February 19, 2013). "Oscar Robbery: 10 Controversial Best-Picture Races – 1942: 'Citizen Kane' vs. 'How Green Was My Valley'". TIME.

Hathaway, Hashim (January 25, 2017). "25 times the Oscars got it wrong".

"Clint Eastwood's Favorite 'Golden Age' Films". Parade. April 29, 2012.

"The 14th Academy Awards (1942) Nominees and Winners". Retrieved August 20, 2019.

"How Green Was My Valley (1941)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. .

 "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees"

 "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees" 

 "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" .

 "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) Ballot" 

They Were Expendable (1945)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

John Ford

Screenplay by

Frank Wead
Jan Lustig [de] (uncredited)

Based on

They Were Expendable, 1942 book by William Lindsay White

Starring

Robert Montgomery
John Wayne
Donna Reed

Music by

Herbert Stothart

Cinematography

Joseph H. August

Edited by

Douglass Biggs
Frank E. Hull

Production company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Distributed by

Loew's Inc.

Release date

December 19, 1945[1]

Running time

135 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Box office

$3,250,000 (US rentals)[2]

They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 book by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) in World War II.

While a work of fiction, the book was based on actual events and people.[1] The characters John Brickley (Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (Wayne) are fictionalizations of the actual subjects, John D. Bulkeley (Medal of Honor recipient) and Robert Kelly, respectively.[3] Both the film and the book, which was a best-seller and excerpted in Reader's Digest and Life,[4] depict events that did not occur, but were believed to be real during the war; nonetheless, the film is noted for its verisimilitude in its depiction of naval combat.

Plot

In December 1941, Lt. John "Brick" Brickley (Robert Montgomery) commands a squadron of U.S. Navy PT boats, based at Cavite in the Philippines, in a demonstration of its capabilities, but the admiral in charge is unimpressed. Lt. J.G. "Rusty" Ryan (John Wayne), Brick's executive officer and friend, becomes disgusted and is writing his request for a transfer when news arrives of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Brick, Ryan and the rest of the squadron are frustrated for a time, as they are assigned non-combat duties, mostly messenger runs. Eventually, their superior has no choice but to order them to attack a large Japanese cruiser. But Brick orders Rusty to the hospital before they sortie when it is discovered that he has blood poisoning. There, Rusty begins a romance with Army nurse Sandy Davyss (Donna Reed). Another patient, "Ohio" (Louis Jean Heydt) is also attracted to Sandy. Brick's boats sink the cruiser, after which the squadron is unleashed, achieving increasing success, though at the cost of both boats and men. But it is only a matter of time before the Philippines fall. Sandy attends a dinner in her honor at the PT Base which makes it clear she is interested in Rusty.

With the mounting Japanese onslaught against the doomed American defenders at Bataan and on Corregidor, the squadron is assigned to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and others to Mindanao, where an airplane will take them to Australia. Rusty manages to make a last phone call to Sandy, now on Bataan, to explain he will not be able to see her but before they can say goodbye, the connection is cut off. The boats successfully take MacArthur to his destination where he and his family are flown to Australia. This done, they resume their attacks against the Japanese, who gradually whittle down the squadron. Crews without boats are sent to fight as infantry. The final two boats pull into a small ship yard for repairs which is run by "Dad" (Russell Simpson). The Japanese troops are approaching but Dad says they will have to fight to get him. He is last seen sitting on the steps to his house with a rifle, pistol, and jug, waiting for the Japanese troops. The last two PT boats make another attack, after which Rusty's boat is sunk. Finally, the last boat is turned over to the Army for messenger duty. Brick, Ryan and two ensigns are ordered to be airlifted out on the last airplane because the PT boats have proved their worth, and the officers are needed stateside as trainers. While waiting for the plane, Rusty meets Ohio. Neither knows what happened to Sandy who was trapped on Bataan. They speculate that she might have escaped to the hills but are not optimistic. The surviving enlisted men, led by Chief Mulcahey, are left behind to continue the fight with the remnants of the U.S. Army and Filipino guerrillas.

Cast

·       Robert Montgomery as Lieutenant John Brickley (as Robert Montgomery Comdr. U.S.N.R.)

·       John Wayne as Lieutenant (junior grade) "Rusty" Ryan

·       Donna Reed as 2nd Lieutenant Sandy Davyss

·       Jack Holt as General Martin

·       Ward Bond as BMC "Boats" Mulcahey

·       Marshall Thompson as Ensign "Snake" Gardner

·       Paul Langton as Ensign "Andy" Andrews

·       Leon Ames as Major James Morton

·       Arthur Walsh as Seaman Jones

·       Donald Curtis as Lieutenant (J.G.) "Shorty" Long/Radio Announcer

·       Cameron Mitchell as Ensign George Cross

·       Jeff York as Ensign Tony Aiken

·       Murray Alper as TM1c "Slug" Mahan

·       Harry Tenbrook as SC2c "Squarehead" Larsen

·       Jack Pennick as "Doc"

·       Alex Havier as ST3c "Benny" Lecoco

·       Charles Trowbridge as Admiral Blackwell

·       Robert Barrat as The General

·       Bruce Kellogg as Elder Tompkins MoMM2c

·       Tim Murdock as Ensign Brant

·       Louis Jean Heydt as "Ohio"

·       Russell Simpson as "Dad" Knowland

·       Vernon Steele as Army Doctor

·       Bad Luck as ship's cat.[5]

Production

Following the acquisition of the film rights to William L. White's They Were Expendable MGM asked Ford to direct a film based on the book; Ford repeatedly refused due to his serving in the Navy Field Photographic Unit. During this time Ford met Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley during the preparation of the Normandy Invasion[6] and later sighted Bulkeley's former executive officer Robert Montgomery on D-Day.[7]

Ford, a notoriously hard taskmaster, was especially hard on Wayne, who did not serve in the armed forces. During production, Ford fell from scaffolding and broke his leg. He turned to Montgomery, who had actually commanded a PT boat, to temporarily take over for him as director. Montgomery did so well that within a few years he began directing films.

The film, which received extensive support from the Navy Department, was shot in Key Biscayne, Florida and the Florida Keys. This region closely approximated the South West Pacific Theater. Actual U.S. Navy 80-foot Elco PT boats were used throughout filming, albeit re-marked with false hull numbers in use in late 1941 and early 1942. Additional U.S. naval aircraft from nearby naval air stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West were temporarily remarked and used to simulate Japanese aircraft in the film.

Ford's onscreen directing credit reads, "Directed by John Ford, Captain U.S.N.R."; Frank Wead's onscreen credit reads: "Screenplay by Frank Wead Comdr. U.S.N., Ret"; Montgomery's onscreen credit reads: "Robert Montgomery Comdr. U.S.N.R."[8]

Awards and honors

Douglas Shearer was nominated for the Oscar for Best Sound Recording, while A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahraus, R. A. MacDonald and Michael Steinore were nominated for Best Effects.[9] It was also named in the "10 Best Films of 1945" list by The New York Times.[10]

References

1.        White, W. L. (October 26, 1942). "They Were Expendable". Life. p. 114. Retrieved November

2.        McBride, Joseph Searching for John Ford; Univ. Press of Mississippi, 11 Feb. 2011

Return to John Ford Table of Contents