John Ford Sound Films, Part 5: 1952-1956
What Price Glory through The Searchers

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.

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What Price Glory (1952)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Sol C. Siegel

Written by

Henry Ephron
Phoebe Ephron

Starring

James Cagney
Corinne Calvet
Dan Dailey

Music by

Alfred Newman

Cinematography

Joseph MacDonald

Edited by

Dorothy Spencer

Distributed by

20th Century-Fox

Release date

1952

Running time

111 minutes

Country

United States

Languages

English
French

Box office

$2 million (US rentals)[1][2]

What Price Glory is a 1952 American Technicolor war film based on a 1924 play by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings,[3] though it used virtually none of Anderson's dialogue.[4] Originally intended as a musical, it was filmed as a straight comedy-drama, directed by John Ford and released by 20th Century Fox on August 22, 1952 in the U.S. The screenplay was written by Phoebe and Henry Ephron, and stars James Cagney and Dan Dailey as US Marines in World War I.

Plot

Upon the United States entry into World War I, the first American units to arrive at the front in France are veteran Marine companies, one of which is commanded by Captain Flagg, along with his lieutenants, Moore and Aldrich. Flagg has developed a romantic relationship with the daughter of the local innkeeper, Charmaine, and resumes their relationship after returning from the front. However, he lies to her and tells her he is married when she wants to come with him on his leave to Paris. Replacements arrive and their lack of discipline and knowledge infuriate the captain. But he is expecting the arrival of a new top sergeant, who he hopes will be able to train them properly. However, when the sergeant arrives, it is Quirt, Captain Flagg's longtime rival, and their rivalry quickly re-ignites.

Flagg leaves for Paris, and while he is away, Quirt begins to romance Charmaine. At the same time, another of the new arrivals, Private Lewisohn, begins a romance with a young woman of the village. When Flagg returns, he is approached by Charmaine's father, Whiskey Pete, who expresses concern over his daughter's relationship with Quirt. Flagg becomes angry, as Quirt has moved in on other girlfriends of Flagg in the past. But he sees this as an opportunity to get even with Quirt once and for all, by using Pete's concern to force Quirt to marry Charmaine, taking him off the market once and for all. As the wedding approaches, the unit receives orders to move back to the front lines. Flagg sees an opportunity to add insult to injury by not informing Quirt of the impending deployment, until after the wedding, which would mean sending Quirt into battle immediately after the ceremony.

As he sets up Quirt's wedding, Flagg is approached by Lewisohn, who wants to marry Nicole Bouchard, a local girl he has known for eight days. Flagg convinces him to wait. General Cokely visits the unit shortly before deployment, promising Flagg that if they can capture a German officer, he will allow the company to retire from the front, as well as giving a week's leave to Flagg. Flagg's surprise is spoiled, and Quirt refuses to marry Charmaine, offering Flagg the choice of taking him into battle or sending him to headquarters to be court-martialed. Flagg realizes Quirt's value in battle and takes him to the front lines.

At the front, Flagg's attempts to capture a live German officer lead to the death of Lieutenant Moore, after which a wounded Aldrich goads Flagg and Quirt in attempting to capture the officer themselves. On their way behind enemy lines, they both realize they love Charmaine, which once again re-heats their rivalry. The two do manage to capture a German colonel, but as they are bringing him back to the American lines, they are hit by a German barrage, killing the colonel and wounding Quirt. Quirt taunts Flagg with the fact that he will be going back to the village first, giving him the first shot at Charmaine. Right after he leaves for the base hospital in the village, Lewisohn brings a German lieutenant he has captured to Flagg. The joy is short-lived however, as Lewisohn is almost immediately killed by a German barrage after handing his prisoner over.

Flagg calls Cokely to tell him of the officer's capture, only to have Cokely renege on his pledge to withdraw Flagg's company from the front. As Flagg leads his Marines deeper into enemy territory, Quirt begins to woo Charmaine. Before the two can marry, Flagg returns from the front, confesses to her that he is not married, and proposes to her. Charmaine cannot decide between the two men, leading to a fight between them. The two decide to play cards for the right to marry Charmaine. Flagg wins, after bluffing Quirt, but before he can marry Charmaine, Sergeants Lipinsky and Kiper arrive and let Flagg know they have been ordered back to the front. After initially balking at the order, Flagg realizes he cannot desert his men.

As the Marines move out, Flagg tells Kiper that he has been discharged, and that he has kept the discharge hidden from him for over a year. Rather than become angry, Kiper slings his weapon over his shoulder and joins the Marines marching out. Quirt, meanwhile, can stay behind, due to his injury, but he also picks up his rifle and joins his company.

Cast

·       James Cagney as Captain Flagg

·       Corinne Calvet as Charmaine

·       Dan Dailey as 1st Sergeant Quirt

·       William Demarest as Corporal Kiper

·       Craig Hill as Lieutenant Aldrich

·       Robert Wagner as Private Lewisohn

·       Marisa Pavan as Nicole Bouchard

·       Max Showalter as Lieutenant Moore (as Casey Adams)

·       James Gleason as General Cokely

·       Wally Vernon as Lipinsky

·       Harry Morgan as Sergeant Moran (uncredited)

·       Tom Tyler as Captain Davis (uncredited)

·       Paul Fix as Gowdy (uncredited)

·       Henri Letondal as Cognac Pete (Charmaine's father)

Production

John Ford stage show

Ford had directed the play on stage in Los Angeles in 1949, as a benefit for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, of which Ford was commander. The roles of Quint and Flagg would be played by Pat O'Brien and Ward Bond respectively; Maureen O'Hara played Charmaine and Gregory Peck and John Wayne played Lt Aldrich and Lt Cunningham.[5] Harry Carey Jnr and George O'Brien were also in the cast. It toured throughout California in February and March, with performances given in venues such as Pasadena, San Jose, San Francisco and Long Beach.[6][7]

Development

In June 1951 the Ephrons were reportedly working on a script, called Charmaine.[8]

It was originally slated to star Micheline Prelle in the title role.[9]

In September producer Sol C. Siegel said the film would be done as a musical. Dan Dailey had signed to star and James Cagney was being sought to co star. "The music won't be obtrusive", said Siegel.[10] Corinne Calvet then signed to costar.[11]

By October Cagney was set to star alongside Dailey and Calvet. Filming was to star December 10 at Camp Pendleton.[12] At the end of that month John Ford signed to direct and the title changed from Charmaine back to What Price Glory.[13] It was announced the film would have music in it but not be a musical.[14]

James Cagney originally agreed to do the picture because it was supposed to be a musical. However, by the time he learned that Ford had decided to shoot it as a straight film, it was too late for him to back out.[15]

Barry Norton played the role of Private Lewisohn in the 1926 original. He has an uncredited role as one of the priests in this remake.[15]

Marisa Pavan, the twin sister of Pier Angeli made her screen debut in this film as Nicole Bouchard.[9]

Other Versions

The film is a remake of the 1926 film also titled What Price Glory?, directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, and Dolores del Río. Walsh also made a musical version of the film three years later, when sound films emerged, The Cock-Eyed World, again with McLaglen and Lowe playing the same characters, but featuring Lili Damita. In 1929 and 1931, Walsh directed Lowe and McLaglen in the same roles in two sequels, titled The Cock-Eyed World and Women of All Nations, respectively. A third sequel, Hot Pepper, with McLaglen and Lowe again reprising their roles and involving a woman named "Pepper" portrayed by Lupe Vélez, was directed by John Blystone.[9]

Reception

The film received lukewarm reviews upon its release,[16] which can be summed up in this quote from The New York Times review of August 23, 1952: "...despite some heroics and the monumental rivalry of its principals, a swiftly moving but not an especially distinguished offering."[17]

References

1.        'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953

2.       Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p224

3.       Arthur Gewirtz, James J. Kolb (2004). Art, Glitter, and Glitz: Mainstream Playwrights and Popular Theatre in 1920s America.

4.       "What Price Glory: Trivia". Turner Classic Movies.

5.       Schallert, Edwin (January 13, 1949). "Ford Sets Gala Cast for 'What Price Glory;' Grotter, Parker in Deals". Los Angeles Times. p. A7.

6.       Schallert, Edwin (March 12, 1949). "Nevada Railroad Story Shaped Up for Dailey; Scott to 'Rival' Morgan". Los Angeles Times. p. 10.

7.       Schallert, Edwin (February 27, 1949). "Filmland $1,000,000 Stars Do GI Benefit: Ford Offers 'What Price Glory' With Big Names in Minor Parts". Los Angeles Times. p. D1.

8.       Schallert, Edwin (June 21, 1951). "Drama: Gaynor Star Build-up Proceeds; 'County Line' Adds Paula Raymond". Los Angeles Times. p. A9.

9.       "What Price Glory: Notes". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 1, 2014.

10.    THOMAS M. PRYOR (September 9, 1951). "HOLLYWOOD SCENES: A Musical 'What Price Glory?'--Screen Actors Guild Protests--Other News Showdown The Brownings Enterprise". New York Times. p. X5.

11.     "Drama: Corinne Calvet Plays Charmaine in 'Glory'". Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1951. p. A6.

12.    THOMAS M. PRYOR (October 2, 1951). "CAGNEY, DAILEY GET 'CHARMAINE' LEADS: Duo Cast as Capt. Flagg and Sgt. Quirt in Fox's 'What Price Glory,' With Music S.A.G. Wins Election". New York Times. p. 32.

13.    "FORD WILL DIRECT FOX MUSICAL FILM: Named to Handle New Version of 'What Price Glory' at the Studio--Begins on Dec 10 Nurse Story" Scheduled Of Local Origin". New York Times. October 26, 1951. p. 26.

14.    Schallert, Edwin (October 26, 1951). "Drama: 'What Price Glory' Set for Ford; Virginia Grey Does Blackjack Dealer". Los Angeles Times. p. B9.

15.     "What Price Glory Synopsis". allmovie.com.

16.    "Review: "What Price Glory"". Variety.

17.     "What Price Glory?". New York Times.

The Quiet Man (1952)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

John Ford
Merian C. Cooper

Screenplay by

Frank S. Nugent

Based on

The Quiet Man, 1933 story in The Saturday Evening Post, by Maurice Walsh

Starring

John Wayne
Maureen O'Hara
Barry Fitzgerald
Ward Bond
Victor McLaglen

Narrated by

Ward Bond

Music by

Victor Young

Cinematography

Winton C. Hoch

Edited by

Jack Murray

Color process

Technicolor

Production company

Argosy Pictures

Distributed by

Republic Pictures

Release date

June 6, 1952

o   (London and Dublin)[1]

August 21, 1952

o   (New York)

Running time

129 minutes

Country

United States

Languages

English
Irish

Budget

$1.75 million

Box office

$3.8 million (rentals)[2]

The Quiet Man is a 1952 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story of the same name by Maurice Walsh, later published as part of a collection titled The Green Rushes. The film is notable for Winton Hoch's lush photography of the Irish countryside and a long, climactic, semi-comic fist fight. It was an official selection of the 1952 Venice Film Festival.

John Ford won the Academy Award for Best Director, his fourth, and Winton Hoch won for Best Cinematography. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3][4][5]

Plot

In the 1920s, Sean "Trooper Thorn" Thornton, an Irish-born retired boxer from Pittsburgh, travels to his birthplace of Inisfree to purchase back the old family farm.[a] Shortly after arriving, he meets and falls in love with fiery, red-headed Mary Kate Danaher, the sister of the bullying Squire "Red" Will Danaher. Will also wants to buy the Thornton family's old cottage and land, and he is angered when the property's current owner, the wealthy Widow Tillane, accepts Sean's bid instead of his offer. Will then retaliates by refusing consent for his sister to marry.

Some village residents—including Father Peter Lonergan and local matchmaker-cum-bookmaker Michaeleen Óge Flynn—trick Will Danaher into believing that Widow Tillane will marry him if Mary Kate is no longer under his roof. He gleefully allows the marriage, but he refuses to give Mary Kate her dowry when he finds he was deceived.[b] Sean, unschooled in Irish customs, professes no interest in obtaining the dowry; but to Mary Kate, the dowry represents her personal value to the community and her freedom. She insists that the dowry must be received to validate their marriage, causing an estrangement between her and Sean. The morning after their wedding, villagers arrive at the couple's cottage with Mary Kate's furniture, having persuaded Will to release it, but they could not convince him to pay the dower-money.

Sean's refusal to fight her brother is attributed to cowardice by Mary Kate. However, Sean reveals to the local Protestant Minister, Rev. Cyril Playfair, who also is a former boxer, that he once accidentally killed an opponent in the ring. Sean had sworn to give up fighting out of fear and guilt over the manslaughter, since the other man had a wife and children and was younger than him. Mary Kate also confesses her part in the quarrel to Father Lonergan, who berates her for her selfishness. She and Sean partially reconcile that night, and they share the bedroom for the first time since their marriage.

However, the next morning, Mary Kate quietly leaves their cottage to board a train for Dublin, hoping this will cause Sean to take some action, though she does not actually intend to leave. Sean soon learns from Michaeleen where she is, and he finds her waiting there for him. Followed by a crowd of villagers, he forces her to walk with him the five miles (8 km) back to the Danaher farm. There, Sean confronts Will and demands the dower-money. When Will refuses, Sean throws Mary Kate back at her brother, declaring "no fortune, no marriage" (which is their custom, not his). The ultimatum shocks both Mary Kate and Will, who finally pays the 350 pounds. Sean immediately burns it in the boiler, abetted by Mary Kate, showing that it was not the money but her husband's courage and brother's respect she wanted all along. She leaves for home, but a humiliated Will takes a swing at Sean, only to be knocked down by a defensive counter-punch.

A long fistfight ensues between the two men, a brawl that attracts more and more spectators as it continues for miles across countryside and village. The fighters finally pause for a drink inside Cohan's Bar, where they begrudgingly admit a mutual respect for one another. After arguing over who is to pay for the drinks, Sean ends the fight by hitting Will so hard that he falls back, crashes through the bar's front door, and ends up lying unconscious in the street. Later, the brothers-in-law drink to intoxication, reconcile, and stagger arm-in-arm back to Sean and Mary Kate's home for supper, much to Mary Kate's amusement and delight.

The next day, a humbled Will and the Widow Tillane begin their own courtship, and they ride out of the village side by side in a jaunting car driven by Michaeleen. Sean, Mary Kate, and the villagers wave to them as they pass, before Sean and Mary Kate playfully chase each other across the fields back to the cottage.

Cast

·       John Wayne as Sean Thornton

·       Maureen O'Hara as Mary Kate Danaher

·       Barry Fitzgerald as Michaeleen "Óge" Flynn

·       Victor McLaglen as Squire "Red" Will Danaher

·       Ward Bond as Father Peter Lonergan

·       Mildred Natwick as the Widow Sarah Tillane

·       Francis Ford as Dan Tobin

·       Arthur Shields as Rev. Cyril Playfair

·       Eileen Crowe as Elizabeth Playfair

·       Charles FitzSimons as Hugh Forbes

·       James Fitzsimons (as James Lilburn) as Father Paul

·       Sean McClory as Owen Glynn

·       Emily Eby as Mave Campbell

·       Jack MacGowran as Ignatius Feeney

·       Philip Stainton as Anglican Bishop

·       May Craig as Fishwoman with Basket at Station

·       Paddy O'Donnell as Railway porter

·       Eric Gorman as Costello – Engine driver

·       Kevin Lawless as Engine fireman

·       Joseph O'Dea as Molouney – Train guard

·       Tony Canzoneri as Boxing Second (uncredited)[citation needed]

·       Frank Baker as Man in Bar (uncredited)

·       Ruth Clifford as Mother (uncredited)

·       Maureen Coyne as Dan Tobin's Daughter Ireland (uncredited)

·       Mimi Doyle as Dan Tobin's Daughter USA (uncredited)

·       Ken Curtis as Dermot Fahy (uncredited)

·       Douglas Evans as Ring Physician (uncredited)

·       Charles Ferguson as Danaher Brother (uncredited)

·       Robert Foy as Driver of Cart Across River (uncredited)

·       Sam Harris as the deaf General (uncredited)

·       D.R.O. Hatswell as Guppy (uncredited)

·       John Horan as Man at Railway Station (uncredited)

·       David Hughes as Police Constable (uncredited)

·       Billy Jones as Bugler (uncredited)

·       Tiny Jones as Nell (Maid) (uncredited)

·       Colin Kenny as Pub Extra (uncredited)

·       Patrick Wayne as Boy on Wagon at Horse Race (uncredited)

·       Michael Wayne as Teenage Boy at Races (uncredited)

·       Toni Wayne as Teenage Girl at Races (uncredited)

·       Melinda Wayne as Girl on Wagon at Horse Race (uncredited)

·       Mae Marsh as Father Paul's Mother (uncredited)

·       Jim Morrin as Roof Thatcher (uncredited)

·       Jim McVeigh as Man Following Cart Across River (uncredited)

·       Harry Tenbrook as Police Sergeant Hanan (uncredited)

·       Harry Tyler as Pat Cohan (Publican) (uncredited)

·       Al Murphy as Boxing Referee (uncredited)

·       Hank Worden as Boxing Trainer (uncredited)

·       Michael O'Brian as Musha Musha Man (uncredited)

·       Pat O'Malley as Man in Bar (uncredited)

·       Frank O'Connor as Ringside Photographer (uncredited)

·       Web Overlander as Hugh Bailey (Stationmaster) (uncredited)

·       Bob Perry as Trooper Thorn's Ringside Trainer (uncredited)

·       Darla Ridgeway as Girl (uncredited)

·       Freddy Ridgeway as Boy (uncredited)

·       Philip Stainton as Anglican Bishop (uncredited)

·       Jack Roper as Tony Gardello (Boxer) (uncredited)

·       Brick Sullivan as Townsman (uncredited)

Production

The film was something of a departure for Wayne and Ford, who were both known mostly for Westerns and other action-oriented films. It was also a departure for Republic Pictures, which backed Ford in what was considered a risky venture at the time. It was the only time the studio, known for low budget B-movies, released a film that would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Ford read the story in 1933 and soon purchased the rights to it for $10. The story's author was paid another $2,500 when Republic bought the idea, and he received a final payment of $3,750 when the film was actually made.[6] Republic Pictures agreed to finance the film with O'Hara and Wayne starring and Ford directing, but only if all three agreed to first film a Western with Republic. They did, and after completing Rio Grande, they headed for Ireland to start shooting.

One of the conditions that Republic placed on Ford was that the film run under two hours. However, the finished picture was two hours and nine minutes. When screening the film for Republic executives, Ford stopped the film at approximately two hours in, on the verge of the climactic fistfight. Republic executives relented and allowed the film to run its full length.[7] It was one of the few films that Republic filmed in Technicolor; most of the studio's other color films were made in a more economical process known as Trucolor.

The film employed many actors from the Irish theatre, including Barry Fitzgerald's brother, Arthur Shields, as well as extras from the Irish countryside, and it is one of the few Hollywood movies in which the Irish language can be heard. Filming commenced on June 7, 1951. All of the outdoor scenes were shot on location in Ireland in County Mayo and County Galway. The inside scenes were filmed toward the end of July at the Republic Studios in Hollywood. Vawn Corrigan reports that Ford made considerable efforts to get the costumes correct for the period with Ó’Maille – The Original House of Style in Galway tasked with sourcing the costumes.[8]

The story is set in the fictional community of Inisfree. This is not the same as the Lake Isle of Innisfree, a place in Lough Gill on the Sligo–Leitrim border made famous by poet William Butler Yeats, which is a tiny island. Many scenes for the film were actually shot in and around the village of Cong, County Mayo, on the grounds of Cong's Ashford Castle. Cong is now a wealthy small town and the castle a 5-star luxury hotel. The connections with the film have led to the area becoming a tourist attraction. In 2008, a pub opened in the building used as the pub in the film (it had actually been a shop at the time when the movie was shot); the pub hosts daily re-runs of the film on DVD.[9] The Quiet Man Fan Club holds its annual general meeting in Ashford Castle. Other locations in the film include Thoor Ballylee, Co. Galway, home of poet W.B. Yeats for a period, Ballyglunin railway station near Tuam Co. Galway, which was filmed as Castletown station, and various places in Connemara Co. Galway and Co. Mayo. Among those are Lettergesh beach, where the horse race scene was filmed,[10] "The Quiet Man Bridge", signposted off the N59 road between Maam Cross and Oughterard[11] and the "White O'Morn" cottage. The latter is located on R336 south of Maam, but long ago fell into ruin.[12]

The film also presents Ford's depiction of an idealized Irish society, with only implied social divisions based on class and differences in political or religious affiliations. The Catholic priest, Father Lonergan, and the Protestant minister, Reverend Playfair, maintain a strong friendly relationship throughout the film, which represented the norm in what was then the Irish Free State, where religious tensions occurred in the 1930s but were the norm only in Northern Ireland. One of the allusions to Anglo-Irish animosity occurs after the happy couple is married and a congratulatory toast offered by Hugh Forbes expresses the wish that they live in "national freedom" (the term national has been censored from most editions)[10] and before the final donnybrook when Thornton demands his wife's dowry from Danaher. Danaher asks Hugh Forbes, who had been commander of the local Irish Republican Army unit during the fight to expel the British, "So the IRA is in this too, ah", to which Forbes replies, "If it were, not a scorched stone of your fine house would be standing."

Music

Ford chose his friend, Hollywood composer Victor Young, to compose the score for the film. Young sprinkled the soundtrack with many Irish airs such as the "Rakes of Mallow" and "The Wild Colonial Boy". One piece of music, chosen by Ford himself, is most prominent: the melody the "Isle of Innisfree", written not by Young, but by the Irish policeman/songwriter Richard Farrelly. The melody of the "Isle of Innisfree", which is first heard over the opening credit sequence with Ashford Castle in the background, becomes the principal musical theme of The Quiet Man. The melody is reprised at least eleven times throughout the film.

The upbeat melody comically hummed by Michaeleen Oge Flynn and later played on the accordion is the "Rakes of Mallow".

A portion of the Irish version of "The Wild Colonial Boy" is played throughout the film.

When Maureen O'Hara died in October 2015, her family stated she listened to music from The Quiet Man during her final hours.[13] Filmmaker George A. Romero was also said to have died listening to the score.[14]

Reception

In 1952 A. H. Weiler of The New York Times viewed the film "as darlin' a picture as we've seen this year," with "dialogue that is as tuneful as a lark's song."[15] In another contemporary review, the entertainment trade paper Variety called the picture "beautifully filmed" and wrote that "Wayne works well under Ford's direction," but found the 129-minute running time "unnecessary."[16] Harrison's Reports described the film as "a delightful and rollicking comedy melodrama of Irish life, directed with skill and acted with gusto by a fine cast."[17] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post declared it "a complete jim-dandy ... The photography is glorious and Victor Young's score, inspired by folk airs, is a complete joy for an exuberant, vigorous picture."[18] Philip Hamburger of The New Yorker was not so taken with the film, writing, "If am to believe what I saw in John Ford's sentimental new film, 'The Quiet Man,' practically everybody in Ireland is just as cute as a button," adding, "Mr. Ford's scenes of the Irish countryside are often breathtaking ...

On the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Quiet Man in 2019 has a 90% approval rating based on reviews from 41 critics. Critical consensus on the website states, "Director John Ford and star John Wayne depart the Western for the Irish countryside, and the result is a beautifully photographed, often comedic romance."[20]

The film was also a financial success, grossing $3.8 million in its first year of release. This was among the top ten grosses of the year.[21] It was also the seventh most popular film for British audiences in 1952.[22]

Modern sensibilities can find the film to be anti-feminist due not just to the psychological and physical control the male characters exert over the female characters, but also for the female lead's expectation of her husband.[23]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Recipient(s) Result

Academy Awards[24] Best Actor in a Supporting Role Victor McLaglen Nominated

Best Art Decoration - Set Frank Hotaling,  Nominated
Direction, Color John McCarthy Jr., 
Charles S. Thompson

Best Cinematography - Color Winton C. Hoch,  Won
Archie Stout

Best Director John Ford Won

Best Picture John Ford,  Nominated
Merian C. Cooper

Best Sound, Recording Daniel J. Bloomberg Nominated

Best Writing, Screenplay Frank S. Nugent Nominated

Golden Globes[25] Best Director John Ford Nominated

Best Original Score Victor Young Nominated

Directors Guild of Outstanding Directorial John Ford,  Won
America[26] Achievement in Motion Pictures Wingate Smith

Home Video

It was first released on DVD December 14, 1998 by Artisan Home Entertainment. It was also released 4 years later on a Collector's edition DVD on October 22, 2002 by Artisan. The Special features on this edition include "The Making of the Quiet Man" Documentary with Leonard Maltin, and "The Joy of Ireland" Documentary with Maureen O'Hara and Andrew V. McLaglen, and "Remembering The Quiet Man Montage".

On January 22, 2013 Olive Films released The Quiet Man on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray, as a 60th Anniversary Special edition. It included the documentary "The Making of the Quiet Man" with Leonard Maltin.

In 2010 there was a documentary called Dreaming The Quiet Man made about the journey and making of The Quiet Man. It was narrated by Gabriel Byrne, and had interviews with Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Charles F. Fitzsimons, and Maureen O'Hara. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on March 24, 2015.

See Also

·       Donnybrook!, a 1961 musical adaptation of The Quiet Man written by Johnny Burke

·       Innisfree, a 1990 Spanish documentary film about the making of The Quiet Man

Notes

1.        The spelling of the fictional village "Inisfree" can vary in spelling in some film reviews and articles, often being cited "Innisfree". In the film, however, the public notices announcing the upcoming horse race are boldly printed "INISFREE RACE MEET".

2.       Michaeleen’s full name includes "Óge", which in Irish translates to "young" in English. Óge is used to distinguish between a father and his son with the same name, much in the manner that the suffixes "Sr." and "Jr." do in English.

References

1.        "The Quiet Man - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films.

2.       "Top 20 Films of 1952 by Domestic Revenue". boxofficereport.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008.

3.       "Library of Congress announces 2013 National Film Registry selections". Washington Post (Press release). December 18, 2013.

4.       "Complete National Film Registry Listing". loc.gov. Washington, DC: National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress.

5.       "Cinema with the Right Stuff Marks 2013 National Film Registry". loc.gov. Washington, DC: National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress..

6.       Maureen O'Hara with John Nicoletti. 'Tis Herself: An Autobiography, p. 158-159. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks (2005 edition).

7.       Maureen O'Hara with John Nicoletti. 'Tis Herself: An Autobiography, p. 169-170. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks (2005 edition).

8.       Corrigan, Vawn (2020). Irish Tweed: History, Tradition, Fashion. O'Brien Press. .

9.       "Quiet Man fans can sup a stout in the film’s pub," Belfast Telegraph,

10.    "The Quiet Man (1952) Trivia". IMDb..

11.     "The Quiet Man Bridge". Oughterard Tourism.

12.    "Day Two of the Quiet Man Celebration: I fell in love with the cottage at first sight ..I'll bring the dream alive and put back all that movie magic; White O'Morn Owner Vows to Restore It". The Mirror. Retrieved August 12, 2017.

13.    "Actress Maureen O'Hara dies at 95". USA Today. Associated Press (October 25, 2015)

14.    "George A. Romero, 'Night of the Living Dead' creator, dies at 77". LA Times (July 16, 2017)

15.     Weiler, A. H. (August 22, 1952). "The Screen In Review". The New York Times: 13.

16.    "The Quiet Man". Variety: 6. May 14, 1952.

17.     "'The Quiet Man' with John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald". Harrison's Reports: 79. May 17, 1952.

18.    Coe, Richard L. (October 3, 1952). "Now Irish Eyes Are Smiling Again". Washington Post: 30.

19.    Hamburger, Philip (August 23, 1952). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker: 56–57.

20.   "The Quiet Man (1952)". Rotten Tomatoes.

21.    Gallagher, Tag (1986). John Ford: The Man and his Films. University of California Press. p. 499.

22.    "Comedian Tops Film Poll". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. December 28, 1952. p. 4. Retrieved August 12, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.

23.    "The 25th Academy Awards | 1953". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

24.    "Winners & Nominees 1953". goldenglobes.com. Retrieved 

25.    "Awards / History / 1952". DGA.org.

Sources

·       Crosson, Seán and Rod Stoneman (2009). The Quiet Man ... and Beyond: Reflections on a Classic Film, John Ford, and Ireland. Liffey Press. . Includes chapters examining the film's use of language, style, landscape and Ford's connection more generally with Ireland.

·       MacHale, Des (2004). Picture The Quiet Man. Appletree Press. . Includes an in-depth chapter on the film's score and the "Isle of Innisfree".

·       McNee, Gerry (2012). In the Footsteps of the Quiet Man: The Inside Story of the Cult Film. Random House. . Narrative of the film's production.

The Sun Shines Bright (1953)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Merian C. Cooper
John Ford

Written by

Laurence Stallings
Irvin S. Cobb

Starring

Charles Winninger
Arleen Whelan

Music by

Victor Young

Cinematography

Archie Stout

Edited by

Jack Murray

Production company

Argosy Pictures

Distributed by

Republic Pictures

Release date

May 2, 1953

Running time

U.S. theatrical cut:
92 minutes
Director's cut:
100 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

The Sun Shines Bright is a 1953 American drama film directed by John Ford, based on material taken from a series of Irvin S. Cobb "Judge Priest" short stories featured in The Saturday Evening Post in the 1910s, specifically "The Sun Shines Bright", "The Mob from Massac", and "The Lord Provides".

Ford had adapted some of the same material in 1934 in his film Judge Priest. That film originally had a scene depicting an attempted lynching of Poindexter (and Priest’s condemnation of the act), but it was cut by 20th Century Fox. The omission was one of the reasons Ford loosely reshaped the Cobb stories two decades later as The Sun Shines Bright for Republic Pictures, this time including Judge Priest's defusing of the mob determined to lynch a young black character named Woodford. In both films, Stepin Fetchit plays the part of Judge Priest's assistant, Poindexter. Ford often cited The Sun Shines Bright as his favorite among all his films, and in later years, it was championed by critics such as Jonathan Rosenbaum[1] and Dave Kehr, who called it "a masterpiece".[2][3]

Plot

In post-reconstruction United States, Black sheep Ashby Corwin returns to his native Kentucky on a steamboat. He encounters young Lucy Lee, ward of Dr. Lake, and is struck by her beauty.

In court, Judge Billy Priest, who is a candidate for reelection to his post, adjudicates a number of cases, including finding a job for "Uncle Plez" Woodford's idle nephew, U. S. Grant Woodford. Ashby learns that while old General Fairfield is said to be the grandfather of Lucy, he denies it. On the street, after Lucy is the subject of insults by Buck Ramsey about her true heritage, Ashby gets into a whip fight with Buck before the judge comes by and puts a stop to it.

Lucy eventually discovers who her real mother is: a prostitute recently returned to town. Meanwhile, the daughter of Rufe Ramsuer is assaulted and young Woodford is blamed and arrested, causing racial tensions to rise and a large lynch mob to form. Violence seems imminent until Judge Priest confronts the mob at the jailhouse and defuses the confrontation with an eloquent and brilliant argument. Later, Rufe's daughter points to Buck as being her true attacker.

It is election day. Those in the lynch mob realize that Judge Priest has saved them from themselves, and they vote for him en masse, producing a tie with the other candidate, Horace K. Maydew (played by Milburn Stone). It is pointed out to the judge that he hasn't yet remembered to cast a ballot himself, so he wins reelection by a single vote: his own.

Cast

·       Charles Winninger as Judge William Pittman Priest

·       Arleen Whelan as Lucy Lee Lake

·       John Russell as Ashby Corwin

·       Stepin Fetchit as Jeff Poindexter

·       Russell Simpson as Dr. Lewt Lake

·       Ludwig Stössel as Herman Felsburg (as Ludwig Stossel)

·       Francis Ford as Feeney (Old Backwoodsman)

·       Paul Hurst as Army Sgt. Jimmy Bagby

·       Mitchell Lewis as Sheriff Andy Redcliffe

·       Grant Withers as Buck Ramsey

·       Milburn Stone as Horace K. Maydew

·       Dorothy Jordan as Lucy Lee's mother

·       Elzie Emanuel as U.S. Grant 'You Ess' Woodford

·       Henry O'Neill as Joe D. Habersham

·       Slim Pickens as Sterling, Lanky Backwoodsman

·       James Kirkwood as General Fairfield

·       Ernest Whitman as Pleasant 'Uncle Plez' Woodford

·       Trevor Bardette as Rufe Ramseur

·       Eve March as Mallie Cramp

·       Hal Baylor as Rufe Ramseur Jr.

·       Jane Darwell as Mrs. Aurora Ratchitt

·       Ken Williams as Maydew's Henchman

·       Clarence Muse as Uncle Zack

·       Mae Marsh as G.A.R. Woman at the Ball

Release

The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.[4]

Herbert J. Yates, the head of Republic Pictures, had about ten minutes cut from the film against Ford's wishes. According to film historian Joseph McBride, the full 100-minute version (which did play theatrically overseas) was rediscovered when Republic inadvertently used it as a master for the 1990 videotape release.[5] This full version is currently available from Olive Films as a high-definition Blu-ray release.[1]

See also

·       John Ford filmography

References

1.        Rosenbaum, Jonathan (2004). "'The Doddering Relics of a Lost Cause' John Ford's The Sun Shines Bright". Rouge.

2.       Kehr, Dave. "Judge Priest". The Chicago Reader. Will Rogers stars in John Ford's 1934 portrait of life in a small town in the old south, one of the most deeply felt visions of community in the American cinema. Ford's later partial remake, The Sun Shines Bright, is a masterpiece, but the accomplishments of this version are impressive enough.

3.       "Anthology Film Archives".

4.       "Festival de Cannes: The Sun Shines Bright". festival-cannes.com.

5.       McBride, Joseph (2003). Searching For John Ford: A Life. Macmillan. p. 525. . In what appears to be a violation of Argosy's contract with Republic—which guaranteed Ford final cut in the United States unless scenes had to be omitted for censorship reasons—Yates cut ten minutes from The Sun Shines Bright before its domestic release.

Mogambo (1953)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Sam Zimbalist

Screenplay by

John Lee Mahin

Based on

Red Dust, by Wilson Collison

Starring

Clark Gable
Ava Gardner
Grace Kelly

Music by

Robert Burns

Cinematography

Robert Surtees
Freddie Young

Edited by

Frank Clarke

Distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Release date

October 9, 1953

Running time

115 minutes

Countries

United States
United Kingdom

Language

English

Budget

$3.1 million[1]

Box office

$8.3 million[1]

Mogambo is a 1953 Technicolor adventure/romantic drama film directed by John Ford and starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly, and featuring Donald Sinden. Shot on location in Equatorial Africa, with a musical soundtrack entirely of actual African tribal music recorded in the Congo, the film was adapted by John Lee Mahin from the play Red Dust by Wilson Collison. The picture is a remake of Red Dust (1932), which was set in Vietnam and also starred Gable in the same role.

Plot

Eloise "Honey Bear" Kelly (Ava Gardner) arrives at a remote African outpost, looking for a rich maharajah acquaintance, only to find he has cancelled his trip owing to unrest in his realm. While waiting for the next river boat out, she spars with hardworking big game hunter Victor Marswell (Clark Gable), who initially views her as a certain disreputable type. They later develop a mutual attraction and make love. When the river boat returns, it brings Donald Nordley (Donald Sinden) and his wife Linda (Grace Kelly). Honey Bear takes the steamer out at Marswell's urging, although she would prefer to stay with him and he expresses some regret at their parting. The Nordleys wish to go on safari to record the cries of gorillas. Marswell declines to guide them there due to the difficulties involved and insists that they be guided on the agreed route by his assistant, despite the Nordley's protests. Honey Bear rejoins the group after the steamer runs aground.

Marswell rescues Linda from a panther and Honey Bear sees that they are attracted to one another. After Marswell talks to Linda privately, he agrees to take the Nordleys into gorilla country, while also taking Honey Bear part of the way to join the District Commissioner, who can then take her back to civilization. However, they find the commissioner mortally wounded by recently belligerent natives. With reinforcements days away, the small party narrowly escapes, taking the commissioner with them. Meanwhile, a serious romance is developing between Marswell and Linda. Only Donald is blind to the situation. Marswell plans to tell him about how he and Linda feel, but has second thoughts after realizing how much Donald loves his wife and perhaps how she would be better off remaining with him. The situation is aggravated when Marswell reluctantly shoots a gorilla to save Donald, blowing a chance to capture a baby gorilla. Marswell goes back to camp, depressed, and begins drinking heavily in his tent. Honey Bear joins him.

When Linda appears, she finds them cuddling. Marswell decides he can fix everything by making Linda hate him and makes a show of this cuddling followed by dismissive remarks about Linda's infatuation with "the White Hunter" to enrage her. Unfortunately, his ploy works too well when Linda shoots him with his own pistol, wounding him in the arm. Honey Bear lies to the others, telling them that Marswell had been making advances to Linda for some time, finally forcing Linda to shoot him in his drunken state. The next day, the party breaks camp to head back, leaving Marswell behind to try to capture young gorillas to pay for the safari. Marswell, acknowledging to himself his feelings for Honey Bear, asks her to stay and then proposes to her, but she rebuffs him. As the canoes set off, however, she suddenly jumps into the water and wades her way back to him. The two embrace.

Cast

·       Clark Gable as Victor Marswell

·       Ava Gardner as Eloise Kelly

·       Grace Kelly as Linda Nordley

·       Donald Sinden as Donald Nordley

·       Philip Stainton as John Brown-Pryce

·       Eric Pohlmann as Leon Boltchak

·       Laurence Naismith as Skipper

·       Denis O'Dea as Father Josef

Production

Development

In 1946, the Los Angeles Times reported MGM were considering remaking Red Dust with Marilyn Maxwell as a possible star.[2] In March 1948, Marie McDonald reportedly screen tested for the Jean Harlow part.[3] In May 1949, Maxwell and Gene Kelly were being considered for lead roles.[4]

The studio went on to have a great deal of success with color remakes of older films shot on location overseas, including King Solomon's Mines (1950) and Quo Vadis (1951). In August 1951, MGM announced they would make Mogambo, which would be shot on location in Africa. The producer would be Sam Zimbalist who had made King Solomon's Mines and the star would be Clark Gable.[5]

In February 1952, Zimbalist scouted locations in Africa for six weeks. In June, John Ford agreed to direct.[6]

Casting

Shelley Winters was mentioned as a possible co-star.[7] Patricia Neal was also discussed.[8] In June 1952, Ava Gardner signed.

Grace Kelly was not the first choice for the role of Linda Nordley. Gene Tierney dropped out due to not wanting to leave Aly Khan in Paris.[9]

Shooting

Gable arrived in Kenya on 1 November 1952 and was given an armed guard due to the Mau Mau Uprising.[10]

Filming started 17 November. It was done on location in Okalataka, French Congo; Mount Kenya, Thika, Kenya — Mt Longonot, and Lake Naivasha, both in the Kenyan Rift Valley and Fourteen Falls near Thika are seen as backdrops — Kagera River, Tanganyika; Isoila, Uganda, and interiors were shot at the MGM-British Studios, in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England.[11]

Frank Allen and his wife were guides during the six week-safari that constituted location filming.[12]

The shoot was difficult. Gardner fell ill with dysentery during the shoot, requiring her to be flown to England (she recovered and flew back). There was a rumor Clark Gable was going to be assassinated by the Mau Mau, so John Ford moved a location. The unit was plagued by rain and the poor quality of the roads - three of the crew were killed in road accidents, including assistant director John Hancock.[14][15]

Donald Sinden, then a contract star for the Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios, recalled:

"Ten White Hunters were seconded to our unit for our protection and to provide fresh meat. Among them were Viscount Mandeville and Marcus, Lord Wallscourt, a delightful man whom Ford treated abysmally - sometimes very sadistically. In Ford's eyes the poor man could do nothing right and was continually being bawled out in front of the entire unit (in some ways he occasionally took the heat off me). None of us could understand the reason for this appalling treatment, which the dear kind man in no way deserved. He himself was quite at a loss. Several weeks later we discovered the cause from Ford's brother-in-law: before emigrating to America, Ford's grandfather had been a labourer on the estate in Ireland of the then Lord Wallscourt: Ford was now getting his own back at his descendant. Not a charming sight.[16] Before leaving camp on the first morning [of shooting] I had been told to report to the hair-dressing departments tent, where I found the make-up men armed with electric clippers: 'I have to remove the hair from your chest.' 'Whatever for?' I asked, 'Orders.' It transpired that Clark [Gable], whose chest was completely devoid of hair, had always insisted that no other actor should appear on film exposing a hirsute breast. This included any member of the crew not wearing a shirt as well. He considered it a slight on his masculinity.[16] We now had to return to the MGM Studios in London to shoot all the interior scenes. Someone must have pointed out to Ford that he had been thoroughly foul to me during the entire location shoot and when I arrived for my first day's work I found that he had caused a large notice to be painted at the entrance to our sound stage in capital letters reading "BE KIND TO DONALD WEEK". He was as good as his word - for precisely seven days. On the eighth day he ripped the sign down and returned to his normal bullying behaviour."[16]

Post-production

The music featured in the film was performed by local native tribes (except for Gardner accompanied by player piano), unusual for Hollywood, and the film records a traditional Africa and safari style.

Reception

The film was a hit — according to MGM records it made $4,576,000 in the US and Canada and $3,692,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $2,026,000.[1] It currently has a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews.[17]

Awards and Honors

Grace Kelly won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress while the film was nominated for two Oscars: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Gardner) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kelly). The film was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film.

The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2002 list AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions.[18]

Notes

1.        The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

2.       Edwin Schallert (4 November 1946). "'Red Dust' Repeat May Star Marilyn Maxwell". Los Angeles Times.

3.       "Hedda Hopper--Looking at Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. 30 March 1948.

4.       Edwin Schallert (27 May 1949). "Bickford Named Costar With 20th Luminaries; Maxwell Deal Hinted". Los Angeles Times.

5.       "MGM Schedules 40 Pictures For Year". Los Angeles Times. 16 August 1951.

6.       Thomas M. Pryor (12 June 1952). "Ford Will Direct Gable In 'Mogambo': Metro's Romantic Adventure to Be Filmed in Africa --Zimbalist Is Producer". New York Times.

7.       Hedda Hopper (1 May 1952). "Looking at Hollywood: Comedy Role Lures Mitchum from Vacation". Chicago Daily Tribune.

8.       "Albert Lewin to Film 'Saadia' in Morocco". Los Angeles Times. 10 May 1952.

9.       "Drama: Cary Grant Will Do Next Film in France". Los Angeles Times. 25 September 1953.

10.    "Clark Gable Given Guard in Africa". Los Angeles Times. 2 November 1952.

11.     Morgan Hudgins (4 January 1953). "Bivouac On The Trail Of 'Mogambo' In Africa". New York Times.

12.    Don Messenger (21 September 1953). "'Safari' Makes Trek To Franklin Park Zoo: Off the Beaten Path". The Christian Science Monitor.

13.    "Ava Gardner III With Dysentery". New York Times. 25 November 1952.

14.    Bob Thomas (3 April 1953). "Actors Find Roads Chief Peril in Africa". The Washington Post.

The Long Gray Line (1955)

Directed by

John Ford

Produced by

Robert Arthur

Screenplay by

Edward Hope

Based on

Bringing Up the Brass by Martin Maher and Nardi Reeder Campion

Starring

Tyrone Power
Maureen O'Hara

Narrated by

Tyrone Power

Music by

George Duning

Cinematography

Charles Lawton Jr.

Edited by

William A. Lyon

Color process

Technicolor

Production company

Rota Productions

Distributed by

Columbia Pictures

Release date

February 10, 1955 (New York City)

Running time

137 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

$1,748,000 (estimated)

Box office

$4.1 million (US)[1]

The Long Gray Line is a 1955 American biographical comedy drama film in CinemaScope directed by John Ford[2][3] and based on the life of Marty Maher. Tyrone Power stars as the scrappy Irish immigrant whose 50-year career at West Point took him from a dishwasher to a non-commissioned officer and athletic instructor. Maher was buried there in January 1961.[4]

Maureen O'Hara, one of Ford's favorite leading ladies, plays Maher's wife and fellow immigrant, Mary O'Donnell. The film co-stars Ward Bond as Herman Koehler, the Master of the Sword (athletic director) and Army's head football coach (1897–1900), who first befriends Maher. Milburn Stone appears as John J. Pershing, who in 1898 swears Maher into the Army. Harry Carey, Jr., makes a brief appearance as the young cadet Dwight D. Eisenhower. Philip Carey plays (fictional) Army football player and future general Chuck Dotson. In addition, actress Betsy Palmer makes her screen debut as Kitty Carter.

The phrase "The Long Gray Line" is used to describe, as a continuum, all graduates and cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Many of the scenes in the film were shot on location at West Point, including the "million dollar view" of the Hudson River near the parade grounds. The film was the last one in which actor Robert Francis appeared before his death at age 25 in an air crash. His rising stardom had reached third billing behind Power and O'Hara at the time of his death.

Plot

The movie is framed as the reminiscences of Master Sergeant Martin Maher (Tyrone Power), who first came to West Point in 1898 as a civilian employee. Arriving from County Tipperary, Ireland, Marty begins as a waiter. When he realizes that enlisted men receive better treatment than do hired laborers, he immediately signs up and joins the U.S. Army. Capt. Koehler (Ward Bond), impressed with his boxing skills, wants him as an assistant in athletics instruction.

Marty meets Mrs. Koehler's cook, Mary O'Donnell (Maureen O'Hara), also recently arrived from Ireland. They marry and settle into a house on campus. Marty becomes a corporal, and Mary saves enough money to bring his father (Donald Crisp) and brother (Sean McClory) to America. Mary becomes pregnant, but the baby dies only hours after birth, and Mary learns that she may never have another child. The cadets become the children they will never have. Over time, Marty continues to earn the love and respect of cadets such as Omar Bradley, James Van Fleet, George Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Mahers grow close to the family of "Red" Sundstrom, a West Point cadet killed in World War I.

Years later, Marty is still at West Point, and James "Red" Sundstrom, Jr. (Robert Francis), along with the sons of others whom Marty had trained, has become a cadet. At the outbreak of World War II Sundstrom confesses to Marty that he has illegally married his girlfriend which could disqualify him from graduating. Although his marriage is annulled, Sundstrom resigns from West Point to join the regular U.S. Army. Later, Mary attempts to view one of the parades she so loves but her poor health forces her to watch from her porch. She quietly dies while Marty is fetching her shawl. On Christmas Eve, Marty prepares for a quiet evening but is joined by a group of cadets. Kitty (Betsy Palmer) arrives with Red, Jr., who has earned his captain's bars in Europe and wants Marty to pin them on.

After Marty is faced with retirement, he heads to Washington to see the President (a West Point graduate) about the matter. He is met by the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy along with several high-ranking officers on his return to West Point. Slightly bemused by the attention, he is taken to the parade field. The film concludes with a full dress parade in Marty's honor. As the band plays a series of Irish tunes, all the people Marty loves, both living and dead, join the parade to honor him.[5]

Cast

·       Tyrone Power as Martin Maher

·       Maureen O'Hara as Mary O'Donnell

·       Robert Francis as James N. Sundstrom, Jr.

·       Donald Crisp as Old Martin

·       Ward Bond as Captain Herman Koehler

·       Betsy Palmer as Kitty Carter

·       Philip Carey as Charles "Chuck" Dotson (as Phil Carey)

·       William Leslie as James Nilsson "Red" Sundstrom

·       Harry Carey, Jr. as Dwight D. Eisenhower

·       Patrick Wayne as Abner "Cherub" Overton

·       Sean McClory as Dinny Maher

·       Peter Graves as Corporal Rudolph Heinz

·       Milburn Stone as Captain John J. Pershing

·       Erin O'Brien-Moore as Mrs. Koehler (as Erin O'Brien Moore)

·       Walter D. Ehlers as Mike Shannon

·       Willis Bouchey as Major Thomas

Reception

Variety called The Long Gray Line "a standout drama on West Point".[6] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film sentimental but a rich and rousing tribute to West Point, and likens Power's Martin Maher to "Mr. Chips with a brogue."[7]

Inaccuracies

·       Maher was not sworn in by U.S. Army Captain John J. Pershing. Pershing was a West Point instructor in 1897, but between 1898 and 1899 he was serving in Cuba and the Philippines.

·       The representation of Maher's family at West Point is incorrect, even showing his over-aged father trying to enlist in the US Army in 1917. Although Maher's father did come to West Point, he had died in 1912. Maher had three brothers, not one, who also served in the U.S. Army: one private and two NCO's.

·       Cadet Sundstrom was created for the film. The only historically real West Point graduate to be awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I was Emory Jenison Pike from the Class of 1901. He, like the fictional Sundstrom, received the award posthumously. However, it is factually correct that any infant son of a Medal of Honor recipient is eligible for an appointment to the United States Military Academy.

·       Maher did not appeal to the sitting U.S. President (implied to be Dwight Eisenhower) to stay with the U.S. Army beyond compulsory retirement age. Maher actually retired from the U.S. Army in 1928 after 30 years service. He then remained at West Point as a civilian employee until 1946.

·       Maher's wife died in 1948, not earlier as shown in the film.

·       Vicente Lim, who is shown graduating with the class of 1915, actually graduated in 1914.

References

1.        'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956

2.       Variety film review; February 9, 1955, page 10.

3.       Harrison's Reports film review; February 12, 1955, page 26

4.       "irish-society". irish-society.

5.       "The Long Gray Line (1955) - Overview - TCM.com". 

6.       "The Long Gray Line is a standout drama on West Point", Variety, December 31, 1954

7.       Crowther, Bosley. "'Long Gray Line' Tinted Green; Movie of West Point Honors Irish Hero", The New York Times, February 11, 1955

The Searchers (1956)

Directed by

John Ford

Screenplay by

Frank S. Nugent

Based on

The Searchers, by Alan Le May

Starring

John Wayne
Jeffrey Hunter
Vera Miles
Ward Bond
Natalie Wood

Music by

Max Steiner

Cinematography

Winton C. Hoch

Edited by

Jack Murray

Production company

C.V. Whitney Pictures

Distributed by

Warner Bros.

Release date

May 16, 1956 (Chicago Theatre)[1]

Running time

119 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

$3.75 million[2]

The Searchers is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, set during the Texas–Indian wars, and starring John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece (Natalie Wood), accompanied by his adoptive nephew (Jeffrey Hunter).

The film was a commercial success. Since its release, it has come to be considered a masterpiece and one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. It was named the greatest American Western by the American Film Institute in 2008, and it placed 12th on the same organization's 2007 list of the 100 greatest American movies of all time.[3] Entertainment Weekly also named it the best Western.[4] The British Film Institute's Sight & Sound magazine ranked it as the seventh-best film of all time based on a 2012 international survey of film critics[5][6] and in 2008, the French magazine Cahiers du Cinéma ranked The Searchers number 10 in their list of the 100 best films ever made.[7]

In 1989, The Searchers was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry; it was one of the first 25 films selected for the registry.[8]

The Searchers was the first major film to have a purpose-filmed making-of, requested by John Ford. It deals with most aspects of making the movie, including preparation of the site, construction of props, and filming techniques.[9]

Plot

In 1868, Ethan Edwards returns after an eight-year absence to the home of his brother Aaron in the wilderness of West Texas. Ethan fought in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy, and in the three years since that war ended, he apparently fought in the Mexican revolutionary war, as well. He has a large quantity of gold coins of uncertain origin in his possession, and a medal from the Mexican campaign that he gives to his eight-year-old niece, Debbie. As a former Confederate soldier, he is asked to take an oath of allegiance to the Texas Rangers; he refuses. As Rev. Captain Samuel Clayton remarks, Ethan "fits a lot of descriptions" (in reference to whether he may be wanted for any crime).

Shortly after Ethan's arrival, cattle belonging to his neighbor Lars Jorgensen are stolen, and when Captain Clayton leads Ethan and a group of Rangers to recover them, they discover that the theft was a Comanche ploy to draw the men away from their families. When they return, they find the Edwards homestead in flames. Aaron, his wife Martha, and their son Ben are dead, and Debbie and her older sister Lucy have been abducted.

After a brief funeral, the men set out in pursuit. They come upon a burial ground of Comanches who were killed during the raid. Ethan mutilates one of the bodies. When they find the Comanche camp, Ethan recommends a frontal attack, but Clayton insists on a stealth approach to avoid killing the hostages. The camp is deserted, and further along the trail, the men ride into an ambush. Although they fend off the attack, the Rangers are left with too few men to fight the Indians effectively. They return home, leaving Ethan to continue his search for the girls with only Lucy's fiancé, Brad Jorgensen and Debbie's adopted brother, Martin Pawley. Ethan finds Lucy brutally murdered and presumably raped in a canyon near the Comanche camp. In a blind rage, Brad rides directly into the Indian camp and is killed.

When winter arrives, Ethan and Martin lose the trail and return to the Jorgensen ranch. Martin is enthusiastically welcomed by the Jorgensens' daughter Laurie, and Ethan finds a letter waiting for him from a trader named Futterman, who claims to have information about Debbie. Ethan, who would rather travel alone, leaves without Martin the next morning, but Laurie reluctantly provides Martin with a horse to catch up. At Futterman's trading post, Ethan and Martin learn that Debbie has been taken by Scar, the chief of the Nawyecka band of Comanches. A year or more later, Laurie receives a letter from Martin describing the ongoing search. In reading the letter aloud, Laurie narrates the next few scenes, in which Ethan kills Futterman for trying to steal his money, Martin accidentally buys a Comanche wife, and the two men find a portion of Scar's band killed by soldiers.

The search leads Ethan and Martin to a military fort, and then to New Mexico, where a Mexican man leads them to Scar. They find Debbie after five years, now an adolescent, living as one of Scar's wives. She tells the men that she has become a Comanche and wishes to remain with them. Ethan would rather see her dead than living as an Indian, and tries to shoot her, but Martin shields her with his body and a Comanche wounds Ethan with an arrow as they escape. Although Martin tends to Ethan's wound, he is furious with him for attempting to kill Debbie, and wishes him dead. "That'll be the day," Ethan replies, as they return home.

Meanwhile, Charlie McCorry has been courting Laurie in Martin's absence. Ethan and Martin arrive home just as Charlie and Laurie's wedding is about to begin. After a fistfight between Martin and Charlie, a nervous "Yankee" soldier, Lt. Greenhill, arrives with news that Ethan's half-crazy friend Mose Harper has located Scar. Clayton leads his men to the Comanche camp, this time for a direct attack, but Martin is allowed to sneak in ahead of the assault to find Debbie, who welcomes him. Martin kills Scar during the battle, and Ethan scalps him. Ethan then locates Debbie, and pursues her on horseback. Martin fears that he will shoot her as he has promised and chases desperately, but instead, Ethan sweeps her up onto his saddle and says, "Let’s go home, Debbie". She is taken to the Jorgensen ranch, and Martin reunites with Laurie. In an iconic closing scene, Ethan departs the homestead as he arrived—alone—clutching his arm, the cabin door slowly shutting on his receding image.

Cast

·       John Wayne as Ethan Edwards

·       Jeffrey Hunter as Martin Pawley

·       Vera Miles as Laurie Jorgensen

·       Ward Bond as Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnson Clayton

·       Natalie Wood as adult Debbie Edwards

·       John Qualen as Lars Jorgensen

·       Olive Carey as Mrs. Jorgensen

·       Henry Brandon as Chief Cicatriz (Scar)

·       Ken Curtis as Charlie McCorry

·       Harry Carey, Jr. as Brad Jorgensen

·       Antonio Moreno as Emilio Gabriel Fernández y Figueroa

·       Hank Worden as Mose Harper

·       Beulah Archuletta as Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky (Look)

·       Walter Coy as Aaron Edwards

·       Dorothy Jordan as Martha Edwards

·       Pippa Scott as Lucy Edwards

·       Patrick Wayne as Lt. Greenhill

·       Lana Wood as young Debbie Edwards

·       Robert Lyden as Ben Edwards

Production

The Searchers was the first production from "distinguished turfman"[10] C. V. Whitney; it was directed by John Ford and distributed by Warner Bros. While the film was primarily set in the staked plains (Llano Estacado) of northwestern Texas, it was actually filmed in Monument Valley, Arizona/Utah. Additional scenes were filmed in Mexican Hat, Utah, in Bronson Canyon in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, and in Alberta.[11] The film was shot in the VistaVision widescreen process. Ford originally wanted to cast Fess Parker, whose performance as Davy Crockett on television had helped spark a national craze, in the Jeffrey Hunter role, but Walt Disney, to whom Parker was under contract, refused to allow it and did not tell Parker about the offer, according to Parker's videotaped interview for the Archive of American Television. Parker has said retrospectively that this was easily his worst career reversal.[12]

As part of its promotion of The Searchers in 1956, Warner Bros. produced and broadcast one of the first behind-the-scenes, "making-of" programs in movie history, which aired as an episode of its Warner Bros. Presents TV series.[13][14]

The Searchers is the first of only three films produced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's C. V. Whitney Pictures; the second was The Missouri Traveler in 1958 with Brandon deWilde and Lee Marvin, and the last was The Young Land in 1959 with Wayne's son Patrick Wayne and Dennis Hopper.

Historical background

Several film critics have suggested that The Searchers was inspired by the 1836 kidnapping of nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker by Comanche warriors, who raided her family's home at Fort Parker, Texas.[15][16] She spent 24 years with the Comanches, married a war chief, and had three children (one of whom was the famous Comanche Chief Quanah Parker), only to be rescued against her will by Texas Rangers. James W. Parker, Cynthia Ann's uncle, spent much of his life and fortune in what became an obsessive search for his niece, like Ethan Edwards in the film. In addition, the rescue of Cynthia Ann, during a Texas Ranger attack known as the Battle of Pease River, resembles the rescue of Debbie Edwards when the Texas Rangers attack Scar's village. Parker's story was only one of 64 real-life cases of 19th-century child abductions in Texas that author Alan Le May studied while researching the novel on which the film was based. His surviving research notes indicate that the two characters who go in search of a missing girl were inspired by Brit Johnson, who ransomed his captured wife and children from the Comanches in 1865.[17] Afterward, Johnson made at least three trips to Indian Territory and Kansas relentlessly searching for another kidnapped girl, Millie Durgan (or Durkin), until Kiowa raiders killed him in 1871.[18]

The ending of Le May's novel contrasts to the film's, with Debbie, called Dry-Grass-Hair by the Comanches, running from the white men and from the Indians. Marty, in one final leg of his search, finds her days later, only after she has fainted from exhaustion.

In the film, Scar's Comanche group is referred to as the Nawyecka, correctly the Noyʉhka or Nokoni,[19] the same band that kidnapped Cynthia Ann Parker. Some film critics[have speculated that the historical model for the cavalry attack on a Comanche village, resulting in Look's death and the taking of Comanche prisoners to a military post, was the well-known Battle of Washita River, November 27, 1868, when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettle's Cheyenne camp on the Washita River (near present-day Cheyenne, Oklahoma). The sequence also resembles the 1872 Battle of the North Fork of the Red River, in which the 4th Cavalry captured 124 Comanche women and children and imprisoned them at Fort Concho.

Reception

Contemporaneous reviews

Upon the film's release, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it a "ripsnorting Western" (in spite of the "excessive language in its ads"); he credits Ford's "familiar corps of actors, writers, etc., [who help] to give the gusto to this film. From Frank S. Nugent, whose screenplay from the novel of Alan LeMay is a pungent thing, right on through the cast and technicians, it is the honest achievement of a well-knit team."[10] "

Variety called it "handsomely mounted and in the tradition of Shane", yet "somewhat disappointing" due to its length and repetitiveness; "The John Ford directorial stamp is unmistakable. It concentrates on the characters and establishes a definite mood. It's not sufficient, however, to overcome many of the weaknesses of the story."[20]

The New York Herald Tribune termed the movie "distinguished"; Newsweek deemed it "remarkable". Look described The Searchers as a "Homeric odyssey". The New York Times praised Wayne's performance as "uncommonly commanding".[21] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "Though it does not consistently achieve the highest Ford standards, The Searchers is surely the best Western since Shane."[22]

The film earned rentals of $4.8 million in the US and Canada during its first year of release.[23]

Later assessments

Critic Roger Ebert found Wayne's character, Ethan Edwards, "one of the most compelling characters Ford and Wayne ever created".

The Searchers has been cited as one of the greatest films of all time, such as in the BFI's decennial Sight & Sound polls. In 1972, ).[25] 

The 2007 American Film Institute 100 greatest American films list ranked The Searchers in 12th place. In 1998, TV Guide ranked it 18th.[26] In 2008, the American Film Institute named The Searchers as the greatest Western of all time.[27] In 2010, Richard Corliss noted the film was "now widely regarded as the greatest Western of the 1950s, the genre's greatest decade" and characterized it as a "darkly profound study of obsession, racism, and heroic solitude".[28]

The film currently maintains a 96% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "The Searchers is an epic John Wayne Western that introduces dark ambivalence to the genre that remains fashionable today."[29]

The film has been recognized multiple times by the American Film Institute:

·       AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies – number 96

·       AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – number 12

·       AFI's 10 Top 10 – number 1 Western Film

On "They Shoot Pictures Don't They", a site which numerically calculates critical reception for any given film, The Searchers has been recognized as the ninth-most acclaimed movie ever made.[30] Members of the Western Writers of America chose its title song as one of the top 100 Western songs of all time.[31]

Scott McGee stated, "... more than just making a social statement like other Westerns of the period were apt to do, Ford instills in The Searchers a visual poetry and a sense of melancholy that is rare in American films and rarer still to Westerns."[32]

Glenn Frankel's 2013 study of the film calls it "the greatest Hollywood film that few people have seen".[21]

Critical Interpretations

Race relations

A major theme of the film is the historical attitude of white settlers toward Native Americans. Ford was not the first to attempt this examination cinematically, but his depiction of harshness toward Native Americans was startling, particularly to later generations of viewers; Roger Ebert wrote, "I think Ford was trying, imperfectly, even nervously, to depict racism that justified genocide."[24] At the heart of The Searchers is Wayne's performance as the angry, vengeful Ethan Edwards. From the beginning of his quest, he is quite clearly less interested in rescuing Debbie than in wreaking vengeance on the Comanches for the slaughter of his brother's family.[33]

In a 1964 interview with Cosmopolitan, Ford said,

There's some merit to the charge that the Indian hasn't been portrayed accurately or fairly in the Western, but again, this charge has been a broad generalization and often unfair. The Indian didn't welcome the white man ... and he wasn't diplomatic ... If he has been treated unfairly by whites in films, that, unfortunately, was often the case in real life. There was much racial prejudice in the West.[34]

Film scholar Ed Lowry writes, "[W]hile the Comanches are depicted as utterly ruthless, Ford ascribes motivations for their actions, and lends them a dignity befitting a proud civilization. Never do we see the Indians commit atrocities more appalling than those perpetrated by the white man.[32] "Wayne is plainly Ahab", wrote cultural critic Greil Marcus. "He is the good American hero driving himself past all known limits and into madness, his commitment to honor and decency burned down to a core of vengeance."[33] For Brenton Priestley, Ford indicates that Scar's cruelty is also motivated by revenge ("Two sons killed by white men. For each son, I take many ... scalps.").[34]

The theme of miscegenation also runs through the film. Early on, Martin earns a sour look from Ethan when he admits to being one-eighth Cherokee. Ethan says repeatedly that he will kill his niece rather than have her live "with a buck", that "living with the Comanche ain't living". Even one of the film's gentler characters, Vera Miles's Laurie, tells Martin when he explains he must protect his adoptive sister, "Ethan will put a bullet in her brain. I tell you Martha would want him to." This outburst makes it clear that even the supposedly gentler characters hold the same fear of miscegenation.[34]

The rape of captive white women by the Comanche is an unspoken theme. No actual rape scene is depicted, but Alexandra Heller-Nicholas in her study of Rape-Revenge Films says, "the abduction, captivity, and implied rape of Debbie (Natalie Wood) ... drives the narrative";[35] and Edward Buscombe points out a scene in which "... [Ethan] turns off the trail to penetrate a narrow crevice in the rocks, and when he emerges, his savage stabbing with his knife seems to mimic a violent sexual act, drawing us 'a picture' of the act of rape which obsesses him."[36] Glenn Frankel writes that in real life, "Rape was a fact of life for many captives, although it was seldom discussed by those women who escaped or were ransomed back to the white world."[37]

Ethan and Martha

An important plot undercurrent is the obvious mutual attraction between Ethan Edwards and his brother's wife, Martha. Although no dialogue alludes to it, a multitude of visual references to their relationship are seen throughout the film.[39][40][41] Some critics have suggested that this unspoken passion implies that Debbie—who is specifically described as eight years old, as Ethan returns from an eight-year absence—may be Ethan's daughter. Such a situation would add further layers of nuance to Ethan's obsessive search for Debbie, his revulsion at the thought that she might be living as an Indian, and his ultimate decision to bring her home—and then walk away. Beyond the ostensible motivations, it might depict a guilt-ridden father's need to save the daughter he made by cuckolding his brother, then abandoned.[42]

Influence

The Searchers has influenced many films. David Lean watched the film repeatedly while preparing for Lawrence of Arabia to help him get a sense of how to shoot a landscape.[43] The entrance of Ethan Edwards in The Searchers, across a vast prairie, is echoed in the across-the-desert entrance of Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia. Sam Peckinpah referenced the aftermath of the massacre and the funeral scene in Major Dundee (1965), and according to a 1974 review by Jay Cocks, Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia contains dialogue with "direct tributes to such classics as John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and John Ford's The Searchers."[44][45]

Martin Scorsese's 1967 film Who's That Knocking at My Door features a sequence in which the two primary characters discuss The Searchers.[46] In 2012, in a Sight & Sound poll, Scorsese listed The Searchers as one of his all-time favorite films.[47][48]

Scott McGee, writing for Turner Classic Movies, notes "Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, John Milius, Paul Schrader, Wim Wenders, Jean-Luc Godard, and George Lucas have all been influenced and paid some form of homage to The Searchers in their work."[32] Wenders' Palme d'Or-winning 1984 film Paris, Texas in particular has been cited for similarities.[49][50]

The film influenced several aspects of George Lucas' film saga Star Wars.[43] The scene in which Ethan Edwards discovers the flaming wreckage of his family homestead is reflected in 1977's Star Wars, wherein the character Luke Skywalker finds that his homestead has been burned and destroyed by Imperial Stormtroopers.[51][52][53] The Searchers was also an influence on the 2002 prequel film in the series, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. In the film, Anakin Skywalker learns that one of his family members has been abducted by a group of Tusken Raiders (though the character's mother is kidnapped, rather than a niece). Anakin massacres the kidnappers in vengeance, much like The Searchers' climactic battle in the Comanche camp.[51][52] The opening scenes of Rogue One mirror those of The Searchers: the piggy-tailed character of Jyn is hidden by her parents when their homestead is attacked in the same way little Debbie is saved by her parents when they are attacked by the Comanches.

The film served as the inspiration for the name of the British band The Searchers.[54][55]

The 2007 film Searchers 2.0 by Alex Cox includes many discussions of The Searchers as well as other revenge films. In the film, the characters attend a screening of a remake of The Searchers directed by Ted Post and starring James Mitchum as Ethan Edwards and Telly Savalas as Chief Cicatriz (Scar), though no such remake was ever made in reality (Ted Post had actually directed a remake of John Ford's Stagecoach).

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan stated that the ending to the show's final episode, "Felina", was influenced by the film.[56]

The 2016 Canadian film Searchers is a partial remake of the film, in which an Inuit man in 1913 finds his wife and daughter have been kidnapped. However, co-director Zacharias Kunuk discarded the original's plot about conflicts between white people and indigenous peoples, instead using only Inuit characters. Kunuk explained racism was not an intended theme of his film.[57] Kunuk said he watched Western films in the Igloolik community hall as a boy, and declared The Searchers star John Wayne "was our hero".[58]

John Wayne's character repeatedly used line "that'll be the day" inspired Buddy Holly to write the song "That'll Be the Day" after seeing the film in a theater in Lubbock, Texas.[59]

Comic book adaptation

·      Dell Comics published an adaptation of The Searchers in Dell Four Color #709 (June 1956), written by Leo Dorfman and drawn by Mike Roy. The comic book downplays Ethan's racism and omits the final iconic scene of the film.[60][61]

References

1.        ^ "Chatter – Chicago". Variety: 62. May 9, 1956.

2.       ^ Box Office Information for The Searchers. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 24, 2013.

3.       ^ "Welcome: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies". American Film Institute. 2008. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2009.

4.       ^ IMDB Trivia Section

5.       ^ "Sight & Sound 2012 Polls". British Film Institute. 2012. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012.

6.       ^ French, Philip (August 4, 2012). "How Hitchcock's Vertigo eventually topped the Sight & Sound critics' poll". The Guardian. London.

7.       ^ "Cahiers du Cinema 100 Films". The Moving Arts Film Journal. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.

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

9.       ^ Behind the Camera, Included in the 2005 restored Blue-ray edition

10.    ^ Jump up to: a b c Crowther, Bosley (May 31, 1956). "The Searchers". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2011.

11.     ^ DGA Magazine, November 2003, http://www.dga.org/news/v28_4/craft_bronson.php3

12.    ^ Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Archive, July 24, 2000, http://emmys.tv/foundation/archive

13.    ^ "WARNER BROTHERS PRESENTS U.S. Dramatic Series". The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved February 23, 2013.

14.    ^ Warner Bros. Presents

15.     ^ Eckstein, Arthur M.; Peter Lehman (2004). The Searchers: Essays and Reflections on John Ford's Classic Western. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3056-8.

16.    ^ John Milius also makes this point in a documentary about the production, although film historian Edward Buscombe observes in The Searchers (London: British Film Institute, 2000), p.71., that Milius "gives no evidence for this assertion".

17.     ^ "Brit Johnson, The Real Searcher", American History magazine, June 2007, p. 64; "Search for The Searchers", Wild Westmagazine, April 2009, p. 53.

18.    ^ ""Negro Brit Johnson, Dennis Cureton & Paint Crawford" on". Fort Tour Systems, Inc. Retrieved May 28, 2009.

19.    ^ Taa Nʉmʉ Tekwapʉ?ha Tʉboopʉ (Our Comanche Dictionary), Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee, 2010.

20.   ^ "The Searchers". Variety. March 13, 1956. Retrieved June 25,2011.

21.    ^ Jump up to: a b c As cited in Hoberman, J. (February 22, 2013). "American Obsession 'The Searchers', by Glenn Frankel". New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2013.

22.    ^ "The Searchers". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 23 (271): 100. August 1956.

23.    ^ "The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956", Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957

24.    ^ Jump up to: a b Ebert, Roger (November 25, 2001). "The Searchers (1956)". Chicago Sun-Times.

25.    ^ A Young Jean-Luc Godard Picks the 10 Best American Films Ever Made (1963). open culture.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.

26.   ^ "Top 100 Movie Lists – TV Guide's 50 Greatest Movies". oocities.org. Retrieved March 10, 2016.

27.    ^ American Film Institute (June 17, 2008). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved June 18, 2008.

28.   ^ Corliss, Richard (February 1, 2010). "Best Director: John Ford, The Searchers (1956)". Time. Retrieved June 25, 2011.

29.   ^ "The Searchers (1956)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango.

30.   ^ "1,000 Greatest Films (Full List)"..

31.    ^ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy.

32.    ^ Jump up to: a b c McGee, Scott. "The Searchers". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 25, 2011.

33.    ^ Jump up to:a b Frankel, Glenn. "The Searchers was influential film in its day and still resonates today", The Washington Post, July 4, 2013Archived August 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

34.    ^ Jump up to: a b c Priestley, Brenton. "Race, Racism and the Fear of Miscegenation in The Searchers". BrentonPriestley.com.

35.    ^ Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2011). Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study. McFarland. p. 71. .

36.    ^ Edward Buscombe (2000). The "Searchers". British Film Institute. p. 29.

37.    ^ Glenn Frankel (2014). The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend. Bloomsbury USA. p. 41.

38.   ^ Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, "John Wayne: American(1995) p 423

39.    ^ Studlar, Gaylyn. "What Would Martha Want? Captivity, Purity, and Feminine Values in The Searchers," in Eckstein & Lehman, pp. 179–182

40.   ^ Eckstein, Arthur M. "Incest and Miscegenation in The Searchers(1956) and The Unforgiven (1959)", in Eckstein & Lehman, p. 200

41.    ^ Lehman, Peter. "'You Couldn't Hit It on the Nose': The Limits of Knowledge in and of The Searchers," in Eckstein & Lehman, pp. 248, 263

42.    ^ "After 55 Years, 'The Searchers' Legacy Still Up For Debate". Here & Now. Trustees of Boston University. March 29, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011.

43.    ^ Jump up to: a b Snider, Eric (May 11, 2011). "What's the Big Deal?: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)". MTV. Retrieved July 12, 2016.

44.   ^ Matheson, Sue (February 18, 2016). The Westerns and War Films of John Ford. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 

45.    ^ Cocks, Jay (September 16, 1974). "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia". Time. Retrieved June 25, 2011.

46.   ^ Who's That Knocking at My Door motion picture, 1967, Trimod Films, Joseph Brenner Associates

Bibliography

·      Cohen, Hubert I. (2010). "Red River and The Searchers: Deception in the Modern Western". Film Criticism. 35 (1): 82–102. 

·      Day, Kirsten (2008). "'What Makes a Man to Wander?': The Searchers as a Western Odyssey". Arethusa. 41 (1): 11–49. 

·      Eckstein, Arthur M. (1998). "Darkening Ethan: John Ford's The Searchers (1956) from Novel to Screenplay to Screen" (PDF). Cinema Journal. 38 (1): 3–24. 

·      Eckstein, Arthur M.; Lehman, Peter, eds. (2004). The searchers: essays and reflections on John Ford's classic western. Wayne State University Press.

·      Frankel, Glenn (2013). The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend. New York: Bloomsbury. 

·      Pippin, Robert B. (2012). Hollywood Westerns and American Myth: The Importance of Howard Hawks and John Ford for Political Philosophy. Yale University Press. 

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