John Ford: Hollywood's Old Master

by Ronald L. Davis

Overview

John Ford remains the most honored director in Hollywood history, having won six Academy Awards and four New York Film Critics Awards. Drawing upon extensive written and oral history, Ronald L. David explores Ford’s career from his silent classic, The Iron Horse, through the transition to sound, and then into the pioneer years of location filming, the golden years of Hollywood, and the movement toward television. During his career, Ford made such classics as Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, and The Searchers-136 pictures in all, 54 of them Westerns. The complexity of his personality comes alive here through the eyes of his colleagues, friends, relatives, film critics, and the actors he worked with, including John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Maureen O’Hara, and Katharine Hepburn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806129167
Publisher:	University of Oklahoma Press
Publication date:	02/15/1997
Series:	The Oklahoma Western Biographies , #10
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.92(d)

About the Author

Ronald L. Davis was Professor of History at Southern Methodist University, where he was Director of both the Oral History Program on the Performing Arts and the De Golyer Institute for American Studies. He has written many books on the performing arts in America, including the best-seller Hollywood Anecdotes.

Editorial Reviews

During a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ford (1895-1973) directed 136 films and established himself as a creative genius. Davis, a history professor at Southern Methodist, presents a lively and well-researched study of Ford's life and work. Although best known for directing westerns that emphasized visual beauty, action and mood rather than dialogue-Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948)-Ford won six academy awards for non-westerns, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and How Green Was My Valley (1941), which dealt with social themes. Davis draws on the recollections of the actors who worked frequently with Ford, including John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara, to document Ford's tyranny on the set, which intimidated his cast but wrung brilliant performances from them. Although he married and had two children, Ford was most comfortable with men, according to Davis, and masked his deep emotional insecurities by abusing alcohol. Illustrations. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YA-A biography that humanizes both the dean of Hollywood directors and the motion-picture industry itself. Davis weaves Ford's roots as the son of 19th-century Irish immigrants throughout his portrayal of the filmmaker's illustrious career. From silent-film beginnings to the early '60s, his presence shaped the industry. Intimate glimpses into Ford's personal life provide insight into the making of his films as well as reveal his influence on many of Hollywood's legends.-Sue Callahan, R.E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA

School Library Journal

Davis sketches Ford's life from his childhood in Maine through the many stages of his long and illustrious career, from his silent classic The Iron Horse to the movement toward television. His tumultuous personal life is also explored in depth through interviews with family and friends. Numerous b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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