John Ford, John Wayne (1928-1962)

Between 1928 and 1962, John Ford and John Wayne made twenty pictures together Their films changed the role of the hero in American film, transformed the ways in which we saw ourselves and turned a druggist’s son from Iowa into the greatest movie star of the postwar era.

As we’d learn in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962), “When the legend becomes a fact, print the legend.”

Once upon a time, in a California free from smog, a young USC football player needed a summer job. Marion Michael Morrison found employment as an assistant prop man at Fox. One day, he was sweeping a soundstage when, by accident, he swept his way into camera range. The director of the picture was John Ford.

Everyone waited for the inevitable explosion but it never came. Ford had seen something he recognized, maybe better than any other director. The big, raw boned prop man had undeniable charisma. Instead of ordering him off the stage, Ford gave Morrison an uncredited bit part in Mother Machree. (1928). Ford found bits for Duke in Four Sons (1928), Hangman’s House (1928), The Black Watch (1929) and Salute (1929) as well. By now, sound had come in and Ford gave Wayne tiny roles in Men Without Women (1930) and Born Reckless (1930).

Then as now, directors consulted each other on the pictures they made. When Raoul Walsh needed a leading man for The Big Trail (1929), Ford recommended Wayne. Also starring Marguerite Churchill, the film was one of Fox’s biggest pictures and would be filmed in a 70mm process called “Grandeur.” Wayne got the lead role; one that would’ve guaranteed stardom except for one thing. The Big Trail was a big flop.

As a result, John Wayne was consigned to Poverty Row. From 1930 to 1939, Wayne rode the B picture range for companies like Republic, Mascot, Monogram and Lone Star. While Duke was becoming a Saturday Matinee hero, John Ford was directing one classic film after another. Not once during the thirties did Ford cast Wayne in one of his movies. Until Stagecoach.

By the late thirties, westerns had fallen out of favor with the general movie audience. That didn’t faze Ford. He had found a short story by Ernest Haycox he thought would make a good picture. After casting reliable actors like John Carradine, George Bancroft and Andy Devine, Ford gave Wayne the pivotal role of The Ringo Kid. Wayne brought to the part a winning combination of toughness and vulnerability which added depth and sincerity to his relationship with Dallas; the prostitute portrayed by Claire Trevor.

Stagecoach (1939)

Ringo Kid: (John Wayne) You might need me and this here Winchester, Curly.

Stagecoach was the film that made Wayne a major star; a fact he never forgot. Duke figured he owed Ford his career and would tolerate language and behavior from the director he would take from no one else.

On every Ford film, one unlucky actor became the director’s scapegoat. That poor actor couldn’t do anything well enough to please The Old Man. From the first day of production, the chosen target was subject to obscenity, insults, crude practical jokes and constant, scathing, sarcastic criticism. Stagecoach was Wayne’s “turn in the barrel.” Maybe because of Ford’s behavior, his fellow actors began to stick up for Wayne and tried to cover for him. As a result, the cast became a unified group both on and off screen. Duke’s trial by fire was good for the picture as Ford knew it would be.

The director lost no time in casting Wayne as a lovesick Swedish sailor in his next picture. The Long Voyage Home (1940) was based on a series of short plays by Eugene O’Neil. Anyone who thinks that Wayne couldn’t act or was “just playing himself” should take a good look at these two movies. Wayne’s Ringo Kid and his Ole Olson couldn’t be farther apart. They are distinct and separate characters.

During World War Two, Ford joined the Navy. He commanded a unit known as Field Photographic and oversaw the production of films made for the armed forces. Ford also made pictures that helped explain the necessity of the conflict to the general public. Meanwhile, John Wayne stayed in Hollywood and made movies. This didn’t sit well with Ford but he never allowed it to jeopardize either his friendship or professional relationship with Wayne.

Between pictures, Ford retreated to his ketch, The Araner, which was moored off Catalina Island. Along with a contingent of friends like Wayne, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen, Ford got drunk and stayed that way for days on end. In the period before US involvement in World War Two, the director cruised down the Mexican coast and occasionally made a run to the Hawaiian Islands. These were more than pleasure cruises. Unbeknownst to his passengers, Ford was scouting for enemy activity while documenting anything suspicious at the behest of the government.

Following the end of hostilities, Wayne and Ford made one of the greatest and most underrated war films. Co-starring Robert Montgomery, They were Expendable (1945) featured Wayne as Lt J.G. Rusty Ryan. Lt. Ryan champions the cause of PT Boats and is angered by the unwillingness of the brass to use the lightweight craft in combat. Unlike most jingoistic flag wavers, the Ford film gains emotional power through understatement. Wayne’s subdued performance is one of his finest.

In Fort Apache (1948), Ford cast Henry Fonda as Colonel Owen Thursday who undertakes an ill advised, pre-emptive strike against the local Native American population. Wayne’s Captain Kirby York tries to suggest more peaceful means of settling problems but Thursday will have none of it. With Fonda in the role usually occupied by Wayne, Duke settles into a more relaxed characterization. The film was the first of Ford’s unofficial cavalry trilogy.

Later that same year, Duke, Harry Carey Jr and Pedro Amendariz starred in Three Godfathers (1948).They portray three outlaws who carry a baby across the desert to safety after its mother dies in childbirth, .The film was a remake of Ford’s own Marked Men (1919) which had starred Harry Carey Sr, Joe Harris and Ted Brooks.

John Ford was well aware of his own image. Sometimes it seemed as if he enjoyed playing “John Ford.” For example, one day Peter Bogdanovich was visiting the director. “I got Duke a book for his birthday,” said Bogdanovich. There was a long pause as Ford thought about this. “He’s already got a book.” he finally said. When Ford saw Wayne in Red River (1948) he told Howard Hawks, “I never knew the big, dumb sonofabitch could act.”

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

Kirby York (John Wayne); Never apologize, mister. It’s a sign of weakness.

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) was the second chapter of the cavalry trilogy and Wayne’s second character part. As Captain Nathan Brittles, who is trying to effect peace with the Native Americans before his imminent retirement, Wayne played a man twenty years older than he was. Ford taught Wayne to play scenes realistically and to be unafraid of honest sentiment. The scene where Brittles’ men present him with a gold watch is among the most moving sequences in the Ford canon.

Ford locations were run with military precision. Each morning, as the director arrived at the studio, word was passed that The Old Man was on the lot. Ford entered the soundstage to the strains of “Bringing in the Sheaves,” played by Danny Borzage on his ever-present accordion. Borzage then remained to provide mood music between scenes and setups. At lunch, Ford installed a cup into which went small fines charged for inappropriate language. Often, the biggest contributor was the director himself.

The final chapter of the cavalry trilogy was Rio Grande (1950). Lt. Colonel Kirby Yorke (Wayne) heads a command at a frontier outpost in the days following the end of the Civil War. Yorke’s job is made more difficult by the presence of his son, Trooper Jefferson Yorke (Claude Jarman Jr) in the outfit. Complications ensue when Kirby’s estranged wife, Kathleen (Maureen O’Hara) arrives at the fort, determined to take their son back East and out of harm’s way. Mrs. Yorke has never quite forgiven her husband for burning down her family’s plantation when he served with The Union during The War Between the States.

Sometimes, all of the elements within a picture coalesce perfectly. That was certainly true of The Quiet Man (1952). Based on a story by Maurice Walsh, the film featured Wayne, Victor McLaglen and Maureen O’Hara. Ford thought of himself as an Irishman, though in fact he was born in Portland, Maine. Quiet Man re-enforces every Irish stereotype imaginable but does so with such celebratory good humor that offense can’t be taken.

Ethan Edwards (John Wayne): Injun will chase a thing till he thinks he's chased it enough. Then he quits. Same way when he runs. Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that'll just keep comin' on. So we'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as the turnin' of the earth.

The Searchers (1956)

From the lighthearted Quiet Man to the stark poetry of The Searchers (1956) was quite a stretch for both actor and director. Yet Ford and Wayne switched gears with ease. Often considered Ford’s finest picture, The Searchers utilizes the old west as a living metaphor for contemporary times. Wayne’s Ethan Edwards searches for his niece, Debby (Natalie Wood) after she’s been kidnapped by the Native-Americans who killed her parents and burned down their ranch. Unable to quit the quest despite the odds, Edwards is the very spirit of bigoted revenge. It’s unusual for a star to play an unlikable character but Wayne makes no attempt to lighten his portrayal.

When a film goes on location, cast and crew are usually housed in nearby motels. Yet, that wasn’t true of Ford pictures. When Ford shot a film in Monument Valley, his people stayed at Gouldings Ranch in the valley itself. Native Americans involved in the picture pitched tents a distance away, forming a village like those of their ancestors.

Life at Gouldings was as far removed from the lush confines of Beverly Hills as one could get. Actors and crew stayed in rustic cabins and all meals were served in the community dining hall. At twilight, taps was played and the flag lowered in a solemn ceremony. Ford often arranged evening entertainment like a square dance or an impromptu concert by The Sons of the Pioneers. Though many in the Ford stock company were prodigious drinkers, no liquor was allowed on a set or location. That included the Old Man himself who abstained ‘till the picture was completed. Seated around the campfire, with nothing to be heard but the howling of distant coyotes, it was easy to believe one was part of the recently vanished Old West.

Frank “Spig” Weade was a former Navy man who turned to writing after a 1926 airplane crash resulted in his becoming paraplegic. For Ford, he wrote the screenplays of Airmail (1932) and They Were Expendable (1945). In 1957, Ford directed Weade’s life story as The Wings of Eagles. Another underrated film, Wings of Eagles is notable for Ward Bond’s performance as an all-too-familiar movie director known as John Dodge.

By now, the red scare was at its height and the blacklist was in full effect, Long a staunch conservative, Wayne became a vocal member of The Committee for the Preservation of American Ideals which supported Joseph McCarthy and The House Un-American Activities Committee. Meanwhile, Ford fought his own battles. Though a patriot, Ford disliked seeing his fellow directors accused of Communism minus proof. When Cecil B DeMille tried to force the resignation of Directors Guild president Joseph L Mankiewicz, it was Ford who opposed DeMille. After Ford had spoken at a packed DGA meeting, it was DeMille who resigned while Mankiewicz kept his position.

The Horse Soldiers (1959) has to be counted as a missed opportunity. Starring Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers, the filming of the Civil War story was marred by the death of longtime Ford stuntman Fred Kennedy. Following the accident, Ford lost interest in the picture, shot a truncated and perfunctory climax and left the show.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962)

Liberty Valance: (Lee Marvin) You lookin' for trouble, Doniphan?

Tom Doniphon: (John Wayne) You aimin' to help me find some?

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962) is the last, great Ford western. Starring Wayne, James Stewart and Lee Marvin, the picture suggests that sometimes fiction can serve a greater purpose than truth. Wayne’s role wasn’t as important to the story as those played by Stewart and Marvin but Duke would never turn down one of The Old Man’s films.

In How The West Was Won (1962), Wayne and Henry Morgan share a brief episode in which they play Generals Grant and Sherman. The final Ford/Wayne collaboration was the broad, South Seas comedy Donovan’s Reef (1963) which co-starred Lee Marvin, Cesar Romero and Dorothy Lamour.

John Ford was Oscar nominated as Best Director for Stagecoach (1939) and The Long Voyage Home (1940). He won the award for The Informer (1936), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941) and The Quiet Man (1952). Ford’s four Oscars were more than has been won by any other director.

John Ford and John Wayne made films together over the course of four decades. In doing so, they wrote an important chapter of The Great American Myth. We are a young country minus the ancient tales of older lands. Films like those of John Ford have become our legends.

Just as sure as the turnin’ of the Earth.

John Kaufman ‘06