To list all of his films would take a large amount of time and detail, but I wish to highlight some of them. The complete tally is way over two-hundred and many of them are among the classics of our day. This was a particular impressive task that he achieved, since he died at the young age of fifty-seven. His voice and stature are unforgettable, yet he could play one part as well as another without the two being similar.
He was a good friend to John Wayne & John Ford, and appeared in many of their pictures. In fact the partnership with Ford created the longest record for director and star to appear together, twenty-six films. Bond himself starred in multiple pictures a year, once reaching a staggering thirty films in just one year in 1935.
Here are some of the favorites:
In 1939 we see him in two of the most popular films of its time, Gone with the Wind & Drums Along the Mohawk. I actually prefer Ford's film over the popular Fleming classic. Here we see Bond in a role he'd play a countless other times, the comedic country folk who added muscle to any fight. Always a friend of the lead and ready to follow at any moment.
Then in 1940, he finds himself in one of the most monumental pictures of it's time, The Grapes of Wrath. This character was more silly than comedic, and that's the beauty of his talent. In one film he is a convincingly brainless wit, and in the next he is a dominating strategic soldier.
Before he moved onto more dominating roles, he plays the country folk fool once again in Sergeant York (1941). His role was as the spirited friend of York who most often found in a tavern. He and Cooper did an amazing job of bringing this part of America to the screen. You would think that he was incapable of ever playing an sober person.
His strength and stature now came to the fore-front when he played the legendary John L. Sullivan in Gentlemen Jim (1942). He was the ultimate candidate for this gigantic American role. The scene in the end is one of the most endearing and humble that I have ever seen on screen. The movie itself is a treasure of a film to watch.
With WWII in full swing, he landed a great role on a classic film, A Guy Named Joe (1943). In a cast with some of the best of Hollywood, he didn't look left out. This film is an amazing one to watch and taught the World a new kind of love story.
Switching to a more modern role in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946), we discover that Bond can play anything. His part as "Bert" the cop has always baffled me. "How could this be the same guy in that other film?" I've watched it so many times before I even noticed it was him. That's alright though, as a kid I use to get Cooper & Stewart confused. True story!
He went on to be in many other amazing films as the years went by. Two of them in particular were shot in the same year, but as completely separate characters. The two films were 3 Godfathers (1948) & Joan of Arc (1948). With one, he played a common role as the sheriff hunting down the outlaws. The other placed him in a era he had never played before, the close ally of Joan of Arc in France. Both films are personal favorites and it's no wonder that Bond would be in them.
In 1952, he plays in the side role of Father Peter Lonergan, who wouldn't leave his fishing pole for almost anything. The Quiet Man brings together the Ford cast again also making this one of my favorite roles of his. Who would of thought that a witless country folk / cowboy could ever have played man in the cloth so well.
There are many films that I did not list that happened during and after the ones listed above. It seems every time I love a new film, I discover Ward Bond in the cast. He was not a fill in character, but an interesting side story to every script he played. You wanted to see more of what that character did and what he would rather be doing. This is truly one of the greatest supporting actors in the history of Hollywood.
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