JOHN FORD (1920-1930)

Summary: John Feeney moved to Los Angeles for work with his already succesful brother of a director, Francis Ford. He quickly moved from the smaller jobs, including actor, on up to director and debuted with The Tornado in 1917. From 1917 through 1920, he made roughly thirty-six films. When he completed Cameo Kirby (1923), he changed his name from Jack Ford to John Ford. In 1926, he made a western called 3 Bad Men. It would be another thirteen years until he would make another western.

Popular Western Films: The Tornado (1917), The Soul Herder (1917), Bucking Broadway (1917), Just Pals (1920), The Iron Horse (1924), 3 Bad Men (1926).

Interesting Fact: According to Ford, his first directing job was given to him by Carl Laemmle, the boss of Universal, who said, "Give Jack Ford the job—he yells good."

Western Awards: None.

"It is easier to get an actor to be a cowboy than to get a cowboy to be an actor."

As I mentioned before, this week is dedicated to the greatest director of the West, John Martin Feeney (John Ford). Since the beginning of his career he has produced westerns and for some reason they came natural to him. That would seem strange for a youngster raised in Maine, but no one questioned his ability.

In his early years he experienced an extreme amount of change. He was twenty when arrived in California and was married six years later to Mary McBryde Smith in 1920. Ten months later his first child is born, Patrick Michael Roper Ford. Keeping on the topic of family, he was the tenth child in his own and was now employed by his brother Frank, who was thirteen years his senior.

In directing, he had began a strong friendship with the legendary western actor, Harry Carey Sr.. Carey and Ford would go on to be in over twenty films together and the tradition was passed over to his son Harry Carey Jr. In 1928 Ford began work with another long-time friend, John Wayne. Their friendship was cut short and they were not reunited until the magnificent Stagecoach (1939) film.

In the latter end of the twenties the studios stopped investing in westerns and Ford moved on to create other films. To add to this change talkies were introduced to the studios and Ford was tight on the ground floor. Around this time, Ford was introduced to a film called Sunrise (1928). This picture, directed by F. W. Murnau, had a great influence on Ford as a director. All-in-all this era gave Ford a chance to roll up his sleeves and work his tail off.