Although a great tribute to Ford, almost thirty years after the fact it (in my opinion) was a bit sad to see all these great stars and icons, not as remembered, but in their later years, for the most part well after retirement. Wayne would pass only a few years after, as would many of the other key players.
We don’t want to remember Cary Grant or John Wayne, or even John Ford, for that matter, as they appeared in 1973. We want to keep vibrant in our mind’s eye how they looked in North by Northwest, Stagecoach, or The Battle of Midway, respectively. Should you not know The Battle of Midway was a film Ford shot (partially) himself while under attack during the actual attack on the island.
Ford is revered as a great director, but many- even many fans of classic film- still perhaps know him not as much as they should. How many know that during 1959’s The Horse Soldiers, not usually included in the top tier of Ford films, Ford on several instances tortured William Holden (who wasn’t a good fit for Ford’s style) with lengthy horseback shots as recompense for being severely hung over?
Before I read the great book Print the Legend, watched the powerful Directed by John Ford and somewhat maudlin AFI Tribute to John Ford, I thought I knew about John Ford.
Oh how little did I know.
As a final tribute, who can identify the below screen shot- Can you name the picture (quite easy) but also explain the significance of Wayne’s presentation (a bit harder, but still somewhat easy)?
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