John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973) was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath (1940). His four Academy Awards for Best Director (1935, 1940, 1941, 1952) is a record, and one of those films, How Green Was My Valley (1941), also won Best Picture.
In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ford directed more than 140 films (although nearly all of his silent films are now lost) and he is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. Ford's films and personality were held in high regard by his colleagues, with Ingmar Bergman and Orson Welles among those who have named him as one of the greatest directors of all time.
In particular, Ford was a pioneer of location shooting and the long shot which frames his characters against a vast, harsh and rugged natural terrain.
Academy Awards
Best Director
Known For
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(1962)
Director
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Director
Stagecoach
(1939)
Director
The Searchers
(1956)
Director
Fort Apache
(1948)
Director
Arrowsmith
(1931)
Director
My Darling Clementine
(1946)
Director
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Director
Rio Grande
(1950)
Director
The Grapes of Wrath
(1940)
Director
How Green Was My Valley
(1941)
Director
Wee Willie Winkie
(1937)
Director
Cheyenne Autumn
(1964)
Director
Two Rode Together
(1961)
Director
Mister Roberts
(1955)
Director
Mogambo
(1953)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
The Broken Coin
(1915)
Assistant Director
Cheyenne's Pal
(1917)
Director
The Soul Herder
(1917)
Director
Bucking Broadway
(1917)
Director
The Secret Man
(1917)
Director
A Marked Man
(1917)
Director
The Tornado
(1917)
Director
Straight Shooting
(1917)
Director
The Scrapper
(1917)
Director
The Phantom Riders
(1918)
Director
Thieves' Gold
(1918)
Director
The Scarlet Drop
(1918)
Director
Three Mounted Men
(1918)
Director
A Woman's Fool
(1918)
Director
Wild Women
(1918)
Director
Hell Bent
(1918)
Director
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
(1919)
Director
Marked Men
(1919)
Director
Bare Fists
(1919)
Director
By Indian Post
(1919)
Director
Riders of Vengeance
(1919)
Director
A Fight For Love
(1919)
Director
The Last Outlaw
(1919)
Director
The Rustlers
(1919)
Director
The Fighting Brothers
(1919)
Director
Rider of the Law
(1919)
Director
The Gun Packer
(1919)
Director
Roped
(1919)
Director
The Ace of the Saddle
(1919)
Director
Gun Law
(1919)
Director
A Gun Fightin' Gentleman
(1919)
Director
Hitchin' Posts
(1920)
Director
Just Pals
(1920)
Director
The Prince of Avenue A
(1920)
Director
The Girl in Number 29
(1920)
Director
Sure Fire
(1921)
Director
Desperate Trails
(1921)
Director
Action
(1921)
Director
The Big Punch
(1921)
Director
The Freeze-Out
(1921)
Director
Jackie
(1921)
Director
The Wallop
(1921)
Director
Little Miss Smiles
(1922)
Director
Silver Wings
(1922)
Director
The Village Blacksmith
(1922)
Director
Hoodman Blind
(1923)
Director
Cameo Kirby
(1923)
Director
The Face on the Barroom Floor
(1923)
Director
Three Jumps Ahead
(1923)
Director
North of Hudson Bay
(1923)
Director
Hearts of Oak
(1924)
Director
The Iron Horse
(1924)
Director
The Fighting Heart
(1925)
Director
Kentucky Pride
(1925)
Director
Lightnin'
(1925)
Director
Thank You
(1925)
Director
The Blue Eagle
(1926)
Director
3 Bad Men
(1926)
Director
The Shamrock Handicap
(1926)
Director
Upstream
(1927)
Director
Mother Machree
(1927)
Director
Four Sons
(1928)
Director
Napoleon's Barber
(1928)
Director
Riley the Cop
(1928)
Director
Hangman's House
(1928)
Director
Salute
(1929)
Director
The Black Watch
(1929)
Director
Strong Boy
(1929)
Director
Born Reckless
(1930)
Director
Up the River
(1930)
Director
Men Without Women
(1930)
Director
Arrowsmith
(1931)
Director
The Brat
(1931)
Director
Seas Beneath
(1931)
Director
Flesh
(1932)
Director
Air Mail
(1932)
Director
Pilgrimage
(1933)
Director
Doctor Bull
(1933)
Director
The World Moves On
(1934)
Director
The Lost Patrol
(1934)
Director
Judge Priest
(1934)
Director
Steamboat Round the Bend
(1935)
Director
The Whole Town's Talking
(1935)
Director
The Informer
(1935)
Director
The Plough and the Stars
(1936)
Director
The Prisoner of Shark Island
(1936)
Director
Mary of Scotland
(1936)
Director
The Hurricane
(1937)
Director
Wee Willie Winkie
(1937)
Director
Submarine Patrol
(1938)
Director
Four Men and a Prayer
(1938)
Director
Drums Along the Mohawk
(1939)
Director
Young Mr. Lincoln
(1939)
Director
Stagecoach
(1939)
Director
The Long Voyage Home
(1940)
Director
The Grapes of Wrath
(1940)
Director
Women in Defense
(1941)
Director
Tobacco Road
(1941)
Director
How Green Was My Valley
(1941)
Director
Torpedo Squadron
(1942)
Director
Sex Hygiene
(1942)
Director
The Battle of Midway
(1942)
Director
Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines
(1943)
Director
December 7th
(1943)
Director
At the Front in North Africa with the U.S. Army
(1943)
Director
In Memoriam Manuel Quezon
(1944)
Director
They Were Expendable
(1945)
Director
It's Your America
(1946)
Director
My Darling Clementine
(1946)
Director
The Fugitive
(1947)
Director
Fort Apache
(1948)
Director
3 Godfathers
(1948)
Director
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
(1949)
Director
When Willie Comes Marching Home
(1950)
Director
Wagon Master
(1950)
Director
Rio Grande
(1950)
Director
This Is Korea!
(1951)
Director
What Price Glory
(1952)
Director
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Director
The Sun Shines Bright
(1953)
Director
Mogambo
(1953)
Director
Mister Roberts
(1955)
Director
The Long Gray Line
(1955)
Director
The Red, White and Blue Line
(1955)
Director
Rookie of the Year
(1955)
Director
The Searchers
(1956)
Director
The Rising of the Moon
(1957)
Director
The Wings of Eagles
(1957)
Director
The Growler Story
(1957)
Director
The Last Hurrah
(1958)
Director
Gideon's Day
(1958)
Director
Korea
(1959)
Director
The Horse Soldiers
(1959)
Director
The Colter Craven Story:
(1960)
Director
Sergeant Rutledge
(1960)
Director
Two Rode Together
(1961)
Director
Flashing Spikes
(1962)
Director
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Director
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(1962)
Director
Donovan's Reef
(1963)
Director
Cheyenne Autumn
(1964)
Director
Young Cassidy
(1965)
Co-Director
7 Women
(1966)
Director
Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend
(1976)
Director
Acting
Lucille Love: The Girl of Mystery
(1914)
A Study in Scarlet
(1914)
John H. Watson, M.D.
The Birth of a Nation
(1915)
Klansman
The Broken Coin
(1915)
Sacchio's Accomplice (as Jack Ford)
The Bandit's Wager
(1916)
The Purple Mask
(1916)
(unconfirmed)
The Trail of Hate
(1917)
Lt. Jack Brewer
The Scrapper
(1917)
Buck, the scrapper
The Tornado
(1917)
Jack Dayton (as Jack Ford)
Big Time
(1929)
John Ford (uncredited)
Show-Business at War
(1943)
Self
Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines
(1943)
J.P. Baldwin
The Screen Director
(1951)
Self (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
Ton Diagonismon Dia Thn Anadixin Tis Star Ellas
(1952)
Himself (Grand Ball Attendee)
The Horse Soldiers
(1959)
Ned
My Name Is John Ford, I Make Westerns
(1970)
Self
Directed by John Ford
(1971)
Self (uncredited)
The American West of John Ford
(1971)
Self
Omnibus: John Ford, Part One
(1992)
Self (archive footage)
Fonda on Fonda
(1992)
Self (archive footage)
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
(1992)
Self
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
(1995)
Self
National Geographic Explorer: The Battle For Midway
(1999)
Himself - Filmmaker (archive footage) (unaccredited)
Backstory: 'How Green Was My Valley'
(2000)
Self (archive footage)
Shooting War
(2000)
himself
Monument Valley: John Ford Country
(2006)
Self (voice) (archive footage)
Serenity at Sea: John Ford and the Araner
(2006)
Himself (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
The Size of Legends, The Soul of Myth
(2009)
Self (Archive)
John Ford & Monument Valley
(2013)
Self (archive footage)
Spanish Western
(2015)
Self (archive footage)
Five Came Back
(2017)
Self (archive footage)
John Ford: The Man Who Invented America
(2019)
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Filmmakers for the Prosecution
(2023)
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special
(2023)
Self (archive footage)
Writing
Cheyenne's Pal
(1917)
Story
The Tornado
(1917)
Writer
The Scrapper
(1917)
Writer
The Scarlet Drop
(1918)
Story
The Craving
(1918)
Writer
Hell Bent
(1918)
Story
Riders of Vengeance
(1919)
Screenplay
A Gun Fightin' Gentleman
(1919)
Story
The Gun Packer
(1919)
Story
The Big Punch
(1921)
Writer
Three Jumps Ahead
(1923)
Writer
Men Without Women
(1930)
Story
The Last Outlaw
(1936)
Story
The Battle of Midway
(1942)
Writer
Wagon Master
(1950)
Story
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Writer
Production
The Iron Horse
(1924)
Producer
The Blue Eagle
(1926)
Producer
The Shamrock Handicap
(1926)
Producer
3 Bad Men
(1926)
Producer
Mother Machree
(1927)
Producer
Four Sons
(1928)
Producer
Riley the Cop
(1928)
Producer
Hangman's House
(1928)
Producer
Salute
(1929)
Producer
Men Without Women
(1930)
Producer
Flesh
(1932)
Producer
The Lost Patrol
(1934)
Producer
The Informer
(1935)
Producer
The Whole Town's Talking
(1935)
Producer
Stagecoach
(1939)
Producer
The Long Voyage Home
(1940)
Producer
Women in Defense
(1941)
Producer
The Battle of Midway
(1942)
Producer
December 7th
(1943)
Producer
They Were Expendable
(1945)
Producer
Nazi Concentration Camps
(1945)
Producer
The Fugitive
(1947)
Producer
Fort Apache
(1948)
Executive Producer
3 Godfathers
(1948)
Producer
Mighty Joe Young
(1949)
Executive Producer
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
(1949)
Executive Producer
Wagon Master
(1950)
Executive Producer
Rio Grande
(1950)
Producer
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Producer
The Sun Shines Bright
(1953)
Producer
The Last Hurrah
(1958)
Producer
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(1962)
Producer
Donovan's Reef
(1963)
Producer
Cheyenne Autumn
(1964)
Producer
7 Women
(1966)
Producer
Vietnam! Vietnam!
(1971)
Executive Producer
Camera
Editing
Crew