Released - August, 1952 

Directed By - John Ford

Starring – John Wayne (Sean Thornton), Maureen O’Hara (Mary Kate Danaher), Barry Fitzgerald (Michaleen Oge Flynn), Ward Bond (Father Peter Lonergan), Victor McLaglen (Squire ‘Red’ Will Danaher).

Description – Irish-American Sean Thornton travels from his home in Pittsburgh to Ireland to reclaim his family’s farm. Sean had just outbid bullying landowner ‘Red’ Will Danaher who had wanted the Thornton land which is adjacent to his.

While Sean and ‘Red’ don’t mix well, ‘Red’s’ beautiful sister Mary Kate has captured Sean’s eye and his heart. Will Danaher refuses to sanction a wedding between the two until tricked into believing that a rich widow wanted to marry him, but only if his sister was out of the house.

Will learns of the trick on his sisters wedding day and refuses to turn over her full dowry. While the dowry means little to Sean, it is very important to Mary Kate as it represents her identity, independence, and pride.

The lack of importance Sean places on the dowry causes Mary Kate to believe his is a coward for not standing up to her brother and she plans on forcing him to confront Will by threatening to leave him. However, there is more than meets the eye in Sean’s apparent lack of interest in the dowry; he is hiding a dark secret.

NOTABLE: This film won two Academy Awards; Best Director (John Ford), and Best Cinematography, Color. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Victor McLaglen), Best Writing, Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, and Best Sound, Recording.

This motion picture represented a change of pace for the duo of John Ford and John Wayne. Previously, the pair were noted for action pictures and westerns.

The Quiet Man was the only film to receive a Best Picture nomination for Republic Pictures, known for low-budget B-movies.

The Quiet Man (Collector’s Edition)

June, 1931 - In two short years, Clara Bow has gone from being voted America's most popular female star to being released from her contract with Paramount Pictures. Her scandal-ridden private life has ultimately led to a sad and sudden fall from grace. 

Clara's image as the "It Girl" (it, referring to sex appeal) was continually enhanced by her various and multiple off-screen romances with leading men such as Gilbert Roland, Gary Cooper, John Gilbert, John Wayne, Bela Lugosi, and Director Victor Fleming.

Add to these affairs the pay off of a doctor's wife for "alienation of affections," a large Lake Tahoe gambling debt, a court case involving a former secretary charged with embezzlement who testified to Clara's liking of booze, drugs, and gigolos and you have the recipe for career disaster thus causing Paramount to release her.

Tragically, as a result of her fragile emotional health and a case of shattered nerves, Clara Bow ended up spending some time in a sanatorium. After a period of recovery she made two films for the Fox Film Corporation. Although they were successful, she choose to retire from acting, married cowboy actor Rex Bell, and had two sons.

However, there was no happy ending for the “It Girl”. After a suicide attempt, and increasingly bizarre behavior she was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and again spent some time institutionalized. She lived the remaining years of her life modestly and under the care of a nurse.
 

Released – November, 1950 

Directed By - John Ford

Starring – John Wayne (Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke), Maureen O’Hara (Kathleen Yorke), Ben Johnson (Trooper Tyree), Claude Jarman, Jr. (Trooper Jeff Yorke), Harry Carey, Jr. (Trooper Daniel Boone), Victor McLaglen (Sgt. Maj. Quincannon).

Description - The Civil War has ended, and the Union soldiers have turned their attention toward the Apache’s.  Lt.Col. Kirby Yorke commands an outpost on the Rio Grande where new recruits are trained.  One recruit is his son Jeff Yorke who Yorke has not seen in fifteen years.

Surrounded by the constant threat from the Apache,  Kathleen Yorke wants to take their son and leave.  However, their son chooses to stay and fight along with his father.  Lt. Col. Yorke has an unorthodox plan to find and defeat the Apache, but the plan may lead to his court-martial.

NOTABLE: Considered a classic western, and the final chapter of Director John Ford’s cavalry trilogy.

Personal Comment:  Along with ‘Fort Apache’ and ‘She Wore A Yellow Ribbon,’ this trilogy comprised three of the most enjoyable classic western’s ever made.  See them in the order they were produced.

John Wayne-Rio Grande

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Released – November, 1940 

Directed By - John Ford

Starring - John Wayne (Ole Olson), Thomas Mitchell (Aloysius “Drisk” Driscoll), Ian Hunter (Smitty Smith), Barry Fitzgerald (Cocky), Wilfrid Lawson (Captain).

Description – Based on the novel by Eugene O’Neill the film tells the story of the crew aboard the English cargo ship SS Glencairn during World War II. The ship carries a cargo of high-explosives and is headed on the long voyage home from the West Indies, to Baltimore, and then to England.

The hopes, dreams, and cameraderie of the Merchant Marine seamen form the backround to an exciting account of a very perilous journey. After loading a cargo of dynamite in Baltimore and setting sail, they encounter rough seas that prove nerve-racking to the crew. In addition, there is the fear that one of them may be a German spy.

NOTABLE: This motion picture received six Academy Award nominations; Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Black and White, Best Special Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Writing, Screenplay, and Best Music, Original Score.

When asked by John Ford to play the part of Ole Olson, John Wayne was worried about his ability to speak with a Swedish accent. To help him with this, Wayne was instructed by Danish actress Ona Massen.

This was Eugene O’Neill’s favorite film. He was presented a copy of the film by John Ford, which he viewed so frequently that he wore out the print.

Included in the John Wayne – John Ford Film Collection

Personal Comment:  This is a teriffic must-see film worth viewing and then viewing again.

The Long Voyage Home

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October, 1930 - In 1930 director Raoul Walsh used fourteen cameramen and a 70-mm wide-screen filming process for the epic western The Big Trail. The films leading man, as suggested by John Ford, was a former prop star named Marion Michael Morrison. 

It was director Walsh that renamed this young aspiring actor John Wayne. For the next nine years John Wayne worked in a series of low-budget movies (mostly B westerns). It wasn't until 1939 and the movie Stagecoach that the 'Duke' returned to mainstream movies and becoming a Hollywood film legend.

The film The Big Trail proved to be financially unsuccessful. This was a result of being the first wide-screen release made during a time when movie theaters were unwilling to make the costly changeover to wide-screen due to the effects of the Great Depression.

However, in 2006 the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry deeming it to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".