Francis Ford Movies
Mainly remembered for offering younger brother John Ford his first opportunities in the movie business, Francis Ford (born Feeney) was a touring company actor before entering films with Thomas Edison in 1907. In the early 1910s, he served a tumultuous apprenticeship as a director/star for producer Thomas Ince -- who in typical Ince fashion presented many of Ford's accomplishments as his own -- before moving over to Carl Laemmle's Universal in 1913. A true auteur, Ford would direct, write, and star in his own Westerns and serials, often opposite Grace Cunard, the studio's top action heroine. Contrary to popular belief they never married, but their onscreen partnership resulted in such popular action serials as Lucille Love -- Girl of Mystery (1914), The Broken Coin (1915), and The Adventures of Peg o' the Ring (1916). Both Ford's and Cunard's careers declined in the 1920s, with Ford directing mostly poverty row productions. He kept working in films as a supporting actor through the early '50s, mainly due to the influence of John, who often made Francis Ford and Victor McLaglen supply the corny Irish humor for which he exhibited a lifelong fondness. Francis Ford's son, Philip Ford, also became a director of Westerns, and also like his father, mainly of the poverty row variety. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1953
Director John Ford, notoriously difficult to please, regarded The Sun Shines Bright as his favorite film. Laurence Stalllings' screenplay is based on several short stories by Kentucky humorist Irvin S. Cobb, some of which had previously been cinematized in Ford's 1934 Will Rogers vehicle Judge Priest. Charles Winninger stars as Judge William Pittman Priest, whose down-home, common-sense approach to his job has endeared himself to most of the residents of his small Kentucky home town, while alienating many of the "better" people. Up for election, Judge Priest is challenged by a Yankee upstart who has most of the influential citizens in his pocket. Almost deliberately courting defeat, the doggedly honest Priest champions several unpopular causes. In the film's most memorable scene, the Judge arranges a fancy funeral procession for an impoverished town prostitute. The film retains much of the charm of its predecessor Judge Priest; unfortunately (at least by P.C. standards), The Sun Shines Bright also retains the most questionable aspect of the earlier film: the stereotyped routines of African-American comedian Stepin Fetchit. One hardly knows how to react to the sequence in which the supplicative Fetchit tries to hush up a defiant young black man who is in danger of being lynched (Ford plays this scene for laughs!) While Fetchit's participation will hardly endear the film to modern audiences, it is unfair to write off the rest of The Sun Shines Bright, which otherwise fully lives up to director Ford's affectionate assessment. Long available only in its 90 minute release version, the film has in recent years been restored to the 100-minute "director's cut." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Winninger, Arleen Whelan, (more)
- 1953
To fully appreciate the western comedy The Marshal's Daughter, one must be aware that its star, a zaftig, wide-eyed lass named Laurie Anders, was in 1953 a popular TV personality. A regular on The Ken Murray Show, Anders had risen to fame with the Southern-fried catchphrase "Ah love the wi-i-i-ide open spaces!" Striking while the iron was hot, the entrepreneurial Murray produced this inexpensive oater, which cast Anders as Laurie Dawson, the singing daughter of a U.S. marshal (Hoot Gibson). Teaming with her dad to capture outlaw Trigger Gans (Bob Duncan), Laurie briefly disguises herself as a masked bandit. Amidst much stock footage from earlier westerns and a plethora of lame jokes and dreadful puns, The Marshal's Daughter is a treat for trivia buffs, featuring such virile actors as Preston S. Foster, Johnny Mack Brown, Jimmy Wakely and Buddy Baer as "themselves." Ken Murray himself makes a supporting appearance as a leering frontier wiseacre named "Sliding Bill Murray." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurie Anders, Hoot Gibson, (more)
- 1953
Excluding a brace of 1980s TV-movie appearances, It Happens Every Thursday was the final feature film appearance of Loretta Young. As radiantly beautiful at 40 as she'd been as a teen-aged ingenue, Young plays Jane McAvoy, the pregnant wife of big-city newspaper reporter Bob McAvoy (John Forsythe). Tired of the urban rat race, Bob moves to a small California town and assumes ownership of a just-getting-by weekly paper. It's a hand-to-mouth existence for the first few editions, and the situation isn't remedied by the cloistered, resentful behavior of the local citizenry. The outcome of the plot hinges on a publicity stunt engineered by Bob: an attempt to artificially create rain for the drought-ridden community. The well-chosen supporting cast of It Happens Every Thursday includes Edgar Buchanan, Jimmy Conlin, Willard Waterman, and in her last film, Gladys George. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, John Forsythe, (more)
Returning to the Ireland of his birth, director John Ford fashions a irresistable valentine to the "Auld Sod" in The Quiet Man. Irish-American boxer John Wayne, recovering from the trauma of having accidentally killed a man in the ring, arrives in the Irish village where he was born. Hoping to bury his past and settle down to a life of tranquility, Wayne has purchased the home of his birth from wealthy local widow Mildred Natwick, a transaction that has incurred the wrath of pugnacious squire Victor McLaglen, who coveted the property for himself. By and by, Wayne falls in love with McLaglen's beautiful, high-spirited sister Maureen O'Hara. Her insistence that Wayne conduct his courtship in a proper Irish manner-with puckish matchmaker Barry Fitzgerald along for the ride as "chaperone"--is but one obstacle to their future happiness: the other is McLaglen, who spitefully refuses to give his consent to his sister's marriage, or to honor the tradition of paying a dowry to Wayne. Wayne could care less about dowries, but the tradition-bound Maureen refuses to consummate her marriage until McLaglen pays up. Under any other circumstances, Wayne would have punched out the bullying McLaglen long ago, but ever since his tragedy in the ring he has been reluctant to fight. Local priest Ward Bond conspires with several locals to trick McLaglen into paying his due. They intimate that widow Natwick, for whom McLaglen carries a torch, will marry the old brute if he'll give his consent to the marriage and fork over the dowry. But McLaglen finds he's been tricked and the situation remains at a standoff, with the frustrated Wayne locked out of his wife's bedroom. When Maureen accuses him of being a coward and walks out on him, our hero can stand no more. He marches Maureen to McLaglen's home, indicating that he plans to whale the tar out of both brother and sister. As a huge and appreciative crowd gathers the cornered McLaglen truculently tosses the money in Wayne's direction. Big John hands the bills to Maureen, just as she knew he would, and she ceremoniously destroys the money, just as he knew je would. Having proven their love for each other, there is nothing left for Wayne and Maureen to do but head home and perform their nuptual duties. But first there's the matter of giving McLaglen the thrashing he deserves....and it is this spectacular donnybrook, which covers several acres of land and at least two "pit stops" so that the combatants can quench their thirst, which convinces Natwick that the defeated McLaglen is truly worthy of her love (her logic is on a par with everyone else's in the film!) Though it tends to perpetuate the myth that all true Irishmen live only to fight, drink and make love, The Quiet Man is grand and glorious fun, enacted with gusto by a largely Hibernian cast and directed with loving care by a master of his craft. Written by Frank Nugent and graced with a lilting musical score by Victor Young, the film won Oscars for Archie Stout's Technicolor photography and for John Ford's direction-a real coup for "poverty row" Republic Pictures. If you haven't already luxuriated in this wonderful film, be sure to catch in on the tube next St. Patrick's Day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
- 1952
In his second and last Western for Republic Pictures, former bandleader Vaughn Monroe plays a marshal returning to Tombstone with a wanted gun-runner (Victor Jory) when he stumbles upon a woman (Joan Leslie) and a couple of children, apparently the only survivors of an Indian raid on a wagon train. The woman's cowardly husband, a telegrapher (Harry Morgan), had managed to escape and is now helping the gun-runner's siblings (Ian MacDonald and Lee MacGregor) to both free their brother and attack a valuable shipment of silver. When Monroe comes gunning for the bandits, he learns that the supposedly dead husband of the woman he has grown to love is still alive. There is a final shootout and the marshal comes face-to-face with his rival, now a murderer. Learning that her husband is to be tried in Prescott, Leslie loyally leaves to be with him despite the fact that she has fallen in love with Monroe. But, as Monroe's young daughter (Diana Christian) predicts, "she'll be back." In between the action, Monroe finds time to perform "Hound Dog," "Bay at the Moon," "A Man's Best Friend is His Horse," and the ballad "The Man Don't Live Who Can't Die Alone." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vaughn Monroe, Joan Leslie, (more)
- 1952
The Lawless Breed is based on the exploits of Texas bad man John Wesley Hardin, played here quite convincingly by Rock Hudson. The film takes the Cecil B. DeMille approach of condemning evil by showing as much evil as the censor will allow. After nearly an hour of unrepentant perfidy, Hardin settles down to marry good woman Julie Adams. In middle age, he determines to steer his son clear of outlawry, resulting in a sentimental but non-maudlin finale. Directed by Raoul Walsh, who had given Rock Hudson his first screen role in Fighter Squadron, Lawless Breed was reportedly instrumental in landing Hudson as starring role in George Stevens' Giant (1956). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Julie Adams, (more)
- 1950
Gene Autry takes a page out of Lady for a Day in this television western initially released on September 17, 1950. Having majored in animal husbandry, Easterner Mary Darrow (Wendy Waldron) is ready to take command of her father's ranch. But unbeknownst to Mary -- or so everyone assumes -- old Whopper Darrow (Francis Ford) is a down-and-out ex-con and "his" ranch actually belongs to Gene Autry. Gene plays along with the charade in his usual good-humored manner, until, that is, Whopper finds himself in trouble with the Bolton gang, who not only robbed the local bank but is now blackmailing the old geezer for the combination to Autry's safe. Gene sings his own "Pretty Mary" in this 30 minutes television series entry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1950
In this comedy, a local citizen, miffed by the mayor's new milk tax, buys his own cow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wagon Master, splendidly directed by John Ford, is a superlative western. The film is the outwardly simple tale of a Mormon wagon train headed for Utah. Along the way, the group, led by Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) hook up with two horse traders Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey Jr), the members of a traveling medicine show and a tribe of Navajo Indians. The group is threatened by a gang, known as the Clegg family, who have robbed an express office and murdered the clerk. This wonderful film emphasizes the virtues of solidarity, sacrifice and tolerance, and shows John Ford at his most masterful, in total control of the production from the casting to the bit players to the grandeur and scope of the visual compositions. The film, with its breathtaking scenery, brilliant performances by a cast of character actors, and an engaging sense of humor, is a superlative example of the American western. Wagonmaster inspired the television series Wagon Train and was also shown in a computer-colorized version ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr., (more)
- 1949
Republic singing cowboy Monte Hale headlines San Antone Ambush. It's the usual melange of fast action, black-hearted villains and blazing guns, expertly assembled by veteran western helmsman Philip Ford. Hale plays an Army officer who investigates the robbery charges levelled against rancher Clint Wheeler (James B. Cardwell). The crimes are actually the handiwork of crooked federal commissioner Roberts (who else but Roy Barcroft). Evidently Hale was trying to shed his musical image, since he doesn't sing at all in the film's 60 minutes. Director Ford's father Francis Ford (brother of John) shows up in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
In Frontier Investigator, Allan "Rocky" Lane plays the title character, spending the bulk of the picture searching for the man who killed his brother. The fact that Lane was central to the plotline was an oddity, since in most of his Republic starrers he usually functioned as last-minute problem solver, with the plot intricacies handled by the supporting cast. Lane's co-stars in Frontier Investigator include two actors who'd go on to even greater fame on television. The heroine is Gail Davis, TV's Annie Oakley, while Davis' boyfriend is portrayed by Clayton Moore, the future Lone Ranger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Roy Barcroft, (more)
The second of John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is the only one of the three to be lensed in Technicolor. In an Oscar-calibre performance, 42-year old John Wayne plays sixtyish Cavalry Captain Nathan Brittles. In his last days before his compulsory retirement, Brittles must face the possibility of a full-scale attack from the Arapahos, fomented by the recent defeat of Custer and by double-dealing Indian agents. After a series of minor victories and major frustrations, Brittles decides to ride into the Arapaho camp, there to smoke a pipe of peace with his old friend, Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree). Before he leaves, he is presented with his retirement present by his troops: a pocket watch, with the inscription "Lest We Forget"(Wayne's playing of this scene, barely holding back tears as he adjusts his spectacles to read the inscription, is one of his finest moments on film). Brittles is able to forestall an Indian attack, just in time for his official retirement. The film really ends here, but there are two more potential climaxes before the words THE END dissolve into view. The patchiness of the Frank Nugent/Lawrence Stallings screenplay (attributal to the fact that it is adapted from two different short stories) prevents She Wore a Yellow Ribbon from reaching the same lofty heights as the Ford/Wayne collaborations Fort Apache (1947) and Rio Grande (1949). The gratuitous offscreen narration of Irving Pichel is also rather distracting. Even so, Wayne's flawless performance, coupled with the supporting contributions of Ford's stock company (John Agar, Harry Carey Jr., Victor McLaglen et al) and the Academy Award-winning photography by Winston C. Hoch, automatically elevates She Wore a Yellow Ribbon to classic status. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Joanne Dru, (more)
- 1948
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' starts off on a tense note as a struggling man is led through the streets of a western town, presumably headed for his own execution. Within a few minutes, however, we discover that the "victim" is a reluctant trainee for an upcoming foot-race between the feuding towns of Rim Rock and Big Bend. With an appalling lack of local talent in Rim Rock, it looks as though Big Bend is once again going to win the annual event. Into this melancholy situation walks travelling salesman Wilbur McMurtry (Donald O'Connor). When he proves to be very light on his feet, Wilbur is kidnapped by the townsfolk and ordered to run on behalf of Rim Rock -- with the understanding that if he loses, he really loses. Musical highlights include Donald O'Connor's duet with Penny Edwards (a western ingenue who seldom got a chance to demonstrate her dancing skills), a vocal contribution by the Sportsman Quartet of Jack Benny Show fame, and the byplay between Rimrock mayor Maribel Mathews and stableman Billy Caswell, played by Ma and Pa Kettle co-stars Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Marjorie Main, (more)
- 1948
Few Roy Rogers westerns were as gratuitously violent as the 1948 release Eyes of Texas. This time, Rogers' principal antagonist is a woman lawyer named Hattie Waters (Nana Bryant). With a battalion of homicidal henchmen at her beck and call, Hattie attempts to grab up all the valuable ranch property in the territory by scaring off -- or killing off -- her competition. Hero Rogers doesn't buy the official party line that the killings have been perpetrated by wolves, especially after he befriends and tames one of the huge beasts, so he divides his time between singing his usual quota of songs and bringing the baddies to justice. So convincing was Nana Bryant's performance as the despicable Hattie Waters, that the actress' daughter-in-law stubbornly refused to watch Eyes of Texas whenever it popped up on TV in later years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Lynne Roberts, (more)
- 1948
In this western, an amiable cowpoke rides into town to help the daughter of a stagecoach operator whose business is being destroyed by a wicked banker and his crooks. Naturally, the villains object to the hero's actions and frame him, but not before they jail him and beat him senseless. Fortunately, the tough saddle-tramp quickly recovers and brings the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Lynne Roberts, (more)
The first of John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", Fort Apache stars John Wayne as captain Kirby York and Henry Fonda as Custer clone Lt. Col. Owen Thursday. Resentful of his loss in rank and transfer to the West after serving gallantly in the Civil War, the vainglorious Thursday insists upon imposing rigid authority on rough-and-tumble Fort Apache. He is particularly anxious to do battle with the local Indians, despite York's admonitions that the trouble around the fort is being fomented not by the so-called savages but by corrupt white Indian agents. Thursday nonetheless ends up in a climactic set-to with Indian chief Cochise. He and his men are needlessly slaughtered, but the Eastern press builds "Thursday's Charge" into an incident of conspicuous valor--and York, ever loyal to the cavalry, is not about to tell the whole truth. The bare bones of Fort Apache's plotline are fleshed out with several subplots, including the romance between Thursday's daughter Philadelphia (Shirley Temple) and Lt. Mickey O'Rourke (John Agar), the son of Fort Apache veteran Sgt. Michael O'Rourke (Ward Bond). There's also plenty of time for the expected drunken-brawl humor of Victor McLaglen. Not in the least politically correct, Fort Apache is a classic of its kind, and together with Rio Grande (1950) the best of the John Ford/John Wayne Cavalry films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1948
Roy Rogers stars in the full-color Republic "special" The Far Frontier. This time, Roy deals with a plot to smuggle fugitive criminals into the U.S. Old reliable heavy Roy Barcroft plays Bart Carroll, the head bad guy, who'll mow down anyone--friend and foe alike--to avoid capture. Rogers has a score to settle with Carroll, who previously framed Roy's pal on a bank-robbery charge. Gail Davis, TV's Annie Oakley, plays Rogers' romantic interest, while "Lone Ranger" Clayton Moore appears sans mask. Old reliables Trigger, Andy Devine, and Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage round out the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Gail Davis, (more)
- 1948
Hero Rod Cameron kills Sheriff Sam Borden (George Cleveland) at point-blank range and in front of several witnesses in the opening of this Republic Pictures Western, released in the company's patented Trucolor system. The "killing," however, is merely a ruse set up to allow army agent Johnny Drum (Cameron) to infiltrate a gang of highway robbers. The gang is led by Whit Lacey (Forrest Tucker), and although Johnny is determined to bring Whit and his men to justice, he cannot help befriending the charming rascal. It all comes to a head when the Sioux attack the local fort and both Johnny and Whit prove that they at least have something in common -- bravery and loyalty. Ilona Massey, as Cameron's love interest, performs "Walking Down Broadway," by William H. Lingard and Charles E. Pratt, and "I'll Sing a Love Song," with lyrics by Jack Elliott and Aaron Gonzales. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Cameron, Ilona Massey, (more)
John Ford had already directed one of the three previous film versions of Peter Kyne's novel under the title Marked Men (1919) with his mentor Harry Carey, a great cowboy star of the silent era who had recently died. It's not difficult to see how the story's sentimentality and Christian symbolism might have appealed to the director's sensibility. John Wayne stars as Bob Hightower, the leader of a trio of thieves who rob a bank in Arizona and take off with the posse of Sheriff Buck Sweet (Ward Bond) in close pursuit. Although they need to stop to water their horses and care for the wounds of Abilene (Harry Carey Jr.), their accurate suspicion that the sheriff is laying an ambush for them at the Mohave water tank leads the gang toward the more distant Terrapin tanks. However, en route, they're waylaid by a terrible sandstorm which scatters their horses. Forced to go on foot, they come upon a lone woman (Mildred Natwick) in a covered wagon who is about to give birth. She dies in childbirth, but not before extracting a promise from the three to take care of her child. Under a blistering sun, they head for New Jerusalem. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Harry Carey, Jr., (more)
- 1947
Back to his standard Rocky Lane characterization after a brief series of "Red Ryder" westerns, Allan Lane stars in Republic's Bandits of Dark Canyon. In this outing, Lane takes it upon himself to clear ex-convict Ed Archer (Bob Steele) of a trumped-up murder charge. Making things easier is the fact that the "dead" man is actually very much alive, the better to help one of Archer's false friends stage a big gold heist. It's no surprise that Roy Barcroft plays one of the villains: it is a bit surprising to see John Hamilton, best known to fans of the Superman TV series as editor Perry White, participating in the skullduggery. Featured in the cast is veteran western actor Francis Ford, the father of director Philip Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Bob Steele, (more)
- 1947
In this mystery, set within the newspaper industry, a detective is hired to protect the editor who believes that someone is out to kill him. The editor is the real villain having killed the publisher, the publisher's detective, and a friend so that he could grab the reigns of the company. The detective was hired to cast suspicion elsewhere. It backfires when the private eye finds out the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Tracy, Don Castle, (more)
- 1947
Allan Dwan directs the family-oriented drama Driftwood, starring nine-year-old Natalie Wood. Orphan Jenny Hollingsworth (Wood) is found in a rural small town in Nevada that is ravaged by Rocky Mountain fever. She meets the local doctor, Steve Webster (Dean Jagger), who is working on a research project. Steve plans on leaving the girl with his girlfriend, Susan Moore (Ruth Warrick), while he goes to San Francisco to do research. However, enny's dog attacks a little boy and gets taken away by Sheriff Bolton (James Bell). Jenny develops Rocky Mountain fever from the dog and gets deathly ill. Also starring Walter Brennan as Murph, Charlotte Greenwood as Mathilda, and Jerome Cowan as Mayor Snyder. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Brennan, James Bell, (more)
- 1946
Accomplice was the "pilot" for a proposed PRC series based on Frank Gruber's short-tempered detective hero Simon Lash. Commendably, Richard Arlen plays Lash as written-brusque, nasty, antisocial. The plot gets under way when socialite Joyce Bonniwell (Veda Ann Borg) hires Lash to located her missing husband Jim (Edward Earle). The fact that Joyce is Lash's former sweetheart heightens the detective's interest in the case-so much so that, for most of the film's running time, he doesn't realize that he's being set up by a pair of extremely clever con artists. Four murders later, however, Lash ties up all the loose ends and turns the crooks over to the authorities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Veda Ann Borg, (more)
One of the greatest movie Westerns, John Ford's My Darling Clementine is hardly the most accurate film version of the Wyatt Earp legend, but it is still one of the most entertaining. Henry Fonda stars as former lawman Wyatt Earp, who, after cleaning up Dodge City, arrives in the outskirts of Tombstone with his brothers Morgan (Ward Bond), Virgil (Tim Holt), and James (Don Garner), planning to sell their cattle and settle down as gentlemen farmers. Yet Wyatt, disgusted by crime and cattle rustling, eventually agrees to take the marshalling job until he can gather enough evidence to bring to justice the scurrilous Clanton clan, headed by smooth-talking but shifty-eyed Old Man Clanton (Walter Brennan). Almost immediately, Wyatt runs afoul of consumptive, self-hating gambling boss Doc Holliday (Victor Mature, in perhaps his best performance). When Doc's erstwhile sweetheart, Clementine (Cathy Downs) comes to town, Earp is immediately smitten. However, Doc himself is now involved with saloon gal Chihauhua (Linda Darnell). The tensions among Wyatt, Doc, Clementine, and Chihauhua wax and wane throughout most of the film, leading to the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral, with Wyatt and Doc fighting side-by-side against the despicable Clantons. Its powerful storyline and full-blooded characterizations aside, My Darling Clementine is most entertaining during those little "humanizing" moments common to Ford's films, notably Wyatt's impromptu "balancing act" while seated on the porch of the Tombstone hotel, and Wyatt's and Clementine's dance on the occasion of the town's church-raising. Based on Stuart N. Lake's novel Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall (previously filmed twice by Fox), the screenplay is full of wonderful dialogue, the best of which is the brief, philosophical exchange about women between Earp and Mac the bartender (J. Farrell MacDonald). The movie also features crisp, evocative black-and-white photography by Joseph MacDonald. Producer (Daryl F. Zanuck) was displeased with Ford's original cut and the film went through several re-shoots and re-edits before its general release in November of 1946. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, (more)
- 1946
In this adventure, a young woman travels across Europe in search of her brother who was listed as missing in action during WW II. He had earlier told her that should he ever disappear, he could be found on a certain tiny island. She and her brother's girl friend head off and meet a strange old man. Though his boat is 300 miles from the nearest sea, she asks him to take her to this strange "dream" island. Suddenly a violent storm comes up and the land is flooded. The little boat is flushed out to sea. The hapless drifters end up saved by the Coast Guard who returns them to the brother who has at long last returned. Songs include: "Give Me the Simple Life," "I Wish I Could Tell You," "Into the Sun" (Harry Ruby, Rube Bloom), and "Who Knows?" (Don Raye, Gene De Paul). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, June Haver, (more)
