Today, in honor of the Oscars broadcast in late February, we are quoting Oscar-winning film directors, and we start with John Ford (1894-1973). Though he was known primarily for his westerns, none of the record four Oscars that Ford won came from films within that genre. And, only one of those films, "The Quiet Man" (1952) featured his frequnet collaborator John Wayne.
The other three films Ford Oscared for include "The Informer" (1935), "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) and "How Green Was My Valley" (1941).
Ironically, Ford did not win for his two most acclaimed films "Stagecoach" (1939) and "The Searchers" (1956). Many film historians also consider his film "How Green Was My Valley" which also won an Oscar for Best Picture to be the most dubious in Oscar history since "Citizen Kane" also came out in 1941. But, Orson Welles, who directed "Citizen Kane" considered Ford to be both a major influence and one of his favorite film directors.
We also highly recommend two BFI books by Ed Buscombe (full disclosure: he taught a class on westerns that I took at Hollins University in Roanoke, Va.) on "The Searchers" and "Stagecoach."
Here is Ford's quip:
"How did I get to Hollywood? By train?"
SIDEBAR: For some reason, both former American Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes and country singer Dolly Parton, who were both subjects of entries on this blog, are among are hot links this week!
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