Posted in 1956, John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond on April 9, 2018| 10 Comments »
Ward Bond
April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960
Here’s Ward Bond, John Wayne and Dorothy Jordan in John Ford’s The Searchers (1956), a great way to mark Bond’s birthday. This is one of the best written, directed and acted scenes you’ll ever see.
Not sure what I’ll watch in tribute to Bond tonight. There are so many great things.
Posted in John Ford on March 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday was Opening Day for Major League Baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers got the season off to a disappointing start with a loss to the San Francisco Giants. What a kingsize drag.
It’s a tradition here at 50 Westerns Of The 50s to commemorate baseball’s return with this glorious shot of John Ford in Monument Valley, sporting a Dodgers cap. Play ball!
Posted in 1956, John Ford, John Wayne on March 2, 2018| 5 Comments »
Came across this the other day: John Ford’s screen credit from The Searchers (1956) emblazoned across the front of a t-shirt.
This is a very, very cool thing. If this blog had a uniform, this might be it.
Posted in 1957, Allan Dwan, Burt Lancaster, Dimitri Tiomkin, John Ford, John Sturges, Kirk Douglas, Old Tucson, Paramount, Rhonda Fleming, The Real West on October 26, 2017| 42 Comments »
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place 136 years ago today — around 3 PM to be exact, as Wyatt Earp, his brothers and Doc Holliday took on a group of outlaws called the Cowboys.
Over the years, it’s spawned some terrific movies, from Allan Dwan’s Frontier Marshal (1939) to John Ford’s My Darling Clementine (1946) to John Sturges’ Gunfight At The O.K. Corral (1957, above) to Tombstone (1993).
Posted in John Ford on October 25, 2017| 1 Comment »
Here’s John Ford, Monument Valley and a Dodgers cap, wishing the Los Angeles Dodgers continued success in the World Series.
This is one of my favorite photos to have ever appeared on this blog, and I’m happy for the opportunity to post it again.
Posted in 1956, John Ford, John Wayne, Vera Miles on August 23, 2017| 6 Comments »
Vera June Miles
(Born August 23, 1929)
In a film filled with one incredible image after another, this is one of my favorites. So when I realized this was Vera Miles’ birthday, there was nothing else that would do. Of course that’s a frame from John Ford’s The Searchers (1956). Ford can somehow say more in a single frame than others can get in an entire feature.
Vera Miles appears in a few of the finest films ever made: The Searchers, Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) and Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Not a bad run, huh? (Wichita ain’t too shabby, either.)
Posted in 1950, John Ford, John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Republic Pictures on August 17, 2017| 2 Comments »
Maureen O’Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons)
(August 17, 1920 – October 24, 2015)
The great Maureen O’Hara was born 97 years ago today.
Here she is with John Wayne in John Ford’s Rio Grande (1950). They made it largely to get the chance to make The Quiet Man (1952), but they knocked out a masterpiece anyway. It doesn’t get near the recognition it deserves.
