reviews -
Basically I find that Ford just keeps getting better as he goes along - I like his stuff starting from the late 40s on, the stories get deeper, the camera work is wonderfully stylized yet always very economical and efficient. Things I notice - he ALWAYS has a dance scene, look for the obligatory dance scene - the films are mainly character-driven - the stories almost always have plot developments that are unrealistic - things fit into place in the most convenient and dramatic way by remarkable coincidences - pure Hollywood fantasy -I like the whole Norman Rockwell/Hollywood small town sense of goofy decency- it's heartfelt and heartwarming. The theme is usually the conflict between collective duties and personal, family responsibilities - with lots of nostalgia and sentimentality.
Drums along the Mohawk (1939) - Michael Curtiz makes good epic-style films - the ones with Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland. They're quite good.
My Darling Clementine (1946) - Rip-snortin', rootin' tootin', archetypal romantic Hollywood western - good fun.
3 GodFathers (1948) - How unrealistic is 3 bankrobbers carrying a newborn baby across the Arizona desert? Plus it parallels the story of the three wise men and the nativity - if you can wrap your head around that, it's an excellent John Ford Hollywood fantasy fable.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) - This the second of the 'Cavalry' trilogy - my least favorite of the 3 - although wonderfully filmed and an interesting story- basically I feel that the acting isn't as strong - and the very specific historical references to the battle of Little Big Horn is too grim a backdrop for me to sympathize with the US Cavalry. There's a good review of it here -
http://girishshambu.com/blog/2009/05/john-ford-in-undercurrent.html
Rio Grande (1950) - The third 'Cavalry' film - I like it - I like Ben Johnson - good cast - probably the tightest editing of the three - You have to bemoan the simplistic 'White man good, red man bad' context in which native americans are portrayed - although there are sublte efforts at nuance - like the John Wayne character respects the Indians, for example - it's only around the mid-50s that the Indians start have more substantial, nuanced portrayals, with a little more awareness of historical evidence.
The Searchers ( 1956) - A great film, based on an excellent book - a textbook for handling drama economically with cinematic style - a great role for John Wayne, a complex, hard-boiled character ideally tailored to his strengths. It's fairly long (2 hours), with a lot of scenes, but it holds together remarkably well, there's a cohesiveness, a depth, and an edgy grittyness that makes it the classic that it is...
stuff -
This is my favorite squirrel - her name is Mame - not many people feed the squirrels in the parks I go to, so the squirrels are kind of wild and untamed - as the picture below demonstrates, Mame is a little more laidback and approachable.
more stuff -
It is with great pleasure that I pass on the news that Mr. Herbert Morton Stoops has been inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. It's about time! Mario Cooper as well, a very talented artist.
http://www.artknowledgenews.com/famed-cartoonist-arnold-roth-inducted-into-society-of-illustrators-hall-of-fame.html
