"When the legend becomes the truth, print the legend" is a famous line from the 1962 movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. This line applies to many great Maine people, who have been important in history, politics, and the arts. This line is particularly appropriate in describing another great Maine legend, film director John Ford.
When you think of great movies, perhaps you think of directors like Spielberg or Lucas. But director John Ford was one of the first...one of the greatest. He had his own style, developed at a relatively early age as he acted and starred in silent movies directed by his brother, Francis.
John Ford was born Sean Aloysius O'Ferna in Portland, Maine, on February 1, 1895, the youngest of eleven children. He spent his early age in the Cape Elizabeth area, then moved to Hollywood in 1913 to pursue his dream of a career in the movies. He was a stuntman and actor, before becoming an assistant director.
In the 1930's Ford directed several "B" westerns. It was during this time that Ford was responsible for discovering the talent of young John Wayne, who was also an unknown stuntman.
Wayne worked with Ford on many of the "B" westerns, before the two achieved success with Stagecoach and The Searchers. Other films the two men collaborated on spanned over three decades and included The Quiet Man and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. You cannot adequately talk about the life of one of these famous men, without including information on the other, as professionally their lives were interwoven.
Ford also served in the US Navy and in 1941 was the head of the new Navy Field Photographic Unit. He was on his way to Hawaii at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Much of the footage that is aired today, which is assumed to be actual combat footage, is, in fact, footage staged and filmed by Ford and his camera man in the days following the attack.
Ford later did documentaries for the Navy in both Korea and Vietnam. He retired from the Navy as a full Admiral.
Ford died in Palm Desert, California on August 31, 1973 at the age of 78. Though it has been many years, many decades, since Ford's movies were created, they are no less admired than in the days they were filmed-no les admired than the man responsible for their creation.
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