John Ford Summary

Ford, John (1894-1973) Film director John Ford is a profoundly influential figure in American culture far beyond his own prolific, wide-ranging, and often impressive output in a 50-year plus cinema ca... Read more

John Sean O'Feeney Ford (ca. 1895-1973) was an American film director who, with other pioneers in the movie industry, transformed a rudimentary entertainment medium into a highly personalized and expr... Read more

Critical Essay by Louise Wallace Hackney [While] cinematic quality is one of the most important tests, if not the most important, that can be applied to a moving picture, the increasing filming of wel... Read more

Critical Essay by Lindsay Anderson Ford has always found his true image of reality in this world, not in the deliberately fashioned symbolism of a literary invention; his symbols arise naturally out o... Read more

Critical Essay by Gerald Cockshott Towards the end of 1947 in the second number of Sequence there appeared a study of some of the films of the Hollywood director John Ford. Although the author did not... Read more

Critical Essay by Ernest Callenbach "Liberty" Valance is a pathologically vicious, whip-wielding outlaw; the man whose reputation came from shooting him didn't do it; the reign of... Read more

Critical Essay by Otis Ferguson The picture that John Ford has made out of Liam O'Flaherty's "Informer" opens a lot of new possibilities for Hollywood, tackles something th... Read more

Critical Essay by John Baxter On all levels of Ford's work, Catholic dogma, philosophy and imagery play an important role. At the most basic, religious morality affects his choice of plots; spe... Read more

Critical Essay by John P. Frayne Ford's strength lay in the treatment of powerful, simple themes—the value of friendship, the loyalty to a cause, the virtues of honor, courage, fortitude... Read more

Critical Essay by Bosley Crowther The majesty of plain people and the beauty which shines in the souls of simple, honest folk are seldom made the topics of extensive discourse upon the screen. Human c... Read more

In the review below, De Jongh applauds Michael Boyd's 1995 staging of The Broken Heart at London's Barbican Theatre as "a spectacular but truthful performance, brimming with sardo... Read more

In the review below, Nightingale praises Michael Boyd's 1995 staging of The Broken Heart, arguing that the di-rector made a taut production out of a generally diffuse play. Many people know the... Read more

In the following essay, Waith examines the thematic device of struggling to remain calm on the part of the major characters in The Broken Heart as a key to understanding the play's dramatic str... Read more

In the following essay, Barish contends that Ford intentionally departed from his historical sources when creating the character of Perkin Warbeck in an effort to enhance dramatic interest in the prot... Read more

In the following essay, Muir maintains that despite the overt, sensational presence of aberrant sexual passion in Ford's major plays, the tragic events and outcomes of the dramas indicate the o... Read more

In the following prologue to Perkin Warbeck, first published in 1634, Ford states his reasons for attempting to revive the unfashionable history play genre. Studies have, of this nature, been of late,... Read more

In the following essay, Saintsbury contends that while Ford demonstrated some poetic genius in his plays, nevertheless his characters are artificial and his low-comedy scenes are humorless. John Ford,... Read more

In the following essay, Sensabaugh proposes that Ford can be viewed as a prophet of modern thought in that his dramas explore the nascent issues of scientific determinism and extreme individualism. I ... Read more

In the following essay, Anderson argues that Perkin Warbeck presents a lesson in kingship, where the character of Henry VII represents the ideal ruler. John Ford is not generally considered a politica... Read more

In the following essay, Stavig argues that Ford integrated a sophisticated satirical commentary on contemporary moral, ethical, and religious issues into the traditional moral design of 'Tis Pi... Read more

In the following essay, originally published in 1974, Rosen discusses 'Tis Pity She's a Whore within the context of Antonin Artaud's application of the tragedy to his theory of th... Read more

In the following essay, Atkinson asserts that the theme of moral knowledge serves to unite the seemingly disconnected Mother Sawyer and Frank Thorney plots in The Witch of Edmonton. A familiar view of... Read more

In the following essay, Nogami examines Ford's sophisticated use of dualities in The Lady's Trial to achieve unconventional dramatic effects. The assumption that John Ford, as a Renaissa... Read more

In the following essay, Langbaine provides a brief overview of Ford's dramatic works, singling out for censure Ford's treatment of incest in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore. A Gent... Read more

In the following essay, which was originally published in 1811, Lamb rhapsodizes about Ford's profound ability to dramatize tragic passion in The Broken Heart. I do not know where to find in an... Read more

In the following essay, originally published in 1845 and written as a fictional dialogue between the characters of Philip and John, Lowell acknowledges Ford as a talented playwright but not one of the... Read more

In the following essay, originally published in Essays and Studies in 1875, Swinburne recognizes Ford's distinctive dramatic style and characterizes him as a poet worth remembering. Whenever th... Read more