Turner Classic Movies Honors Legendary American Director John Ford With Two-Day Ford at Fox Prime-Time Festival

Turner Classic Movies Honors Legendary American Director John Ford With Two-Day Ford at Fox Prime-Time Festival

Dec. 10-11 Festival Features Nine Classic Ford Films, Eight Being Presented for the First Time on TCM

TCM Tribute to Ford Presented in Conjunction with Ford at Fox DVD Box Set, Arriving in Stores Dec. 4 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

ATLANTA, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- No list of the greatest American filmmakers of all time would be complete without the name of legendary director John Ford, who in many minds would actually top such a list. In December, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay tribute to Ford with a two-day festival of nine of his films from Twentieth Century Fox, eight of which are being presented on TCM for the very first time. The Dec. 10-11 festival is being presented in conjunction with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's Dec. 4 release of a new Ford at Fox DVD box set, featuring movies the director made while working at that studio. As with all films on TCM, the Ford films will be presented uncut and commercial free.

Headlining TCM's tribute to Ford are such rarely seen gems as The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) and Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), as well as the Best Picture Oscar(R)-winner How Green Was My Valley (1941). Other movies making their first appearance on TCM are Up the River (1931), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Pilgrimage (1933), Four Men and a Prayer (1938) and When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950). The festival also features the classic 1946 story about the gunfight at the OK Corral, My Darling Clementine (1946). A complete schedule of TCM's tribute to John Ford is attached.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's Ford at Fox DVD set celebrates the legacy of the collected works of John Ford and their part in the studio's heritage and pedigree. The box set features 24 films, as well as the new documentary Becoming John Ford by Academy Award(R)-nominated documentary maker and Ford historian Nick Redman. The beautifully packaged collection also features an exclusive hard-cover book which includes rare, unpublished photographs from Ford's career, lobby card reproductions, production stills and an in-depth look at this maverick's work. The premiere Ford at Fox DVD collection will be available for a suggested retail price of $299.98. Three mini-collections will also be available including The Essential John Ford, John Ford's American Comedies and John Ford's Silent Epics, all for a suggested retail price of $49.98. Single discs of selected films from the collection will be available for $19.98.

John Ford grew up with the American cinema. In the early days of filmmaking, his older brother Francis moved to Hollywood to work for Universal Pictures, and Ford joined him in 1914, forging his apprenticeship as a moviemaker during the formative period of the classical Hollywood cinema. By 1917, he had been promoted to contract director, fashioning westerns which often starred Harry Carey Sr. Ford moved to Twentieth Century Fox in 1921 and established his reputation with such films as the western spectacular The Iron Horse (1924). In his silent films, Ford composed images with a formality and a symmetry that valued order. Even at this stage, he had acquired the mantle of a Hollywood master.

Although best known for his westerns, such as the landmark Stagecoach (1939), Ford worked in many other genres through his long career. Early in the 1930s, he led Fox's top comedy star, Will Rogers, through Doctor Bull (1933), Judge Priest (1934) and Steamboat 'Round the Bend (1935). Ford also set a number of his films in his parents' native Ireland. The Informer (1935), a drama of the Irish rebellion, won him the first of four Academy Awards for his direction. He later revisited the Irish landscape with The Quiet Man (1952). Ford also dealt with American history in The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) and The Grapes of Wrath (1940).

After WWII Ford created some of the best westerns ever to come out of Hollywood, including Wagonmaster (1950), The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). This period also brought to fruition Ford's Cavalry Trilogy, featuring the films Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950). Ford made it a point to shoot many of his westerns in Monument Valley, with its mammoth buttes and extraordinary vistas.

Ford's final two films were Cheyenne Autumn (1964) and Seven Women (1965). He died of cancer in 1973 at the age of 78. When asked in an interview which American directors appealed to him most, famed director Orson Welles replied, "The old masters ... By which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford."

Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 75 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. TCM presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the 1920s through the 1990s, commercial-free and without interruption. The network also offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, including the Emmy-winning Stardust: The Bette Davis Story, Emmy-nominated Brando and Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool. Please visit tcm.com for more information.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

                       Turner Classic Movies Presents                            Ford at Fox Schedule    Monday, Dec. 10   8 p.m.     Up the River (1931) - This rare John Ford comedy stars Spencer              Tracy (in his film debut) and Warren Hymer as convicts trying              to help fellow inmate Humphrey Bogart hook up with Claire Luce.   9:45 p.m.  The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) - Warner Baxter plays the              famed Dr. Samuel Mudd, who innocently treated John Wilkes Booth              after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  This outstanding              drama features one of the most memorable depictions of              Lincoln's assassination ever put on film.   11:30 p.m. Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) - This beautiful Technicolor              production stars Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda in a story              about courageous settlers in upstate New York.   1:30 a.m.  Pilgrimage (1933) - One of John Ford's more unusual films, this              one tells the story of a woman who breaks up her son's romance              by sending him off to fight in World War I, only to regret her              actions later.  Henrietta Crosman stars.   3:15 a.m.  Four Men and a Prayer (1938) - Four brothers join forces to              unravel the mystery behind the father's murder.  George              Sanders, David Niven and Loretta Young star.    Tuesday, Dec. 11   8 p.m.     How Green Was My Valley (1941) - This moving drama about Welsh              coal miners earned Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best              Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), Best Screenplay and Best Art              Direction.  In addition to Crisp, it stars Walter Pidgeon,              Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee and Roddy McDowall.   10:15 p.m. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) - Henry Fonda takes the title role in              this sterling drama about Lincoln's struggling early days as a              lawyer.  Alice Brady co-stars.   Midnight   My Darling Clementine (1946) - Henry Fonda headlines this              exceptional depiction of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and              the events leading up to it.  Linda Darnell, Victor Mature and              Walter Brennan co-star, with Joseph P. MacDonald providing the              beautiful cinematography.   1:45 a.m.  When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950) - Dan Dailey stars as a              young soldier during World War II in this memorable piece of              Americana co-starring Corinne Calvert and Colleen Townsend.  

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Profile: International Entertainment