John Ford: An Introduction

John Ford is a name many many people, especially cinephiles, are very familiar with, but to the general public, knowledge of him and his works are increasingly being relegated to the dustbin of history.  While part of this is due to the natural progression of time, some of it is also due to the prevailing attitudes of the era in which he lived, specifically in how race and gender were portrayed in early Hollywood films.  Ford himself was a bundle of contradictions, however, and while some of his films have aged poorly, he was in many ways more progressive and searching than many of his contemporaries.

John Martin Feeney was born on February 1, 1894, in Cape Elizabeth, a suburb of Portland, Maine.  The son of Irish immigrants, he was a first generation American, and throughout his career he displayed immense pride in his native United States and was likewise drawn to stories set in or concerning the land of his ancestors.  In fact, I believe this dualism is key to understanding many of Ford's cinematic tendencies, and indeed his life as a whole.  

As a person, John Ford could be curt and abrasive, yet incredibly caring.  There is a story I've heard in which someone who had previously worked for him was hard up for money.  Ford accosted him and mocked him publicly, then secretly made sure the person had a job with him for life and set him up with a weekly stipend.  His film sets always had the same people working on them, and they all shared close quarters -- the John Ford Stock Company.  He fostered a feeling of camaraderie and goodwill, yet he could be very abusive and dictatorial.  He could be both reactionary and, as previously mentioned, progressive for the times in his beliefs.  

Ford followed his brother Francis (who had taken the last name "Ford" in the interim) to Hollywood after graduating high school.  Francis was thirteen years older than John, and was at that point a big time film director.  Ford got jobs on Francis' sets as carpenter, stuntman, actor: any experience he could get.  By the end of the 1910s, however, Francis' successes had started to dry up, and John decided to try his hand at directing.

A quick note before we get into analyzing some of these movies.  John Ford directed about 60 silent films, of which all but maybe 10 or so are lost.  Therefore I will only be focusing on the ones I am able to have access to.  I don't feel it's right, nor even relevant, to comment on a piece of art that doesn't physically exist and that I can't experience.  So while it may seem that I may be giving Ford's formative years as a director short shrift, rest assured that this is not the case, and the the vagaries of time are ultimately victorious over even the greatest artistic masters.  And with that, let's begin!

John Ford in 1915.

It's been awhile!

Has it really been four and a half months since my last post?  I know it had been a hot minute since I last wrote something on this blog, but four and a half months surprised me!  I guess life sometimes gets in the way and you just have to roll with it!

It's funny, I got back into writing this blog (after a hiatus of about six years, so four and a half months doesn't seem quite as long) with the intention of writing, if not every day, then at least multiple times a week.  That lasted about a month, then I fell into a routine of reviewing ARCs, of which I posted two or three reviews a month.  

Since I was last active on this blog, I have gone through a move, downsizing from a four-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment.  As a result, a lot of my focus was spent on getting rid of a whole bunch of stuff (it's incredible how much stuff you collect over the years that are completely unnecessary) and generally keeping myself and my family sane throughout the chaos.  We've been in the new place for about two weeks now, and are still unboxing things and finding room for them.

I haven't stopped reading those ARCs; in fact there are five that I read in the interim.  Unfortunately, many of them are months in the past and are not as solid in my mind as I feel comfortable writing a whole review for.  They consist of the following:

"Unaccustomed To Grace" by Lesley Pratt Ballantyne:  This was a collection of short stories, many of which led in completely different directions than I was expecting.  There is humor, horror, and sadness in many of them.  Some really great title names, too.  Definitely worth a read.  8/10.

"Bedtime Stories For The Living: A Memoir" by Jay Armstrong:  The author is a former teacher who was diagnosed ten years ago with ataxia, a rare progressive brain disease that affects his balance, sight and speech.  He has written this book almost as bedtime stories for his children, outlining his views on life and subtly guiding and preparing their future selves for life in the future.  It's a heartfelt, wonderful book with a sense of humor about life.  A must-read.  10/10.

"Three Coins" by Kimberly Sullivan:  I did not expect much from this one, but it caught me in its charms and I was HOOKED!  Basically a retelling of sorts of the 1954 film "Three Coins in the Fountain" - which plays a big role in the plot of the book, natch - it grabbed me and never let go.  The interpersonal relationships and the way the three main characters interact and relate to each other are well sketched out, and I had a blast following them through Rome and figuring out which areas I'd been to.  If you've ever spent any amount of time in Italy, I think you'll enjoy the heck out of this one.  9/10.

"Living Rent Free In My Head: Essays On Pop Culture" by Dominique Davis:  This one for me was a bit hit and miss.  I agree with many of the things Davis touches upon, but some of her essays deal with subjects I'm not overly familiar with.  Perhaps it's a generational thing; when she focuses on BookTok and Twitter (which occupy absolutely zero space in my life), the essays don't resonate with me.  But when she talks about the cult of celebrity, reality TV, the lost art of "filler" episodes, and various more generalized essays on music, film and television, it's a delight to read.  Your mileage may vary.  6/10.

"Slanted And Disenchanted: A Novel" by Lisa Czarina Michaud:  The detail in this book is off the hook.  It's a will-they-won't-they quasi-romance between two bandmates, Carla and Pete, in the aftermath of 9/11.  Both characters are well written and have hidden depths of layer that they rarely reveal to anyone, even themselves.  The two seem perfect for each other, but like all people, traumas and past histories can get in the way.  Many musical references of the time abound, and this is another book that I could not put down.  The book ends somewhat abruptly, so I can only hope that Michaud has in mind a sequel.  Time will tell.  8/10.

So that's that taken care of.  But what's next for this blog?  Where do I go from here?  I doubt I'll be posting anything else for at least another two weeks or so, but after that I'm going to switch things up a bit.  I still have a whole bunch of ARCs to read, so I will be posting reviews from time to time on Goodreads.  I may link them here, or I may not, it depends.  But I've decided to review movies again!  Not just any movies, but ouvres. 

What, you say?  What do French eggs have to do with anything?  Ah, my friend ... the word oeuvre is indeed descended from an old French word, "ovre" ... which has nothing to do with chickens or yolks and everything to do with the word "work," which is what "ovre" meant.

You see, friends, I am a completionist.  If I like an artist, be they musician, writer, or filmmaker, I need to experience their entire portfolios.  Call it the OCD in me, but I feel incomplete if I don't experience it all - chronologically, of course!  I have all Charles Dickens' books, all of Edward Rutherfurd, all of Ruta Sepetys.  I own all the Beatles, all of Oasis, all of Led Zeppelin.  The same goes for filmmakers.  I own the complete filmographies of many of my favourite filmmakers (Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, Danny Boyle).  Trouble is, those directors are still active, so it would just feel weird to me to do a retrospective for these artists at the current time.

This is why I have decided to review the films of directors of yore.  There are so many to choose from, really.  I have most of Stanley Kubrick's films, but there are only about a dozen of them.  Ingmar Bergman, and Akira Kurosawa likewise, and they have a much greater number of films, but I'm not currently in the mood to rewatch any of them.  I have all of Elia Kazan's films but while his films are wonderful, he doesn't really have a definitive stamp per se.  I'd like to get to their filmographies in due course, just not at the moment.  Same goes with the filmmakers from the preceding paragraph who are still currently working.

That leaves two giants standing above the rest:  Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford.  They both started in silent films, and while many of those are lost to time (especially those of Ford), there are still plenty to go around.  And even though I own about 50 of each of them, there are still almost two dozen Fords and about 5 or 6 Hitchcock that I still need.  So it's a way to add to/complete my collection at the same time.

That being said, I have decided to start with John Ford because while most people know him as a director of Westerns, there is so much more to his films than that.  He did social dramas, historical films, travelogue-type adventures, and even a Shirley Temple musical.  I think it will be fun both to revisit classic films like "Stagecoach" or "The Searchers" and underrated gems like "The Prisoner of Shark Island," but also to discover new ones I haven't yet experienced.  

Assuming I watch (and review) one or two films a week, this should be a yearlong process.  And while I won't begin for another couple of weeks, I hope you'll join me on this journey through the films of John Ford. 

Book Review - Dingo & Sister by Nikky Lee

Dingo & Sister by Nikky Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this novella from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really quick read, clocking in at about 76 pages. I don't know whether it's post-apocalyptic, or just seems so as it's set in the Australian outback, but it packs a lot of character and mystery into its relatively few pages.

We follow Anika, a teenaged Aussie who seems to have a very strong, almost sisterly connection to a dingo who has become her travelling companion. Unfortunately, Anika is taken hostage by a trio led by a harsh woman named Rosa, and she must figure out a way to stay alive in the middle of the outback with little food or water, and bound up with rope to boot.

This is a horrible description of what in actuality is a gripping character study. The story is told as an internal monologue from Anika, so her point of view is necessarily the one we're privy to. Her past history and traumas, her thinking a few steps ahead and willingness to put herself in danger if need be ... all are accounted for and it's a great little psychological study.

Eight wicked wanderers out of ten.

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Book Review - The Devil's Trident by George P. Norris

The Devil's Trident by George P. Norris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

This book really surprised me, because it went off in a completely different direction than I think I expected. Based upon the cover, and upon reading the prologue, I had thought it would be a war novel. Based on the biography of the author, I thought maybe it could be a police procedural. As it turns out, it's a little bit of both, but more to the point, it's a really great character study from multiple points of view, and one in which I wasn't quite sure which way the story was going to go next.

Our protagonist, recently retired NYPD detective and former Navy SEAL Michael Keough, is a well written, fully fleshed out character with relatable issues; he represents the common man well although his work background is anything but. After a former co-worker is killed outside his door, Keough digs deeper with the help of the wonderfully named (and also brilliantly fleshed out) detective Rocco Locatelli and finds out that he was the target, and his friend was collateral damage. From there, the two race to find out who perpetrated the attack, and how it all ties in with the fact that many of his former comrades in the SEALs have been dying off at an alarming rate ...

George Norris knows how to write a propulsive story, and speeds you along through different times and time zones without ever losing you. The flow of the story is fantastic, and although it's a mid-sized book, I found myself speeding through it. The revelation midway through the story of a certain plot point / character was a wonderful stroke of genius that only enhanced my enjoyment of the novel.
My only qualm has to be with grammatical and spelling issues that abounded, especially towards the end of the book, but I'm OCD when it comes to things like that (I have been called a Grammar Nazi before); YMMV. However, if Mr. Norris is able to get a book deal with this -- HINT: HE REALLY SHOULD!!! -- it's nothing a good copy editor can't fix.

I thought this was a wonderful piece of entertainment. I don't know if Mr. Norris has any more stories up his sleeve involving Michael Keough, or even Rocco Locatelli, but even if he doesn't, he has a solid grip on storytelling, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this piece of fiction.

Nine mysterious murders out of ten.

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Book Review - Clarity Castle by Marie-Hélène Lebeault

Clarity Castle by Marie-Hélène Lebeault
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic book this was ... or, is?

"Clarity Castle," by fellow Canadian Marie-Hélène Lebeault, is a journey into the metaphysical realm, as stressed-out sixteen-year-old high school student Clare Knox, an English-speaking Quebecois, comes across a castle in the gravel pit where none had previously existed. There, she is introduced to many different versions of herself - a multiverse of Clare, as it were - and learns that each Clare has different realities that have made them the way they are, and has formed different interests and personality traits in turn. In some realities she has a sister. In some her father is around, in some he isn't. Her mother's personality differs slightly in each. In Clarity Castle, Clare learns not only how to get in touch with herself, but realizes that everybody has many layers to them.

I found this to be an absolutely delightful read. It was quite interesting learning about the different versions of Clare's life; I found myself becoming quite engrossed at times. I enjoyed the fact that the book doesn't turn out to be an "it was all a dream" type story, but rather a type of learning curve and growing experience for Clare. Unlike some books of this ilk, the ending didn't feel hollow; it felt earned.

I also appreciated the fact that Lebeault didn't try to overwhelm us with quantum psychology, and kept things approachable for the average reader. While at first the reader might find themselves a little overwhelmed, like Clare, it quickly becomes fascinating and I for one couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Eight and a half mind trips out of ten.

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Book Review - Primed For Vengeance by Gill D. Anderson

Primed For Vengeance by Gill D. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

"Primed For Vengeance" by Gill D. Anderson is a solid crime thriller set in Australia that was a fantastic, almost too short, read.

It delves into issues of what makes a person the way they are, whether it's inherent or shaped by circumstances, and gives equal weight to the story and perspective of Butch, a maladjusted, perhaps psychotic young man, as it does to Sarah, a former worker at the group home in which he lived.

The book is well written and flows quite well, despite bouncing between multiple perspectives (aside from the two protagonists, we are also witness to the inner thoughts of a couple of the police officers involved, a former neighbour of Butch, and a former co-worker of Sarah.

My one gripe is that it seemed to end abruptly, but as I've never been involved in anything like the climactic situation, it could be entirely realistic for all I know. Still, it left me wanting more ... which I guess for an author is a good thing!

Eight orange cardigans out of ten.

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Book Review - I, Tarzan by Jean-Phillippe Soulé

I, Tarzan: Against All Odds by Jean-Philippe Soulé
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I got a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

Everybody has a story.

We all know this is true, but as readers we tend to stick to the tried and true biographies and autobiographies of famous people, those whose lives we already know at least a little something about.

When I picked up this book, I had no idea who Jean-Phillippe Soulé was. To be perfectly honest I was just looking to read something a little different, and the title and book description struck me as interesting. I had no idea how true that first inclination was until I started reading.

This is a man who has gone through a whole lot in his life. While he does tell the chronology of his life, it does not read as a verbiose list of "I did this, then I did this" talking points that so many autobiographies descend into. Rather, it is quite obvious that Soulé has done plenty of soul searching and analysis of his own life and experience, which of course makes the book a deep, fulfilling read.

I won't go into too much detail because Soulé's story is one best told in his own words. Suffice it to say, he has led an incredibly interesting life, from a troubled childhood in France, to becoming an elite member of the French mountain commando unit, to working for Microsoft in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Along the way he details his relationships with friends, family, and nature, and fills the pages with the restless energy and boundless spirit that drives him through his life.

Soulé ends the book in the early-mid 1990s, with a short epilogue describing what he has done since them ... which seems like more than enough material for two more books, and in fact in doing a little bit more research on the man I found out he has already written a book about a three year kayaking trip he undertook from Baja California to Panama, called "Dancing With Death". Can't wait to read that one.

In short, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Soulé describes his experiences with all the panache of a true storyteller. Not only is it an engaging read, it is truly a story about survival -- against nature, against humanity, and against the struggles the world and your ingrained mindset can put on you, and how to overcome them.

This is a beautiful read.

Ten existential explorers out of ten.

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