3 Godfathers (1948)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Laurence Stallings (screenplay) and
Frank S. Nugent (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 December 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

John Ford's Legend of the Southwest!

Plot:

Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert...

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Baby | Moral Transformation | Death Of Title Character | Prison

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Dec. 4

1:00 AM

TCM

Cast

John Wayne	...	Robert Marmaduke Hightower
Pedro Armendáriz	...	Pedro 'Pete' Roca Fuerte (as Pedro Armendariz)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	William Kearney ('The Abilene Kid')
Ward Bond	...	Perley 'Buck' Sweet
Mae Marsh	...	Mrs. Perley Sweet
Mildred Natwick	...	The Mother
Jane Darwell	...	Miss Florie
Guy Kibbee	...	Judge
Dorothy Ford	...	Ruby Latham
Ben Johnson	...	Posse man #1
Charles Halton	...	Oliver Latham
Hank Worden	...	Deputy Curly
Jack Pennick	...	Luke (the conductor)
Fred Libby	...	Deputy
Michael Dugan	...	Posse man #2

Also Known As:

Three Godfathers (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | West Germany:12 (f) (original rating) | West Germany:o.Al. (re-rating) | Germany:6 | USA:Approved (certificate #13312) | Canada:14A (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1995)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Argosy Pictures

Trivia:

John Ford had a greensman water a cactus overnight to allow it to be squeezed for water.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Power lines are visible overhead behind Ruby Latham when the stagecoach is stopped in Welcome, Arizona.

Quotes:

Pedro "Pete' Roca Fuerte: [dying] Hey, Bob... I just remembered what tomorrow is. Feliz Navidad.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Soundtrack:

Streets of Laredo

Visual Poetry

I changed my mind several times about the merits of this often neglected Ford Western. Despite the eloquent and persuasive praises by Gallagher, McBride, and Sarris, somehow it failed to win me over. However, having seen it recently I was genuinely struck by its ravishing cinematography, beautifully shot by Winton C Hoch, who would later photograph "The Searchers". The cinematography is astonishing and this is hardly surprising since Ford was a poet of images. If you disregard the film's religious and biblical passages and focus on its visuals, it becomes an inspiring, extraordinary work. To paraphrase McBride in his book on Ford, the simplicity of the film's emotion and sentiment is balanced by the sophistication of its visual style. For this reason, I think it is one of Ford's masterworks, but it is not for everybody.