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24 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Robert, William, Pedro, 30 October 2005

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

Like The Maltese Falcon, 3 Godfathers had to be made three times before we got the definitive version. This one has to rank at the top of John Wayne's films.

Wayne and fellow outlaws Pedro Armendariz and Harry Carey, Jr. arrive at the town of Welcome, Arizona and after a brief chance meeting with the marshal, Ward Bond, proceed to rob the Welcome bank.

In pursuit of the robbers, Bond shoots the waterbag draped across Wayne's saddle. And then he cleverly stations men at the few sources of water. Nevertheless the three outlaws decide to chance it across the desert.

Life takes a peculiar turn for them as they come across a dying Mildred Natwick who has just delivered an infant. Before she goes she exacts a promise from them to rescue her baby.

Even though their own freedom is at stake, Wayne, Armendariz, and Carey subordinate it to the care and rescue of the infant. At this point the Christmas parable takes over. The three wise men setting out with the infant in their charge to the nearest town which happens to be New Jerusalem, Arizona.

I said on another review of a Wayne film that John Wayne had one of the greatest faces for movie closeups ever. Check some of them here, especially during the desert trek. They say more than 10 pages of dialog. Ford, Hawks, Wellman all the great directors who worked with the Duke knew that and took advantage.

Pedro Armendariz and John Ford came to blow up on the set of 3 Godfathers according to Harry Carey, Jr.'s memoirs. Armendariz almost walked off the film. He finished it though and was great as the fatalistic Mexican outlaw. But he never worked for Ford again.

Although he'd done a few films before this, John Ford had in the credits, introducing Harry Carey, Jr. Of course the film is dedicated to his father who in fact had starred in the original silent Three Godfathers. Maybe this should have really been his debut film, Dobe Carey is just fine as the callow youth, The Abilene Kid.

This also marked the last film of veteran actor Guy Kibbee. As the practical and perceptive judge who tries Wayne, Kibbee is given a fitting swan song to a great career as a player.

This is certainly a more religious work than John Wayne is used to doing. Wayne, although he was baptized Catholic at the end of his life was not a particularly religious man. I do wonder if he had lived another decade what he would have made of the religious right.

Ford of course got in his obligatory Shall We Gather At the River, but also Bringing in the Sheaves was sung. And in the scene where a dehydrated John Wayne arrives at a saloon in New Jerusalem, the piano player is first playing The Holy City and then Silent Night. All to great effect by the way.

I think people that are not necessarily fans of the Duke will be amazed at the heights he rose to as a player in 3 Godfathers.

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13 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Classic Christmas Movie Parable, 29 December 2002

Author: herbqedi from New York, NY

This is one Christmas Movie where the bible plays a major role, and there is NO snow for Christmas. Three Bandits place themselves in jeopardy for the sake of a promise they made to a dying mother (Mildred Natwick) to be the three godfathers of her baby. Excellent performances by Armendariz and Carey, Jr. keep this poignant and on the mark. Ward Bond is excellent as the relentless Marshal. Hank Worden, Guy Kibbee, and Jane Darwell lead the cast of pros around for good-natured comic relief. But, this certainly isn't a straight comedy; there's ample drama and opportunity for shedding a few tears, too.

This has been one of my favorite Christmas movie for 30+ years, and repeated viewings only reinforce my love of it.

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13 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Sentimental western with religious overtones, 28 April 2002
Author: JoeytheBrit from www.moviemoviesite.com

While this movie probably doesn't compare with John Ford's acknowledged classics, it is an accomplished piece of work that, at least, tops the second-tier of Ford's output.

The simple story draws heavily on religious themes – far too heavily at times; the heavy-handed symbolism and references occasionally intrude on the plot, slowing its pace and distracting from the storyline.

John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, and Harry Carey Jr. work well together as the three outlaws who promise to look after the new-born baby of a dying pregnant woman they stumble upon in the desert while on the run from sheriff Ward Bond. Now, a giant pinch of salt needs to be taken at this point, because any viewer over the age of 12 will know that the last thing a group of desperadoes are going to saddle themselves with when on the run in the desert is a new-born infant. In fact, the main trio are just too nice to be outlaws for my liking – God-fearing, family-loving folk who just don't ring true as cattle rustlers and bank robbers. Considering the Hays code dictated that they would all have to pay the price for their early crimes by the time the end credits roll, the film could have been given a lot more punch if the three of them had been a little bit meaner at the outset, thereby making their eventual redemption all the more powerful.

The location photography, as you would expect from a Ford western, is often stunning as we follow the increasingly desperate bandits through the Arizona desert as they head for the town of New Jerusalem.

Small, almost insignificant moments from this movie linger in the mind: John Wayne shielding Harry Carey Jr's face from the sun with his hat; Armendariz timidly approaching the abandoned stagecoach in which Mildred Natwick is about to give birth; the dripping tap of a water tank in the middle of the desert (you can just feel the outlaw's desperate thirst and disappointment as they watch that tap, knowing there is no way they can get at it). Wayne's scenes as he struggles against exhaustion with the baby in his arms are also powerful.

I think this movie deserves a better reputation than it currently enjoys; it is sentimental – but only in the final five minutes, as far as I'm concerned. In fact, my only criticism would be the movie's finale: too pat, and unbelievable. That said, I highly recommend this movie.

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16 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Visual Poetry, 17 October 2003
Author: Kalaman from Ottawa

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.

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14 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Robert's road to Damascus., 28 December 2002
Author: dbdumonteil

Redemption is the keyword to many a Ford work:this is perhaps the most convincing effort in a remarkable career for that matter.Like all the great auteurs,western is only an alibi for Ford to convey a message:God is the only way,the Bible is the only book for Man's education (as Dr Whatsisname's infant care manual for the new human being).

If you do not know anything about the screenplay and you expect a traditional western ,you may be disappointed:actually it might as well be a Xmas tale.Actually ,only the beginning and the ending are what you expect from a western.The central part is Robert's (Wayne) road to Damascus.His two pals do believe in God,he doesn't.The desert and the quest of water are a metaphor for the emptiness of his heart.In the second part of the movie,he's like the baby,busy being born.

Ford's movie is a visual splendor:the three men filmed against the sunlight near the mother's grave;the grave shot in close-up as the three men go away.The desert itself becomes an almost alive entity,filmed with a unique sense of space .Narration avoids readiness:when Wayne meets the mother,Ford does not show the scene:he lets his character tell it to his friends.The mother briefly appears for one short scene but she makes all her words count.

Singing is very important:when the mother is buried ,William sings over his grave but he cannot finish his canticle because he cannot remember the end:thus Ford avoids pathos and melodrama;when he rocks the baby,he sings "streets of Laredo",an ominous choice(but lullabies are sometimes strange and even cruel,aren't they?);the final choir "bringing in the sheaves" signals a brand new life for Robert. Towards the end ,the movie verges on fantastic ,which is extremely rare in the western genre.

Biblical quotations abound,but anyway,they are everywhere in Ford's work from the earlier works (the informer) to the later ones (seven women).

In the eighties,Coline Serreau made a shameless rip -off "trois hommes et un couffin".It wasn't a western ,the action taking place in Paris 1985,but a lot of ideas were taken from Ford .Besides,her three characters were despicable machos:One wishes it had not come from a woman .The movie was such a huge success that the American felt compelled to redo it (three men and a baby).Forget these mediocrities and do watch the Master 's tale of redemption.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
It is one of my favourite movies, 25 December 2006

Author: Romanus Nies from Germany

This might sound wondrous, but if You would ask me for my favourite movies I would say this is one of them. When I first saw the film I was so well entertained that I had not one minute I felt uncomfortable or bored, which is very seldom with me watching films. This is one of my three favourite westerns as well. It is sad to see, that in our days they are not able to make films like this one. Today they have good actors, affluence of money and technical means, but they have no soul to make films like that - and the audience, I fear, has the same deficiency. They get what they want or what they deserve. Maybe young people cannot find that movie so tremendously impressing. I am sorry for them. The movie is excellent in almost every respect. This movie is one strong example that movie-making has a right of existence. By the way it has a lot of good messages - which is also something I often miss in today's movies.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
One To Look At, 14 June 2004
Author: Gene Crokus from United States

`Three Godfathers' is cinematographically one of John Ford's finest looking Westerns. The location filming is breathtaking and comes as close as can be found in capturing the beauty of Death Valley. That the story is relatively straightforward, pretty fairly untenable and in Ford fashion highly sentimental is rather inconsequential. This is a great looking movie shot primarily in one of the most starkly striking places on Earth.

John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr. (one of his first roles) are bank robbers on the run, saddled with an infant they have promised to care for to its dying mother. They plunge into desperate straights as they flee across the desert. That no part of Death Valley lies close to Arizona (the story is set there) is of no account but again as in all Ford movies his vision of the American West ignores the hundreds of thousand square miles that is not Utah, Monument Valley, or as in this case, Death Valley. And that he pioneered an American View Of The West is undeniable.

Winton C. Hoch was responsible for the cinematography; he later demonstrated his art in `The Searchers' (most famous) and actually won an Oscar for `She Wore A Yellow Ribbon'. His use of color film was extraordinary and any movie he made is best viewed on the big screen.

There are numerous references to Christian views of morality sprinkled throughout the movie; Christmas is revered as the traditional American celebration, a Bible figures in Wayne's worst moments as he struggles against the wilderness and the songs we hear are primarily religious hymns. That some good comes of the efforts of the trio is redemptive enough to raise this effort above the average Western.

It is doubtful this movie could be shot again. It is exceedingly unlikely the disturbance a film crew would make while filming in a national park would be permitted. Try to imagine the rails required for the cameras being laid today.

Score: Three Stars

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Ford Western, 23 December 2006

Author: mgtbltp from upstate ny

I just watched this on TCM didn't even know that it was coming on and glad I did.

This is the first time I ever saw this film all the way through, before I've only caught snippets of it here and there as I flipped through the channels.

I have to honestly say run don't walk down to your nearest video retailer and get the DVD. There is really nothing not to like about this film, and its even got a tie in to Christmas! Directed by John Ford as a remake of his silent film "The Marked Men" (1919) which had already been made twice before the 1919 version, lol. It was also John Ford's first Technicolor film and its somewhat unique in that it actually doesn't use Monument Valley as its location.

It stars a lot of Ford's stable of actors, John Wayne, Harry Carry Jr., Ward Bond, Hank Worden, Ben Johnson, and actor Pedro Armendáriz who is just great in the role of one of the title's godfathers, Wayne & Carry Jr. being the others.

This film is now up there with "The Searchers" as my favorite Ford film. It doesn't have that "knock you over the head civics lesson" sermonizing that a lot of Fords films have, its got a little bit of schmaltz and melodrama in very small dollops that you can swallow & which is OK.

But don't get this expecting showdown gunfights, there aren't any, and the film still works.

Basically the story line: Three men ride into the town of New Jersusalem, Arizona to rob its bank. In the process Carry Jr. is wounded in the shoulder and looses his horse as they ride out of town into the desert, pursued by Sheriff Sweet (Bond) and posse members that include actors Worden and Johnson.

Sweet shoots the gangs water bag, that they don't discover until they are way out in the desert so they have to make for water. Sweet knows this and hops a train with the posse to the nearest water tank.

The gang foiled in their quest for water must make for another water hole to the north there they become the "three godfathers" of the title, I wont give any more away.

This film definitely had to have made an impression on Leone. Two things stood out for me, the first is the whole film is composed of some of the best scenery I've in a Western, scenery that will recall to you vividly Tuco & Blondie in the desert, this was shot in Death Valley, Lone Pine and the Mojave Desert, all fantastic locations, it will remind you also of Yellow Sky (too bad that film wasn't shot in color). The film takes place almost all in the desert. Its like GBU in that it becomes more than just a Western, you'll see what I mean.

The second thing that stood out is the great performance of Pedro Armendáriz what a great Mexican Actor who should have been a main character in a lot of Westerns, whats up with that, not only will he remind you a bit of a "nice" Tuco but it even looks like he's wearing Tuco's hat (the one he gets from the gunsmith), or vice versa lol.

The town sets are again spot on, and there is some great steam locomotive footage, all in all a beautiful and enjoyable film.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Superb, 15 June 2002

Author: sychonic

I'm surprised this one doesn't get more accolades. To me it's really one of the best westerns ever made. This is one of those films that proves that the western genre can produce true art. The filming, the performances -- this is one of Wayne's best … it's quite overlooked that this guy could act: The desperation, the confusion, the exhaustion, it's all just amazing.

It's more of a character study than anything else, with the characters facing desperate thirst, an aching empty land, relentless sun, and the movie shows how these men deal with it, all the while they are attempting to care for a child. Something they are ill equipped to do.

There are clear religious elements to the movie, and they make this all the more compelling -- these are not good men, but they have a sense of honor and faith, in their own way. They can't break their word to a dying woman, to care for her child. Their faith in each other is touching.

It's gritty, yet very tender, a strange juxtaposition, like the beauty and cruelty of the desert.

See the movie if you can.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A great personal favorite., 22 October 2006

Author: Tomsam51 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is a great piece of storytelling. I first saw this film when I was eight years old and it stuck with me. It was another thirty years before I saw it again and I was amazed at how good a film it was. My seven year old daughter recently saw this film and loved it. I hope it will stick with her as well.

All the acting is terrific but Ward Bond's performance as the Sheriff is particularly striking. He is so cordial and professional at first but when Pearly Sweet goes out for blood, he is a study in coldly controlled rage.

The ending scene of the film is one of my all-time favorites. Hightower has been redeemed, all is well except the baby still has no mother. The screenwriter's did themselves's proud when they took pen in hand to resolve that problem. Wayne's delivery of the line and Ford's staging of the shot are heart-warming.

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