Director John Ford To Be Celebrated In Statewide Film Festival

Above, a John Ford display at the Monument Valley Visitor Center. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one is in or near the state of Maine, if they are willing to brave the polar vortex, can attend statewide film festival screenings honoring one of its own, director John Ford.

The Ellsworth American reported:

ELLSWORTH — Can you name the early 20th-century Maine high school football star who went on to win more Academy Awards for Best Director than any other filmmaker?
If not, you’re probably in good company — but odds are you have heard of his work. 

Though his record four Oscar statues for directing make him the most honored director in Hollywood history, John Ford’s name likely does not appear on many people’s mental lists of famous Mainers. Ford, who directed more than 140 films before he died in 1973, might have found that unsurprising. 

“I love Portland,” Ford once told a friend, speaking of the city where he grew up, “but I don’t even know if they like me.” 

The Pine Tree State will show its famed filmmaking son some appreciation, however, in the form of “John Ford | 125 Years,” a statewide film festival running Feb. 1-10 in locations around Maine. The festival, which features two film screenings in Hancock County, draws its title from the fact that this Feb. 1 marks the 125th anniversary of Ford’s birth in Cape Elizabeth. The event is organized by the Waterville-based Maine Film Center (MFC). 

“Ford’s a towering Maine figure so we all agreed this milestone shouldn’t pass without recognition from his home state,” said MFC’s Executive Director Mike Perreault.

Among Ford’s best-known movies are “The Grapes of Wrath,” “How Green Was My Valley” and the iconic John Wayne western “The Searchers.” All will be shown as part of “John Ford | 125 Years.”

Local screenings in Hancock County will be 1939’s “Stagecoach” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3, at The 1932 Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor and 1945’s “They Were Expendable” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport.

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