Turner Classic Movies | Go West, Young Man: Decoding John Ford | The Plot Thickens (S5 E1) | TCM @TurnerClassicMovies | Uploaded June 2024 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Episode 1 – Go West, Young Man
John Ford was born in Maine as Sean Aloysius O’Feeney… or so he says. His birth records say differently, and it would not be the last time he changes his name. As a child, he visits Ireland and falls in love with his heritage, and later fights at the University of Maine when confronted with an Irish slur. He rediscovers his long-lost older brother Francis while watching the “flickers” and follows him to Hollywood. He gets work as his brother’s stunt double then he fibs his way into directing features, eventually making his name on a pair of famous silent Westerns that still astonish today. As Hollywood transitions to talkies, Ford befriends the man who would become his friend, his muse, and his enabler, a young football player named John Wayne.
00:00 – Introduction: Decoding John Ford
07:00 – Irish in Maine
12:07 – Older brother Francis
19:24 – Arriving in Hollywood
28:44 – Stepping behind the camera
31:31 – The Iron Horse
37:54 – Three Bad Men
41:51 – Enter John Wayne
He made John Wayne cry.
He placed a real baby in front of galloping horses.
He was a commander at D-Day, a union leader, and a tyrant.
Meet John Ford, the curmudgeon with an eyepatch who just happened to be the greatest filmmaker of the 20th century. Ford was a bully and a drunk who ruled Hollywood for five decades, making dozens of seminal movies – though he was incredibly hard to pin down. His behavior swung wildly from loyalty to cruelty, without notice. He won more Oscars than any director in history, but never showed up to accept an award. And he rewrote American history, painting the country with images so beautiful that people wished they were real. John Ford defined the attitudes of his time, ideas about masculinity and heroism that we're still grappling with today. This season on The Plot Thickens, TCM brings you Decoding John Ford, a seven-part podcast about cinema's most mysterious auteur.
Part of that mystery is his classified – and missing – WWII film. In 1944, the U.S. military recruited Ford for the assignment of his career: to cover the largest invasion in history. He went to Normandy Beach to film D-Day and created an on-the-ground film detailing the invasion, but the film goes missing. Host Ben Mankiewicz travels to Europe to trace the mystery of whether the D-Day movie exists.
The Plot Thickens is the official podcast from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) about movies and the people who make them. Season one premiered in May 2020, diving into the life and work of Oscar®-nominated director, writer, and actor Peter Bogdanovich. Season two, “The Devil’s Candy,” launched in June 2021 and chronicled the tumultuous production of the 1990 film The Bonfire of the Vanities. Season three uncovered fresh insights into the life and times of the iconic Lucille Ball and debuted in October 2021. Season four explored the life and work of trailblazing actor Pam Grier in fall 2022.
The podcast has garnered more than nine million downloads and several industry awards: it was named a Webby Honoree in 2021 and 2022 and a Webby Nominee in 2023; won best branded podcast from the 2021 Adweek Podcast Awards; and was nominated for best entertainment podcast at the Ambie Awards two years in a row. It has been featured on “best-of” lists from The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, NPR and Vanity Fair.
Become a fan of Turner Classic Movies on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/tcmtv
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/tcm
Instagram: instagram.com/tcm
TikTok: tiktok.com/@tcm
Previous seasons are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-plot-thickens/id1504732282
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4Qxe9jZsekmdQMifVwqmrJ
iHeart Radio: iheart.com/podcast/958-the-plot-thickens-60052717
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents classic films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting “where then meets now.” TCM features the insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. With more than two decades as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through popular events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise. Fans can also enjoy a classic movie experience on the TCM hub on Max.
Go West, Young Man: Decoding John Ford | The Plot Thickens (S5 E1) | TCM
youtu.be/sXlYnpkW48Y
#ThePlotThickens #JohnFord #TCM
Episode 1 – Go West, Young Man
John Ford was born in Maine as Sean Aloysius O’Feeney… or so he says. His birth records say differently, and it would not be the last time he changes his name. As a child, he visits Ireland and falls in love with his heritage, and later fights at the University of Maine when confronted with an Irish slur. He rediscovers his long-lost older brother Francis while watching the “flickers” and follows him to Hollywood. He gets work as his brother’s stunt double then he fibs his way into directing features, eventually making his name on a pair of famous silent Westerns that still astonish today. As Hollywood transitions to talkies, Ford befriends the man who would become his friend, his muse, and his enabler, a young football player named John Wayne.
00:00 – Introduction: Decoding John Ford
07:00 – Irish in Maine
12:07 – Older brother Francis
19:24 – Arriving in Hollywood
28:44 – Stepping behind the camera
31:31 – The Iron Horse
37:54 – Three Bad Men
41:51 – Enter John Wayne
He made John Wayne cry.
He placed a real baby in front of galloping horses.
He was a commander at D-Day, a union leader, and a tyrant.
Meet John Ford, the curmudgeon with an eyepatch who just happened to be the greatest filmmaker of the 20th century. Ford was a bully and a drunk who ruled Hollywood for five decades, making dozens of seminal movies – though he was incredibly hard to pin down. His behavior swung wildly from loyalty to cruelty, without notice. He won more Oscars than any director in history, but never showed up to accept an award. And he rewrote American history, painting the country with images so beautiful that people wished they were real. John Ford defined the attitudes of his time, ideas about masculinity and heroism that we're still grappling with today. This season on The Plot Thickens, TCM brings you Decoding John Ford, a seven-part podcast about cinema's most mysterious auteur.
Part of that mystery is his classified – and missing – WWII film. In 1944, the U.S. military recruited Ford for the assignment of his career: to cover the largest invasion in history. He went to Normandy Beach to film D-Day and created an on-the-ground film detailing the invasion, but the film goes missing. Host Ben Mankiewicz travels to Europe to trace the mystery of whether the D-Day movie exists.
The Plot Thickens is the official podcast from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) about movies and the people who make them. Season one premiered in May 2020, diving into the life and work of Oscar®-nominated director, writer, and actor Peter Bogdanovich. Season two, “The Devil’s Candy,” launched in June 2021 and chronicled the tumultuous production of the 1990 film The Bonfire of the Vanities. Season three uncovered fresh insights into the life and times of the iconic Lucille Ball and debuted in October 2021. Season four explored the life and work of trailblazing actor Pam Grier in fall 2022.
The podcast has garnered more than nine million downloads and several industry awards: it was named a Webby Honoree in 2021 and 2022 and a Webby Nominee in 2023; won best branded podcast from the 2021 Adweek Podcast Awards; and was nominated for best entertainment podcast at the Ambie Awards two years in a row. It has been featured on “best-of” lists from The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, NPR and Vanity Fair.
Become a fan of Turner Classic Movies on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/tcmtv
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/tcm
Instagram: instagram.com/tcm
TikTok: tiktok.com/@tcm
Previous seasons are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-plot-thickens/id1504732282
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4Qxe9jZsekmdQMifVwqmrJ
iHeart Radio: iheart.com/podcast/958-the-plot-thickens-60052717
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents classic films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting “where then meets now.” TCM features the insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. With more than two decades as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through popular events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise. Fans can also enjoy a classic movie experience on the TCM hub on Max.
Go West, Young Man: Decoding John Ford | The Plot Thickens (S5 E1) | TCM
youtu.be/sXlYnpkW48Y
#ThePlotThickens #JohnFord #TCM
