Entertainment
The Best Movies Directed By John Ford
Here is a list of all movies directed by John Ford ranked from best to worst. Films directed by John Ford are listed here and include movie posters and John Ford movie trailers whenever possible. This is a collection of the best movies directed by John Ford as voted on by film buffs. If you think the greatest John Ford movie isn't as high as it should be on this list, then make sure to vote so that your opinion of what the top John Ford film is can be factored into this list.
From John Ford's studio films to John Ford's independent films, this John Ford filmography keeps tabs on all John Ford movies, and lets the cream of the crop rise to the top.
The list you're viewing has a variety of movies, like The Searchers and Stagecoach, in it.
If you’re wondering “what movies did John Ford direct?” or “who is John Ford?” then this list will explain how most people know this director. This list also answers questions like “what are the all-time best movies directed by John Ford?” and “what's a good selection of good John Ford movies?”
If you're wanting to get into John Ford films, then this list is a great starting point for at least starting with the most decent John Ford works.
All John Ford director credits are included. This list of every movie that John Ford has directed can be sorted for specific information such as what genre the John Ford movie is and which actors starred in the John Ford film.
James Stewart and Steven Spielberg both worked on a John Ford directed movie, as have many other great actors. We have lists of the best movies directed by John Huston and Frank Capra too, which you might like if you're a fan of John Ford.
- 1John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine
- Released: 1939
- Directed by: John Ford
John Ford's landmark Western revolves around an assorted group of colorful passengers aboard the Overland stagecoach bound for Lordsburg, New Mexico, in the 1880s. An alcoholic philosophizer (Thomas ...more - 2John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood
- Released: 1956
- Directed by: John Ford
In this revered Western, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When members of his brother's family are killed or abducted by Comanches, he vows to track down his ...more - 3Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed
- Released: 1945
- Directed by: John Ford, Robert Montgomery
After a demonstration of new PT boats, navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan (John Wayne) frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan ...more - 4Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, Victor Mature
- Released: 1946
- Directed by: John Ford
In the middle of a long cattle drive, Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda) and his brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find their cattle stolen, and one of the brothers ...more - 5James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles
- Released: 1962
- Directed by: John Ford
Questions arise when Senator Stoddard (James Stewart) attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then ...more - 6John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar
- Released: 1949
- Directed by: John Ford
The last job of Calvary Captain Nathan Brittles (John Wayne) before retirement is to soothe relations with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians after Custer's last stand. At the same time, he must ...more - 7John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple
- Released: 1948
- Directed by: John Ford
When arrogant and stubborn Civil War hero Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda) arrives in Arizona with his daughter, Philadelphia (Shirley Temple), to assume command of the Fort Apache ...more - 8John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald
- Released: 1952
- Directed by: John Ford
After accidentally killing an opponent in the ring, boxer Sean Thornton (John Wayne) leaves America and returns to his native Ireland, hoping buy his family's homestead and live in peace. In doing ...more - 9Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Roddy McDowall
- Released: 1941
- Directed by: John Ford
Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall), the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. ...more - 10Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
- Released: 1940
- Directed by: John Ford
The Joad clan, introduced to the world in John Steinbeck's iconic novel, is looking for a better life in California. After their drought-ridden farm is seized by the bank, the family -- led by ...more - 11John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson
- Released: 1950
- Directed by: John Ford
Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke (John Wayne) heads a cavalry post on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, defending settlers against Apaches launching raids from the Mexican side of the river. When ...more - 12Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, James Cagney
- Released: 1955
- Directed by: John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy
Bittersweet film about a supply officer aboard a decrepit cargo ship during World War II who yearns for a transfer into a combat zone but is thwarted by the ship's captain, a petty tyrant. Forced to ...more - 13John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers
- Released: 1959
- Directed by: John Ford
During the Civil War, Colonel John Marlowe (John Wayne) is tasked with leading a Union cavalry division to raze a Confederate railroad depot. Marlowe faces further challenges as a result of his ...more - 14Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver
- Released: 1939
- Directed by: John Ford
In this dramatized account of his early law career in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln (Henry Fonda) is born into a modest log cabin, where he is encouraged by his first love, Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore), ...more - 15John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey
- Released: 1948
- Directed by: John Ford
Thieves and rustlers Robert Hightower (John Wayne), Pete Fuerte (Pedro Armendáriz) and the Abilene Kid (Harry Carey Jr.) rob a bank in a small Arizona town. Pursued across the desert by the ...more - 16Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru, Ward Bond
- Released: 1950
- Directed by: John Ford
When a group of Mormons are run out of town for their religious beliefs, Elder Wiggs (Ward Bond) searches for a wagon master to guide the outcasts to the San Juan Valley. Happening upon horse traders ...more - 17John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter
- Released: 1940
- Directed by: John Ford
In the early day of World War II, the crew of English cargo ship the SS Glencairn -- including Swede Olsen (John Wayne), Englishman Smitty (Ian Hunter), American Yank (Ward Bond), and Irishmen ...more - 18John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen
- Released: 1963
- Directed by: John Ford
Three World War II Navy veterans -- Donovan (John Wayne), Doc Dedham (Jack Warden) and Gilhooley (Lee Marvin) -- converge on the French Polynesian island of Haleakaloha and team up to deceive ...more - 19Jeffrey Hunter, Woody Strode, Constance Towers
- Released: 1960
- Directed by: John Ford
At a U.S. Army fort in the Arizona Territory in 1881, an officer is murdered and his beautiful young daughter is beaten, raped and strangled. Army lawyer Tom Cantrell (Jeffrey Hunter) defends the ...more - 20Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda
- Released: 1962
- Directed by: John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe
Setting off on a journey to the west in the 1830s, the Prescott family run into a man named Linus (James Stewart), who helps them fight off a pack of thieves. Linus then marries daughter Eve Prescott ...more - 21Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff, Wallace Ford
- Released: 1934
- Directed by: John Ford
A British patrol is crossing the deserts of Mesopotamia during World War I when the commanding officer is suddenly struck down by an unseen sniper. Their sergeant (Victor McLaglen) suddenly finds ...more - 22Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, John Carradine
- Released: 1939
- Directed by: John Ford
The year is 1776, and newlyweds Gilbert (Henry Fonda) and Lana Martin (Claudette Colbert) have decided to take up a rural lifestyle. However, following the onset of the American Revolutionary War, ...more - 23John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Dan Dailey
- Released: 1957
- Directed by: John Ford
Frank "Spig" Wead (John Wayne) is a pilot trying to improve the Navy's aviation program. His military posts often require him to move his wife (Maureen O'Hara) and children. On the night he decides ...more - 24Charles Winninger, Arleen Whelan, John Russell
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: John Ford
A straight-talking, sensible public servant, Judge William Pittman Priest (Charles Winninger) is friendly with most of the townspeople in his Kentucky hometown. The town's upper-class set feels ...more - 25Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster
- Released: 1935
- Directed by: John Ford
Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) is a former Irish Republican Army man who drowns his sorrows in the bottle. He's desperate to escape his bleak Dublin life and start over in America with his girlfriend ...more
