John Ford and John Wayne were two titans of classic film and made some of the most enduring movies of all time. The genre they defined-the Western-still matters today.
NANCY SCHOENBERGER is a professor of English and creative writing at the College of William and Mary. She is the author of Dangerous Muse- The Life of Lady Caroline Blackwood, and coauthor with her husband, Sam Kashner, of books on Oscar Levant, George Reeves, and the relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. She lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.
"A swiftly paced, elegantly written book."
--New York Times Book Review "A top-notch new book about the
Wayne-Ford Westerns . . . Schoenberger efficiently details the
lives and careers of the men, including on-set anecdotes as well as
sharp critical observations . . . [Wayne and Ford] impresses with
its insightful, enthusiastic appraisal of a cinematic collaboration
par excellence."
--Columbus Dispatch "Arguably, no collaboration has been more
fulfilling for audiences or more influential for narrative
filmmakers than John Wayne and John Ford . . . [Wayne and Ford]
serves as a lean and energetic introduction to a pair of
moviemakers who are central to understanding American cinema."
--Associated Press "A wide-ranging exploration of Westerns, the
evolution of the film business and the meaning of masculinity that
never loses sight of its central theme: the making and unmaking of
a great partnership."
--Hollywood Reporter "For a tightly focused study of two men and a
handful of movies they made together, Wayne and Ford covers an
awful lot of ground. We see the Western genre mature, perspectives
on the myths of the Wild West shift, and ideas of masculinity
interrogated and recast on the big screen. John Wayne's life and
work, especially, have an elegiac quality here that contemporary
accounts missed . . . A fascinating two-hander."
--William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days
"A closely-observed and supremely engaging account of a difficult
friendship and an inspired creative partnership. Whether dissecting
a particular film or commenting on the American Western as a genre,
Nancy Schoenberger consistently has interesting and original things
to say. Half-elegy, half-cutting-edge analysis, this is a book for
anyone interested in film and the ways in which it reflects and
effects the larger culture around it."
--Daphne Merkin, author of This Close to Happy "Nancy Schoenberger
analyzes and dissects the intricate blend of pride, dignity,
courage, and violence that defines American masculinity as depicted
in Ford's films and embodied by Wayne's characters. And she locates
the hidden depths of vulnerability and self-doubt that help to
explain and humanize these brilliant, troubled icons."
--Glenn Frankel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of
The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend and High Noon: The
Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic "This
look into the films of Ford and Wayne and their friendship and why
it eventually became tattered is a provocative addition to
Hollywood history."
--Booklist
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