Ford
made dozens of films some great, some good and some bad; typical of
most Hollywood careers. My favorite films of his may not have been
considered GREAT but I loved them.
In 1949 he appeared with Ida Lupino in the film, Lust for Gold, about the legendary Lost Dutchman gold mine,
starring Ford as the "Dutchman" and Lupino as the woman he loves. It's a
tale of deceit and greed, murder and deception with both characters as swarmy as the other. George Duning wrote the score for the film.
For me the most impact was the scene where Vince Stone (Lee Marvin) throws a boiling pot of coffee into the face of Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame) irreparably disfiguring her. Not a pleasant scene to watch.
Then there is my-top-of-the-list favorite of ALL of his films, the stunning 1955 socialdrama film, Blackboard Jungle, in which he portrays Richard Dadier, a school teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel The Blackboard Jungle by Evan Hunter. His wife is played by Anne Francis who would appear a couple of years later as Altaira "Alta" Morbius in the film Forbidden Planet. I have already written at length about the Blackboard Jungle which introduced me to Bill Haley and Rock and Roll (link below).
I've mentioned his serious films but he has proved he can handle comedy as well. In 1956 there was The Teahouse of the August Moon, in 1959 The Gazebo in which John McGiver pronounced it "The Gaze Bo", in 1961 Cry for Happy. Also in 1961, a film I REALLY liked him in, Pocketful of Miracles as Dave "the Dude" Conway, a gangster with a heart of gold inspired by Apple Annie, played by Bette Davis, and her "lucky" apples. It's a totally sweet and heart warming story.