3 Godfathers

"John Ford's Legend of the Southwest!"

1948 1h 42m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 217🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●82Metacritic★7IMDB · 11,255

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert, even at the risk of their own lives.

“John Ford's Legend of the Southwest!”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

John Wayne
Robert Marmaduke Sangster Hightower
Pedro Armendáriz
Pedro 'Pete' Roca Fuerte
Harry Carey Jr.
William Kearney ('The Abilene Kid')
Ward Bond
Perley 'Buck' Sweet
Mae Marsh
Mrs. Perley Sweet
Mildred Natwick
The Mother
Jane Darwell
Miss Florie
Guy Kibbee
Judge

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Ford
Writers: Laurence Stallings, Frank S. Nugent, Peter B. Kyne
Languages: Spanish, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Ford, shot by Winton C. Hoch. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Hageman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jack Murray shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Wayne and Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr. carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "John Ford's Legend of the Southwest!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Ford directs. Winton C. Hoch behind the camera. Richard Hageman scores. Jack Murray cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
278 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.
4Directed by John Ford, shot by Winton C. Hoch. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Richard Hageman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jack Murray shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7John Wayne and Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr. carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "John Ford's Legend of the Southwest!".
9IMDB entry: tt0040064 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 21 themes, including "baby", "marshal", "adoption", "promise".
11Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch
Original score: Richard Hageman
Editing: Jack Murray
Makeup / hair: Don L. Cash
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,243,000
Box office: $2,841,000
Return: 229% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: 3 Godfathers (1948)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 82/100
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 11,255 votes
MPAA: Approved

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John Ford

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-09
★ 7/10
Sentimental and affecting piece from Ford. Having already made a version of the story in 1919 as Marked Men with Harry Carey, John Ford clearly had a kink for this delightful redemption parable. Opening with a touching tribute to his friend and mentor Carey, who had sadly passed away the previous year (and who also starred in the 1916 version of The Three Godfathers), it was also the first out and out Ford Western to be made in colour. The story tells of three outlaws - Robert Hightower (John Wayne), Pedro "Pete" Fuerte (Pedro Armendariz) and The Abilene Kid (Harry Carey Junior) - who after robbing a bank in the town of Welcome, are on the run from the law led posse. After hitting problems in a desert sandstorm, the men struggle on to Terrapin Tanks, where they happen across a woman in labour. Giving birth to her child, but sadly on her death bed, the woman begs the men to take care of her baby. They agree and embark on a perilous journey to get the child safely to "New Jerusalem"... It's an odd sort of Western, but in a good way. Backed up by the usual high standard of location work from Ford and the irrepressible Winton Hoch. And with customary staunch support work from Ward Bond as the Sheriff, 3 Godfathers is a must see in relation to the careers of John Ford and John Wayne. It has a mixed reputation from fans of the two Johns, which is understandable given the flighty nature of the picture, but one thing that is true about the piece is that once viewed, it's unlikely to be forgotten. 7/10
CinemaSerf2023-11-08
★ 7/10
It's interesting that Harry Carey was in the first version of this film made in 1916 and now his son takes on the role as the injured "kid" alongside John Wayne's "Robert" and Pedro Armendàriz as "Pedro". These three are outlaws whose one last hit goes a bit awry. Now with the shrewd sheriff "Buck" (Ward Bond) in hot pursuit, they must try to outwit their pursuers before they run out of water. They do manage to steal a bit of a march and make it to a well, but the only water they discover is coming from the eyes of a heavily pregnant woman (Mildred Natwick) who promptly delivers them a godson. Still no better off, and with an added mouth to satiate, the three must now continue to evade capture and struggle on through the desert. It takes quite a while to get going, this, but once we have the established character dynamic then the story is actually quite a poignant story of loyalty and determination, decency and teamwork. Tragedy strikes on more then one occasion and yes, of course, it's very rarely a real baby being bounced around the terrain, but somehow the actors, Armendáriz in particular, manage to illicit quite a fair degree of sympathy as they trek through the dry and hostile wilderness. The last ten minutes didn't quite work for me, but then I don't suppose John Ford could actually have... The photography is grand and grim - that these men could survive the perils of the landscape at all is a feat all too well illustrated by the bleakness of their surroundings and there is an overall spirit of redemption at the conclusion that does raise a smile. Certainly one of the Duke's more considered efforts and well worth a watch.