3 Godfathers (1948)

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  • I must admit to a love hate relationship. He could get performance out of actors that they wouldnt have given without his bullying. Mind you I think have told him what to do with himself or hit him on the way out.


    Mike

  • This is the next movie in the "Forum Movie Review".

    You will have 2 weeks to watch and give your reviews on this thread. The deadline is the January 7th 2008. Any questions let me know.

    Life is hard, its even harder when your stupid!!
    -John Wayne

  • As for this movie,gentleness of the directer J.Ford was expressed well;
    think that is interresting western movie.
    And the splendor of John Wayne starring does not to say.
    J.W. arrive in New Jersalem to lay the baby on the bar counter on Christmas Day.
    and say "Set'em up mister, Milk for the infant and a cold BEER for me".
    this beer seeming to be delicious!

    and I wonder always it whether the baby is a girl or boy. the name Robert William
    Pedro Hightower seems to be a boy,but it is really a girl to play by Amelia Yelda.
    Truly which must it be a boy or girl? anybody knows?

    Regards,
    H.sanada

    Sometimes kids ask me what a pro is. I just point to the Duke.
    ~Steve McQueen~

  • I wonder always it whether the baby is a girl or boy. the name Robert William Pedro Hightower seems to be a boy,but it is really a girl to play by Amelia Yelda.
    Truly which must it be a boy or girl? anybody knows?


    The character in the story was obviously a boy, but I must say I have NEVER heard of a boy named Amelia, so the baby was most likely played by a girl (she must have been the right age, and it is often difficult to tell if a baby is a boy or a girl, so I think it is not uncommon to have a boy baby played by a girl, or a girl baby played by a boy, as long as the child is the right "age"). In checking on IMDb, I see that 3 Godfathers was Amelia's solo acting role.


    Chester :newyear:

  • Tonight, we watched our Brazilian copy of 3 Godfathers, which has an English soundtrack. We received it from our son about 4 years ago, before it was available on DVD in this country. Our copy was not the best quality, but was watchable.


    It's been a couple of years since we've seen it, but we certainly enjoyed it tonight. Ward Bond was just as you would expect him to be (classic Ward Bond - jovial but also gruff), Hank Worden was his usual comedic self, it was great to see familiar faces Jack Pennick, Guy Kibbee, and Jane Darwell.


    It was also nice to see Mildred Natwick, although we thought she looked a little old for the part. At 43, she WAS a little old to be playing the part of a 28-year-old, first-time mother.


    Regarding Amelia Yelda, Keith listed the following item regarding the baby girl playing a baby boy . . .

    Trivia


    * When John Wayne is "greasing" the baby boy, Robert William Pedro, it is evident that the baby boy is actually a baby girl.


    We did notice that to be the case :shades_smile:. Enquiring minds want to know . . . whatever happened to Amelia Yelda??


    Our 11-year-old noticed that after John Wayne's character threw away the damaged water bag, the next shot shows the bag back on the horse.


    Despite our minor criticisms, we did enjoy it. We had no idea that Harry Carey, Jr. was such a good singer. The other songs were enjoyable as well.


    Overall, we would rate it a 7 out of 10.


    Chester :newyear:

  • This movie isn't really one to fall throught the cracks. It is popular with JW fans and seems to have held up over the years. I agree with you, Jim, in that Mildred Natwick does appear too old for the part. It should have been played by an actress in her 20's.

    I loved Pedro Armendariz in his role. It was funny hearing Duke telling him to stop speaking Mex in front of the infant all the time. And this is one of my more favorite rolls by Harry Carey Jr. He portrayed the "The Abilene Kid" excellently. And he sung amazingly, as Jim already stated. Ward Bond was...well...Ward Bond. Perfect!

    It was a little hard to believe how jovial and friendy the town was to Duke's character after his journey with the baby. I can see the town and the Marshall being appreciative of his efforts to save the baby, but he was still guilty of robbing the bank. When a thief takes my money, It would take me a while to get over that! But other than that, a great ending to the film.

    In the book the movie was made from, it was Carey's character that saved the baby. Armendariz's character was the one who was shot. His character and Dukes character decide to give all their water to the kid (who they think can go straight and raise the baby) and infant and wear out themselves to the death to get them out of the dessert. First Pedro's character carry's the baby till he falters, then Duke's character carry's untill he is played out. The last leg is done by the kid. A great book made into a great movie

    Mark

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

  • No, Jim, the baby wasn't related. The Sherriff isn't even in the story. There wasn't even a chase by the posse into the dessert, just a shoot-out escaping town. There were 4 badmen who rode into town to rob the bank. One was killed on the way out. Once the three men escaped town, there was no longer anything about a chase. Their plan was to cross the dessert, thereby avoiding everyone. Their plans change, of course, when they came upon the mother giving birth. The story about the baby's father blowing up the tanks and trudging off to his death, leaving the mother alone is the same as the film. From here on out, it is very similar to the film, except that the book ends when the last man and baby reach New Jerusalem. It's not a very big book, but a good read. The movie was more entertaining.

    Mark

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

  • I am pleased that Todd picked this virtually forgotten John Wayne gem to review as it represents a terrific collaboration between John Ford and the Duke.


    The movie focuses on three outlaws whom rob a bank in the town of Welcome and make their getaway across the desert being closely pursued by the towns sheriff and a posse of deputies. In the middle of the desert the three outlaws come across a heavily pregnant woman who dies giving birth to her son. The remainder of the movie focuses on the three outlaws attempting to get the baby to safety and in their efforts expose their redeeming qualities ultimately allowing them to gain redemption.


    The movie is rich in visual imagery and symbolism and this combined with a funny yet sentimental storyline gives the viewer something to really get their teeth into giving and overly fulfilling movie.


    The acting is good particularly from Ward Bond as the persistent pursuer and Harry Carey Jnr as the kid outlaw. However it is John Wayne who dominates the movie playing the troubled man who operates on the wrong side of the law, playing Bob Hightower Duke allows us to warm to his character who has questionable values yet when pushed to the brink demonstrates his true character. Duke is equally pleasing to watch whether it be in humorous scenes or in the more dramatic ones and in his movies he was beginning to consistently demonstrate what a great actor he had become.

    Overall this western is somewhat off beat which adds to its overall appeal, it features a great storyline, strong acting and is virtually flawless and for this it rates a very admirable 9/10 for this viewer.


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie

  • I just thought I would give this a shot. I didn't get a chance to watch the movie in the last 2 weeks so this is coming straight from memory. And remember, I'm not very good with words, but let's see what happens.

    You knew this was gonna be a special movie with the salute to Harry Carey at the beginning. As everyone here knows, Harry Carey and John Ford were very good friends, so I guess Harry Carey, Jr. (as the Abilene Kid) being cast in the movie is a given.

    As with any Duke and Ward Bond movie, there are going to be comedic elements and the first is the scene where Duke first meets B Sweet. Of course we all find out later that his real name is Buck Sweet and he is the town Marshal and a fatal flaw of the movie is when Bond says "I'll be seeing you boys." You knew that he'd be seeing him later.

    Another comedic element of the movie is when the judge asks Duke to give his full name and when Bond hears his middle name he just erupts in laughter, One of the funniest scenes in a John Wayne movie I have ever seen. And of course, the scenes with Hank Worden attempting to escort Duke to jail are a hoot as well.

    Now onto the more serious parts of the movie. To me, there a lot of Christmas elements here as well as a lot of religious themes as well. Out of the blue he finds a bible while seeking shelter. The verse he reads is from Matthew and it reads...And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, then sent Jesus two disciples saying unto them, go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find a donkey tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. I'll give it to John Ford, several of his movies have religious elements to them. Yes, I did pop in the DVD to get that verse.

    Overall, just like Robbie, I'll give this one a 9 out of 10. This was kind of fun and I hope everyone enjoys my thoughts on this movie. Now onto the next one.

    Stay thirsty my friends.

  • Sorry to have missed this review, I was out of town for the end day.

    Like the rest of you, I enjoyed the Christmas elements and the story about how a baby and a bible could change the ways of a gang of outlaws. And the 1 remaing outlaw was broken down so far at the end that he was showed what was important in his life. There ian't really more that I can say since most of you have said the things that I am already thinking. Good work!!

    Life is hard, its even harder when your stupid!!
    -John Wayne

  • I persuaded a friend of mine to watch this movie. I didn't tell him it was a western or that it had John Wayne in it. He emailed me his views on the movie which I think were rather interesting even if I don't agree with all of them, below is what he wrote.

    I was expecting a black and white gangster film. BUT OOOHHH NOOOOOO it was another bloody western. But I watched it from start to finish. I'm not sure what I think I about it.
    Yea that film.... three guys, a baby and the Arizona desert.... hmmm perfect plot.


    As I said I'm not sure what I think about it. Its a western with JW, so in my mind it similar to all his others. NO I DID'NT SAY IT WAS THE SAME.


    It was good however, more story telling than modern films. But slower than
    the films I'm used to. I noticed something strange. When the film ended
    and I switched back to normal TV, there was a modern American trash. I
    don't know if it was a film or what. But I had a wonderful repulsion
    for it, after the gritty sandy Arizona.


    Another thing I actually loved about the film. REAL SAND AND A REAL
    TRAIN!!! No glitzing over with silly CGI. Those actors were riding
    the horses and where getting sand in their teeth.


    I didn't like the music in places.... the acting was great. But there are
    some strange and silly bits... the younger fella with the glowing holy
    light over him in the trailer... ?????? Some parts were a bit drawn
    out and ever so slightly overacted. But that's probably over critical.


    I think I could watch it again


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie

  • Here's an example of the book. My copy doesn't have a dust jacket, but I wanted to show you all the one piece of art work in the book. I liked the picture myself.

    Mark



    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

  • makes you think twice about driving in the desert. great movie, like others have mentioned.

    Greetings from North of the 49th

  • I don't mind you asking questions, Sue. They are called by their names and by "Bad men". The part that Duke played is the worst Badman, Tom Gibbons . Pedro Armendariz's part is the wounded Badman, Bill Kearny and Harry Carey Jr.'s part is the youngest Badman, Bob Sangster. The movie plays close to the book with variations in the story line. Ward Bond's part isn't in the book. The Badmen (4 of them) ride in, rob the bank and shoot their way out of town, with one getting killed and three escaping with one injured. Some of the treck accross the desert is almost true to the book (some of the diologue exactly the same), except that the youngest Badman is the only one to survive with the baby. The book ends when he barely reaches New Jeruselem alive. The baby is still named after the badmen. The mother named him Robert William Thomas Sangster. It is not a very long story, but I enjoyed it alot. I enjoyed the movie more, because of the added story of Buck Sweet and the chase.

    Mark

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "