Ward Bond

Gentleman Jim

You have some great movies there Hondo. I, of course have them in a much different order, but then........I am of the female sex....maybe that makes a difference, LOL. I was surprised to see Rio Bravo listed near the top as he has such a very small part in it. I suggest you watch Drums Along the Mohawk, Operation Pacific, and They Were Expendable again when you have time. In the last, Ward was in the movie a great deal more than I saw at the beginning.......he is not as noticeable because he could not move around until he was shot and they gave him a crutch. Real life, as he could not walk without one yet after almost losing his leg. Pappy made sure he got lots of coverage in his first movie back from recovery.......and the last person seen in the movie is Ward looking into the sky to see the plane with his commander and Duke headed to safety. In Drums, Ward was pretty much in a co star role to Hank Fonda. I believe that kiss to the old widow was probably the longest in the history of movies up until that time, LOL! You could really tell that Ward enjoyed his role in Drums!

There are quite a few others, but here are just a few that Ward is very good in and can still be found without to much ado.
A GUY NAMED JOE SPENCER TRACY AND WARD IS IN THE WHOLE MOVIE LOVE THIS ONE
BLOWING WILD GARY COOPER AND WARD. VERY DIFFERENT ROLE FOR WARD....SHOWS HOW WARDROBE CAN HELP TO REALLY CHANGE A CHARACTER.....I KEPT THINKING OF WARD
AS CARROLL O'CONNOR PLAYING ARCHIE BUNKER. AND IF YOU KNOW ME, AT ALL, THAT IS A PRETTY DIFFICULT THING TO THINK OF!
CHINA DOLL EXCELLENT WARD MOVIE.....WITH VIC MATURE. THIS IS THE ONE THAT WARD, AFTER BEING HURT ON THE WAGON TRAIN SET, WORKED A WHOLE DAY OF DIALOGUE WITH
A BROKEN HIP BONE SO VIC COULD CATCH HIS SCHEDULED PLANE FOR HIS NEXT MOVIE. IN FRAME BY FRAME, YOU CAN SEE THE INTENSE PAIN HE IS IN WHEN SITTING DOWN
BUT NOTHING OF THAT SHOWS IN THE NORMAL MOVIE SPEED. WARD IS BEGINNING TO DEVELOP SOME OF HIS SOFT, GRAVELY VOICE INFLECTIONS THAT WILL LATER BE
USED QUITE OFTEN IN WAGON TRAIN WHEN CONSOLING OR EXPLAINING SOMETHING TO A PASSENGER ON HIS TRAIN.
PILLARS OF THE SKY JEFF CHANDLER AND WARD. GREAT LITTLE MOVIE SHOWING WARD'S DIVERSITY IN A ROLE. CAN'T IMAGINE HOW JEFF CARRIED HIM AS HE DID...........MUST HAVE HAD LEGS
OF STEEL, LOL.
GENTLEMAN JIM ONE OF HIS FINEST AND MOST MOVING SCENES AT THE END OF THE MOVIE......EXCELLENT.
HITLER DEAD OR ALIVE MOST DEFINITELY NOT AWARD MATERIAL. BUT THE ONLY MOVIE, I BELIEVE, WHERE WARD RECEIVES TOP BILLING, ALTHOUGH HE SHOULD HAVE FOR WAGON MASTER AS
HE WAS PAID A GOOD DEAL MORE THAN ANY ONE ELSE IN THE MOVIE. WARD IS THE STAR THROUGHOUT......AND REGARDLESS OF A RIDICULOUS SCRIPT, HE DOES A
WONDERFUL JOB WITH THE MATERIAL GIVEN HIM, (Hitler).
THE LONG GREY LINE WARD PLAYS THE MASTER OF THE SWORD AT WEST POINT
ON DANGEROUS GROUND WARD PLAYS A MAN BOUND ON GETTING VENGENCE FOR HIS DAUGHTER

ONLY THE VALIANT GREG PECK, WARD, AND A NOTABLE CAST. WARD IS SUPER. AND, HE SINGS QUITE A BIT IN THIS MOVIE. (HE HAD AN EXCELLENT VOICE WITH INCREDIBLE RANGE). SOME
MOVIES HE WOULD HARMONIZE IN BARITONE AND THEN SWITCH TO LEAD......LATER HARMONIZING IN TENOR. HE SINGS IN QUITE A BIT MORE MOVIES THAN I EVER
REALIZED.

There are a great deal more. But these are some of the better ones where he had a fairly large if not almost co starring part. If you get these and want some more, just let me know.....I will give you some more little if at all publicized ones. If you have trouble getting them...........also let me know.....should be able to help you out. Some pictures in the next email. KEITH

Quote from Hondo Duke Lane

Ward Bond was such a wonderful actor. He left us before I was born so I can only say that I got to enjoy his past work. And work he did. I see that he did 274 films and most of them were supporting roles. My problem is I keep finding him in movies I didn't know he was in and enjoy what he has done. Here is my ranking of characters I think were his best roles.

20. First Outlaw ~ Buck Benny Rides Again
19. Policeman ~ The Grapes of Wrath
18. Yank ~ The Long Voyage Home *
17. Adam Hartman ~ Drums Along the Mohawk
16. Cmdr. John T. 'Pop' Perry ~ Operation Pacific *
15. Major Seth Adams ~ Wagon Train (TV series)
14. 'Boats' Mulcahey C.B.M. ~ They Were Expendable *
13. Morgan Earp ~ My Darling Clementine
12. Perley "Buck" Sweet ~ 3 Godfathers *
11. Detective Tom Polhaus ~ The Maltese Falcon
10. Tom the Yankee Captain ~ Gone With The Wind
9. Sgt. Maj. Michael O'Rourke ~ Fort Apache *
8. Chief Petty Officer Dowdy ~ Mister Roberts
7. Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton ~ The Searchers *
6. Buffalo Baker ~ Hondo *
5. Pat Wheeler ~ Rio Bravo *
4. Ike Botkan ~ Sergeant York
3. John Dodge ~ Wings of Eagles *
2. Father Peter Lonergan ~ The Quiet Man *
1. Bert the Cop ~ It's A Wonderful Life

Sorry, it was not a Duke movie but he was the best in It's a Wonderful Life. If he had lived I bet he would have been in To Kill A Mockingbird which is my favorite movie, made back in 1962. He died in November 5, 1960. I keep making changes and keep finding some wonderful movies he has made. So I started out with a top 5, moved to 10 and again at 15 before I finally made it a Top 20. Just can't seem to stop. And want to see more of these movies that I haven't seen him in. What a wonderful life he had, just cut too short.

(*) ~ movie with John Wayne.

Cheers Hondo

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Well, I got a note that said Paula had posted......came to the link, it said "Gentleman Jim", but now.....it is not there. So, this is from that fantastic scene from Gentleman Jim. You have to click on the picture to get the audio with it.....still haven't figure this out yet, LOL. KEITH

Wagon Master Frame by frame will show something not in the script. Ward's pants are pulled away to show what remained of his injury.....a large "dimple" above his knee., (whole story on my blog).
=http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/Hawkswill/media/Wagon%20Master%202012/WMWardseespantstorn.png.html]

China Doll Ward hiding pain as he sat down.
=http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/Hawkswill/media/China%20Doll/vlcsnap-2013-02-05-07h21m56s10.png.html]

A Guy Named Joe
=http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/Hawkswill/media/A%20Guy%20Named%20Joe/vlcsnap-2013-05-12-09h16m04s118.png.html]

Pillars of the Sky
=http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/Hawkswill/media/Pillars%20of%20the%20Sky/JeffcarryingWard.png.html]

Well, Hawkswill (Keith) I told you that I need to watch more movies with Bond, and you listed ALL movies I haven't seen. Thanks for the heads up.

Rio Bravo with Duke and Ward has a special place in my heart. Two things here for the reason I picked this movie in my #5 spot. One, he did have a small part but it was him that stirred up the major characters to take action upon his death that he wanted to help Chance with the Burdette problem. He was the only one who had the courage to stand against the Burdette gang. He was excellent in the part he played. The other reason, is the was the last time he and Duke would be in a movie together. So, my ranking was personal to me, and is my favorite western.

Thanks again for telling me about those movies.

Cheers Mike aka Hondo

Have managed to track down Hitler Dead or Alive, looking forward to seeing the only movie where Ward received top billing!

Hi Irish,

Yep, bought it at Wally World for $5 a few weeks ago. I think you can get it on Ebay pretty easy. It not......let me know...........I will get my guy to find it for you. HAGO, KEITH

Oops, thought you said you hadn't found it. Well, I enjoyed seeing Ward that much in one movie.......kinda like seeing him in Wagon Train, LOL! KEITH

Yeah I was surprised how easy it was to get considering there's a few Duke films I can't find anywhere, the plot sounds abit like the Tarantino movie Inglorious Basterds so as a fan of Ward i'm looking forward too seeing it, i'll report back with my thoughts!

Great Picture Larry! Haven't seen that one before..only have about 4 of Canyon Passage. Thanks, KEITH

Ward filling boo&#122.jpgFriend Peter, (Dooley), found this and surprised me with it. I hadn't seen the pic before, but the movie is one of my most favorites!. Nice surprise from across the big water! Still can't make the pics like Larry does, but I WILL figure it out, LOL!

New one for me Larry........FANTASTIC, thanks. KEITH

Quote from lasbugas

This will make Hawkswill (and me, and many others) happy. The Warner Archive has just released a newly remastered The Oklahoma Kid on DVD. Yay!

http://shop.warnerarchive.com/…icks&refType=&from=Search

Carat wants a hat&#3.jpgThanks Paula. That will be great. I still have a few Ward pics that I can't find............but have most of them. Will LOVE to see the new Oklahoma Kid one! Thanks again, KEITH
Oh, we got a bunch of snow. Measured it 12 to 16 inches in the pasture. Carat looked like he has REAL short legs, LOL. Here he is trying to steal my hat. He likes to take my caps off and shake his head up and down with them!....Didn't think about having my silly looking reading glasses on........Oh well, next time I will use my gold rimmed ones!

More Ward on DVD! Two new releases from Sony's Columbia Classics collection. Release date: May 6.

The Devil's Playground (Columbia Classics) (1937)
Actor: Richard Dix, Dolores del Rio, Chester Morris, George McKay, John Gallaudet, Pierre Watkin, Ward Bond, Don Rowan, Francis McDonald, Stanley Andrews Director: Erle C. Kenton
Year: 1937 Length: 73 minutes
Released: May 6, 2014

SYNOPSIS:
Two submarine officers, Dorgan (Richard Dix) and Mason (Chester Morris), find their friendship strained when they both fall for a dance girl, Carmen (Dolores del Rio). Dorgan marries Carmen, but while Dorgan is on duty, Carmen seduces Mason. Dorgan and Mason become romantic rivals but Dorgan must forget his anger when Masons sub goes down and only Dorgan can save him.

Too Tough to Kill (Columbia Classics) (1935)
Actor: Victor Jory, Sally O'Neil, Johnny Arthur, Robert Gleckler, Monte Carter, Ward Bond, Frank Rice, Dewey Robinson, Eddy Chandler, George McKay, Thurston Hal
Director: D. Ross Lederman
Year: 1935
Length: 57 minutes

SYNOPSIS:
John O'Hara (Victor Jory) is a tough-talking, hard-fisted man brought in to make sure the construction of a tunnel is completed before his company loses a valuable contract. But a conniving rival company is trying to ruin the project, and only John and smooth journalist Ann Miller (Sally O'Neil) can stop the rivals from destroying the tunnel and risking lives in the process.

Wow, have been waiting for them.....didn't realize they were coming out. THANKS for letting us know. Hi to Hubby! May be going Atlanta way in a few months. Westminster alumni thing! Thanks again, KP