Still image from the 1949 film 3 Godfathers.

3 Godfathers

Directed by John Ford

Three outlaws on the run risk their freedom and their lives to return a newborn to civilization.

1949 1h 45m Western TV-G

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CAST
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John Ford, Director
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John Ford
Director

1

John Wayne, Robert Marmaduke Sangster Hightower
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John Wayne
Robert Marmaduke Sang..

2

Pedro Armendariz, Pedro Roca Fuerte
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Pedro Armendariz
Pedro Roca Fuerte

3

Harry Carey Jr., William Kearny,
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Harry Carey Jr.
William Kearny, "The ..

4

Ward Bond,
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Ward Bond
"Buck" Perley Sweet

5

Mae Marsh, Mrs. Perley Sweet
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Mae Marsh
Mrs. Perley Sweet

FULL SYNOPSIS

Texas outlaws Robert Marmaduke Sangster Hightower, Pedro Roca Fuerte and William Kearny, "The Abiline Kid," arrive in the small town of Welcome, Arizona, to rob a bank. After first meeting Sheriff Buck Perley Sweet and his wife, the three bandits encounter Mrs. Sweet's niece, Ruby Latham, the wife of the town's bank president. The outlaws then proceed to shoot their way into Latham's bank, just as Buck discovers that they are wanted men. The Abiline Kid is wounded in the ensuing shootout with the sheriff and his posse, but he manages to escape into the desert with Pedro and Robert. Back in town, Buck deputizes members of his posse and organizes a manhunt to capture the three desperados who are on horseback. The deputies are sent by train to the Mojave water tank, the nearest source of desert water, where Buck hopes the three outlaws will go. As Pedro, Robert and The Kid approach the water tank, they discover Buck's trap and plan an alternate course. Suspecting that Buck also has men waiting for them at Apache Wells, the next water source, Robert instead plans to head north to Terrapin Tanks and cross the Mexican border at a more remote location. The three bandits soon find themselves in a sandstorm, and later are forced to continue on foot after their horses escape. Meanwhile, Buck and his posse arrive at Apache Wells, and wait for the robbers. When the robbers fail to show up, Buck realizes that they must have doubled back, and goes in search of them. Robert and ...


VIDEOS
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Opening, Dedication...
Movie Clip
By The Way Of New Jerusalem...
Movie Clip
Robert William Pedro...
Movie Clip
Ben Mankiewicz Intro...
Hosted Intro
Tiffany Vazquez Intro...
Hosted Intro
Mojave Tanks
Movie Clip

ARTICLES
In 1947, John Ford directed and released an uncharacteristic failure, the offbeat Henry Fonda picture, The Fugitive. The miserable experience of shooting The Fugitive and its disappointing box office returns instigated a change of direction in Ford's career. From then on, he relied on westerns to sustain a healthy career. And since Argosy, Ford's production company co-owned with Merian C. Cooper, was then on the brink of bankruptcy, another western seemed like a good bet. This western project eventually became 3 Godfathers (1948). Ford chose to remake Peter B. Kyne's story of "The Three Godfathers." Harry Carey, Sr. had starred in two different silent versions of the story, Three Godfathers in 1916 and the Ford-directed Marked Men in 1929. MGM had made the last version of the Kyne story in 1936, and still owned the rights, so Ford would have to make 3 Godfathers at MGM under another old lion of Hollywood, studio chief Louis B. Mayer. Ford made it clear though that he would not defer to MGM's unfriendly policies towards maverick directors. In September 1947, before the project took root, Carey, a life-long mentor and friend to Ford, died of a coronary thrombosis. To pay homage to Carey, Ford decided to give his son, Harry Carey, Jr., a proper launch for his budding acting career with a starring role in 3 Godfathers. Ford chose John Wayne and Mexican star Pedro Armendariz to co-star with Harry Carey, Jr. in the tale of three bad men who find redemption in a ba...

ARCHIVES
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 Movie Poster from the movie '3 Godfathers'
3 Godfathers
Movie Poster

NOTES
The onscreen credits contain the following written dedication: "To the memory of Harry Carey, bright star of the early western sky." Carey, who died on September 24, 1947, was a longtime friend of both John Wayne and John Ford, and starred in two previous screen versions of the story. Peter B. Kyne's short story "Broncho Billy and the Baby," which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1910, is identified in some sources as the basis for his novel The Three Godfathers. The novel first appeared in the same magazine on November 23, 1912. Pre-production news items in Hollywood Reporter noted that Argosy Pictures negotiated a one-picture releasing contract with M-G-M for this film, and that it marked the first time that M-G-M accepted a distrubution deal without a financial investment or creative input in the production.
       According to an April 1948 Hollywood Reporter news item, director John Ford initia...

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