Three Godfathers

3 Godfathers is a 1948 western film directed by John Ford and filmed (although not set) primarily in Death Valley. The screenplay, written by Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings, is based on the novelette of the same name written by Peter Kyne. Ford had already adapted the film once before in 1919 as Marked Men. The original silent adaptation by Ford is thought to be lost today. The story is something of a re-telling of the story of The Three ... more

3 Godfathers is a 1948 western film directed by John Ford and filmed (although not set) primarily in Death Valley. The screenplay, written by Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings, is based on the novelette of the same name written by Peter Kyne. Ford had already adapted the film once before in 1919 as Marked Men. The original silent adaptation by Ford is thought to be lost today. The story is something of a re-telling of the story of The Three Wise Men in an American western context. Robert Hightower (John Wayne), Pedro 'Pete' Rocafuerte (Pedro Armendáriz), and William Kearney (Harry Carey Jr.) rob a bank in the town of Welcome, Arizona, but Kearney suffers a bullet wound and they have to flee into the desert, pursued by the posse of Sheriff Buck Sweet (Ward Bond), who puts a bullet in their water bag. They eventually lose their horses in a desert storm and end up walking. In their search for water, they come across a water hole, which has, however, been destroyed by the misguided... less