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3 Godfathers (1948)

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Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 10
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 2

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 2,086

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Movie Info

John Ford had already directed one of the three previous film versions of Peter Kyne's novel under the title Marked Men (1919) with his mentor Harry Carey, a great cowboy star of the silent era who had recently died. It's not difficult to see how the story's sentimentality and Christian symbolism might have appealed to the director's sensibility. John Wayne stars as Bob Hightower, the leader of a trio of thieves who rob a bank in Arizona and take off with the posse of Sheriff Buck Sweet (Ward

Unrated, 1 hr. 46 min.

Western, Drama, Classics

Directed By: John Ford

Written By: Laurence Stallings, Frank S. Nugent

In Theaters: Dec 1, 1948 Wide

On DVD: Jun 6, 2006

Cast

John Wayne
Robert Marmaduke Highto...
Harry Carey Jr.
William Kearney "The Ab...
Ward Bond
Perley "Buck" Sweet
Mae Marsh
Mrs. Perley Sweet
Mildred Natwick
Mother
Jane Darwell
Miss Florie
Guy Kibbee
Judge
Dorothy Ford
Ruby Latham
Ben Johnson
Patrolman
Pedro Armend�riz
Pedro "Pete" Roca Fuert...
Ruth Clifford
Woman in Bar
Charles Halton
Mr. Latham
Fred Libby
Deputy Sheriff "Curly"
Cliff Lyons
Guard at Mojave Tanks
Don Summers
Patrolman
Hank Worden
Deputy Sheriff
Michael Dugan
Patrolman
Francis Ford
Drunken Old-Timer at Ba...
Richard Hageman
Saloon Pianist
Jack Pennick
Luke

Critic Reviews for 3 Godfathers

All Critics (10) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (2) | DVD (4)

There are humor and honest tear-jerking in this visually beautiful film.

March 25, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Top Critic

A wonderful, sentimental western.

November 27, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

he last reel, with Wayne explicitly identified as the Prodigal Son and a general collapse into mawkishness, might almost have strayed in from another movie.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Tom Milne

Time Out

Reworking of the 3 wise men story out west is very good Ford.

October 16, 2004 Comment

Steve Crum

Kansas City Kansan Source: Kansas City Kansan

Wayne as the Prodigal Son delivering the Christ child seemed a bit of a stretch.

June 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Gorgeously photographed Ford version of the often filmed story.

August 13, 2003 Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

It's phoney, it's bunk -- and it might just persuade you of a beautiful lie.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

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Audience Reviews for 3 Godfathers

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Number 3 in the quest of 30 by Christmas. This one talks about Christmas but doesn't have a overall theme of Christmas till its end. The Duke John Wayne plays a bad guy in this film, something that was rare, after robbing a bank The Duke and his partners go across the desert to avoid the law, when they happen upon a

November 16, 2010

Bruce Bruce

Super Reviewer

This is just a great movie that's both fun and well made. It must be the first John Wayne/John Ford movie in color and it's truly beautiful to look at. While it's a premise that certainly could have become corny, it doesn't and manages to have a great message. The chemistry between the three bank robbers is one of the

July 27, 2010