REDISCOVERING ‘THREE GODFATHERS’
There aren’t many stories that have been filmed five separate times—not counting homages and ripoffs—and even fewer that attracted the same A-list director on three occasions, but that is the case with Peter B. Kyne’s Three Godfathers. The director was John Ford, who first made it with his then-collaborator and star Harry Carey in 1916. Unfortunately, both that film and a 1919 remake that reteamed them called Marked Men no longer exist. An up-and-coming William Wyler tackled the first talkie adaptation (also released in a silent version), called Hell’s’ Heroes, in 1930. Ford returned to the sturdy vehicle with John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, and a fresh-faced Harry Carey, Jr. in 1948. The film is dedicated to Ford’s departed comrade Harry Carey and costars the actor’s…