--- name: "Glenn Ford" canonical: "https://film.one/person/glenn-ford" roles: ["Actor"] born: "1 May 1916" died: "30 August 2006" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-19T21:39:09.006679+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Glenn Ford Actor. Born 1 May 1916 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Died 30 August 2006. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 1 May 1916, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada - **Died:** 30 August 2006 - **Also known as:** Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford, Gwyllyn Ford, Гленн Форд, گلن فورد - **Golden Globes:** 1 Golden Globe (1 won) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Ford, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q212048, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001229/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3381 ## Fi1m on Glenn Ford > Glenn Ford built a career on doing next to nothing on screen and making it register. He played ordinary men under pressure in Westerns, thrillers and classrooms, and he was best when the film trusted him to keep his voice down. In *Cimarron* (1960) Glenn Ford plays Yancey Cravat as a man who cannot stay in a room. He is courteous to everyone and reliable to no one, and he keeps leaving, and Ford does not make any of it charming. Most leading men of his generation would have asked us to forgive Yancey. Ford lets us see what his wife sees, which is a door closing. We were irritated with the man by the second hour, and then realised Ford had built the irritation on purpose, one polite exit at a time, and had not asked to be liked for it. That is the method, and it took a while to find a home. He signed to Columbia in 1939 and spent the early years in B-pictures and supporting parts, went away to the Marines from 1942 to 1945, and came back to *Gilda* (1946), opposite Rita Hayworth, and was a star by the end of it. He and Hayworth made five films together. Through the 1950s and 1960s he was the studio's ordinary man in an unusual spot, across Westerns, noir, drama and comedy: the detective in *The Big Heat* (1953), the teacher in *Blackboard Jungle* (1955), and, less typically, the outlaw Ben Wade in *3:10 to Yuma* (1957), for Delmer Daves, who directed him twice and got a performance most critics count among his strongest in a Western. He had a philosophy about it. "Doing nothing well is my definition of a good actor," he said, and he practised it: fewer lines, a level voice, no reaching for the effect. Directors of Westerns and thrillers could put him in a frightening place and let the calm do the work. In *Cimarron* Anthony Mann gives him the land rush and then a marriage, and Ford plays the marriage in the same level voice, which is right for the character and hard on the film. The scenes with Maria Schell are civil, well lit and repetitive, and it is Schell, who stays, that our review warmed to. The risk with doing nothing is that in the wrong film it looks like nothing. By the later years critics were saying the resources had contracted and the decent American had become a comic-book version of himself, and *Superman* (1978), where he plays Jonathan Kent, is the example usually given. The part asks for a decent farmer and he supplies one; the complaint was that by then he could supply little else. He retired in 1991. Start with *Cimarron* to see the method under strain, and go to *3:10 to Yuma* for it working. Either way, watch the pauses rather than the lines. That is where he kept his acting. ## Biography Glenn Ford (1 May 1916 – 30 August 2006) was a Canadian-born American actor whose career spanned more than five decades. Born Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford in Quebec, he moved with his family to California as a child and began acting in school plays and with a touring company before making his film debut in 1939. He appeared in over 100 films, including *Gilda* (1946), *The Big Heat* (1953), *Blackboard Jungle* (1955), *3:10 to Yuma* (1957) and *Cimarron* (1960), in which he played Yancey 'Cimarron' Cravat. Ford also featured in *Superman* (1978) as Jonathan Kent. He served in the US Marine Corps during the Second World War and later in the Naval Reserve. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Cimarron* (1960), Fi1m 57, as Yancey 'Cimarron' Cravat — [page](https://film.one/film/cimarron.md) ## Complete filmography (115) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Final Verdict* (1991), as Rev. Rogers - *Raw Nerve* (1991), as Captain Gavin - *Border Shootout* (1989), as Sheriff Danaher - *Casablanca Express* (1989), as Major Gen. Williams - *My Town* (1986), as Lucas Wheeler - *Happy Birthday to Me* (1981), as Dr. David Faraday - *Great White Death* (1981), as Narrator - *Superman II* (1980), as Jonathan Kent (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Virus* (1980), as President Richardson - *Day of the Assassin* (1979), as Christakis - *The Gift* (1979), as Billy Devlin - *Beggarman, Thief* (1979), series, as David Donnelly - *The Sacketts* (1979), series, as Tom Sunday - *The Hollywood Clowns* (1979), as Narrator (voice) - *The Visitor* (1979), as Det. Jake Durham - *Superman* (1978), as Pa Kent - *Evening in Byzantium* (1978), series, as Jesse Craig - *Police Story: No Margin for Error* (1978), as Deputy Chief Walter Hayes - *The 3,000 Mile Chase* (1977), as Paul Dvorak / Leonard Staveck - *Once an Eagle* (1976), series, as George Caldwell - *Midway* (1976), as Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance - *The Family Holvak* (1975), series, Actor - *Long Way Home* (1975), as Rev. Tom Holvak - *Punch and Jody* (1974), as Peter 'Punch' Travers - *The Greatest Gift* (1974), as Rev. Holvak - *The Disappearance of Flight 412* (1974), as Colonel Pete Moore - *Santee* (1973), as Santee - *Police Story* (1973), series, Actor - *Jarrett* (1973), as Sam Jarrett - *The Marshal of Madrid* (1972), as Sam Cade - *Sam Cade* (1972), as Sam Cade - *Cade's County* (1971), series, as Sheriff Sam Cade - *The Brotherhood of the Bell* (1970), as Prof. Andrew 'Andy' Patterson - *Heaven with a Gun* (1969), as Jim Killan - *Smith!* (1969), as Smith - *Day of the Evil Gun* (1968), as Lorn Warfield - *A Time for Killing* (1967), as Tom Wolcott - *The Last Challenge* (1967), as Marshal Dan Blaine - *Rage* (1966), as Reuben - *Is Paris Burning?* (1966), as Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley - *The Dean Martin Show* (1965), series, Actor - *The Money Trap* (1965), as Joe Baron - *Dear Heart* (1965), as Harry Mork - *The Rounders* (1965), as Ben Jones - *Fate Is the Hunter* (1964), as Sam McBane - *Advance to the Rear* (1964), as Capt. Jared Heath - *Love is a Ball* (1963), as John Lathrop Davis - *The Courtship of Eddie's Father* (1963), as Tom Corbett - *Experiment in Terror* (1962), as John Ripley - *The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse* (1962), as Julio Desnoyers - *Pocketful of Miracles* (1961), as Dave 'The Dude' Conway · Associate Producer - *Cry for Happy* (1961), as Andy Cyphers - *Cimarron* (1960), as Yancey 'Cimarron' Cravat — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/cimarron.md) - *The Gazebo* (1959), as Elliott Nash - *It Started with a Kiss* (1959), as Joe Fitzpatrick - *Torpedo Run* (1958), as Lt. Cmdr. Barney Doyle - *Imitation General* (1958), as MSgt. Murphy Savage - *The Sheepman* (1958), as Jason Sweet - *Cowboy* (1958), as Tom Reese - *The Day Called X* (1957), as Narrator - *Don't Go Near the Water* (1957), as Lt. J.G. Max Siegel - *3:10 to Yuma* (1957), as Ben Wade - *The Teahouse of the August Moon* (1957), as Captain Fisby - *The Fastest Gun Alive* (1956), as George Temple / George Kelby, Jr. - *Jubal* (1956), as Jubal Troop - *Ransom!* (1956), as David G. 'Dave' Stannard - *Trial* (1955), as David Blake - *MGM Parade* (1955), series, as Dave Stannard in 'Ransom!' (archive footage) - *Interrupted Melody* (1955), as Dr. Thomas King - *Blackboard Jungle* (1955), as Richard Dadier - *The Violent Men* (1955), as John Parrish - *The Americano* (1955), as Sam Dent - *Human Desire* (1954), as Jeff Warren - *City Story* (1954), as Narrator - *Appointment in Honduras* (1953), as Jim Corbett - *The Big Heat* (1953), as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion - *Plunder of the Sun* (1953), as Al Colby - *The Man from the Alamo* (1953), as John Stroud - *Time Bomb* (1953), as Peter Lyncort - *Affair in Trinidad* (1952), as Steve Emery - *Young Man with Ideas* (1952), as Maxwell Webster - *The Green Glove* (1952), as Michael 'Mike' Blake - *The Secret of Convict Lake* (1951), as Jim Canfield - *Follow the Sun* (1951), as Ben Hogan - *The Redhead and the Cowboy* (1951), as Gil Kyle - *The Flying Missile* (1950), as William A. Talbot - *Convicted* (1950), as Joe Hufford - *The White Tower* (1950), as Martin Ordway - *The Doctor and the Girl* (1949), as Dr. Michael Corday - *Mr. Soft Touch* (1949), as Joe Miracle - *Lust for Gold* (1949), as Jacob 'Dutch' Walz - *The Undercover Man* (1949), as Frank Warren - *The Return of October* (1948), as Prof. Bentley 'Bass' Bassett Jr. - *The Loves of Carmen* (1948), as Don José - *The Man from Colorado* (1948), as Col. Owen Devereaux - *The Mating of Millie* (1948), as Doug Andrews - *Framed* (1947), as Mike Lambert - *Gallant Journey* (1946), as John J. Montgomery - *A Stolen Life* (1946), as Bill Emerson - *Gilda* (1946), as Johnny Farrell - *Guadalcanal Diary* (1943), as Marine Extra (uncredited) - *Destroyer* (1943), as Mickey Donohue - *The Desperadoes* (1943), as Cheyenne Rogers - *Flight Lieutenant* (1942), as Danny Doyle - *The Adventures of Martin Eden* (1942), as Martin Eden - *Go West, Young Lady* (1941), as Tex Miller - *Texas* (1941), as Tod Ramsey - *So Ends Our Night* (1941), as Ludwig Kern - *Blondie Plays Cupid* (1940), as Charlie - *The Lady in Question* (1940), as Pierre Morestan - *Babies for Sale* (1940), as Steve Burton / Oscar Hanson - *Men Without Souls* (1940), as Johnny Adams - *Convicted Woman* (1940), as Jim Brent (Reporter) - *My Son Is Guilty* (1939), as Barney - *Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence* (1939), as Joe Riley ## Gallery - ![Glenn Ford](https://film.one/media/person/1224931/gallery-0598061a67b5.jpg) Glenn Ford — Columbia Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Glenn_Ford_-_1955.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Glenn Ford](https://film.one/media/person/1224931/gallery-71a9d4f26ea3.jpg) Glenn Ford — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Golden Globes — 1 won - 1961: Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (won), for *Pocketful of Miracles* ### Other awards — 1 won - Donostia Award 1987: Donostia Award (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/glenn-ford