The Essential Watchlist that Capture the Essence of Little Miss Smi...

Dir: John Ford

An Arizona cattleman defeats the rustlers and the sheriff who is in league with them.

Dir: John Ford

A mother is convinced her son is a ranch owner when in fact he is an outlaw, and she just saves him from hanging.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of A Marked Man perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: John Ford

Jim Kyneton, once a member of an outlaw gang, joins the Texas Rangers and is forced to track down his former friends and his half-brother Nick, who have been robbing a gold mine.

Dir: John Ford

Convict Cheyenne Harry escapes from prison in a garbage truck and boards a train, where he eludes capture with the help of passenger Henry Beaufort.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Rider of the Law perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: John Ford

The marshal of a wild Kansas border town is killed in a gunfight in a saloon. His son, Cheyenne Harry, shoots dead two of the killers. Not wanting to lose both her son and her husband to gun violence, Harry's mother gets him to agree never to carry a gun again. However, Harry's rival for the beautiful Conchita, Boone Travis, commits a murder and frames Harry for it. Complications ensue.

Dir: John Ford

Jode McWilliams, the foreman of Circle O, is in love with Peg, the daughter of Pa Owens, the owner of the ranch. The trouble is that daddy won't allow! Which does not stop Jode from wanting to marry Peg. He asks Stumpy, the cook, to help him write a love letter to the lady of his heart. The other cowhands find it and, with a view to making fun of Jode, nail it to the door. Two Horns, an Indian, steals it and ... delivers it to Peg. When Jode and his posse, pursuing the facetious redskin, arrive at the Owenses' house, Jode's boss has already found out. A showdown ensues and the young man, who has lost the fight, is made prisoner and held in a room. But he is rescued by his pal Chub and a helpful parson marry the two lovebirds. Away they ride from the reluctant father towards happiness.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Secret Man perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: John Ford

Cattleman Flint cuts off farmer Sims' water supply. When Sims' son Ted goes for water, one of Flint's men kills him. Cheyenne is sent to finish off Sims, but finding the family at the newly dug grave, he changes sides.

Dir: John Ford

A grizzled hero is revisiting the town of his youthful exploits.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Bare Fists perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: John Ford

A cowboy must save his girlfriend from captivity and then cross the desert on foot with a single waterhole on the way.

Dir: John Ford

The head of a band of cattle rustlers is defied, prompting him to call his phantom riders together and route the defier's cattle, and then seek their owner intent on taking his life.