Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend

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Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend
Directed by John Ford
Produced byJames Ellsworth
Starring Chesty Puller
Narrated by John Wayne
CinematographyBrick Marquard
Release date
  • 1976 (1976)
Running time
47 minutes
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$225,000 [1]

Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend is a documentary directed by John Ford and narrated by John Wayne. [2] [3] [4] Filming was completed in 1970, but the film was not released until 1976, three years after Ford's death.

Contents

It was the final film directed by John Ford.

Overview

The documentary about United States Marine General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, the most decorated Marine in US history, was made for television. Filming commenced in August 1968 at Puller's Virginia home and was completed on April 8, 1970. Ford had met Puller in Korea and was a tentmate and became close friends. [1]

Both Ford and John Wayne make an appearance. The last scene that Ford ever shot was the segment featuring Wayne, shot on the set of Rio Lobo in Tucson, Arizona, the night after Wayne had received the Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit . [1]

The film was originally an hour long but was initially cut to 30 minutes by Ford's editor, Leon Selditz, with approval by Ford. [1]

It contains a Marine Corps tribute to Puller, filmed on January 28, 1969 at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. Variety claimed that the sequence contained almost certainly Ford's only zoom shot in one of his films, given his hatred of the zoom lens. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 McBride, Joseph. "Last John Ford Pic, Tribute To Gen. Puller, Looks For Buyer". Daily Variety . p. 3.
  2. "Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend (1976), by John Ford - Marine Corps Association". www.mca-marines.org. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  3. McBride, Joseph (5 April 2003). Searching For John Ford: A Life. Macmillan. ISBN   9780312310110 . Retrieved 30 March 2018 via Google Books.
  4. Eyman, Scott (29 May 2012). Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9781451685114 . Retrieved 30 March 2018 via Google Books.