This scene, where the father played so warmly and memorably by Donald Crisp enters into a contract with his young son (the extraordinary Roddy McDowall) agreeing to reward him for every scrape and bruise, has stuck with me more than any other from this Academy-Award winner since I first saw it over thirty-years ago.
This isn’t a father paying a son to fight or even to fight back; he’s paying him to be a man and teaching him what I believe is the most important lesson in life. That living with the shame of a coward always avoiding, hiding from or on the run from a righteous fight, is a fate worse than anything — much less a fat lip, black eye or whatever.
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Whether it’s in the schoolyard or on the battlefield or in the political arena, director John Ford is telling us that while you should never start a fight, you should also never run from one. Each of us has a duty to stand up, to ball our fists, and to take it to the bullies — whether they’re bullying us or anyone else. This is as timeless and vital a message as it was 70 years ago.
The older I get the more I notice and appreciate the care and detail that went into the thematic construction of many of these classic films. Our classic filmmakers very much wanted to shape and mold our society into something better — something more resilient, independent and dignified.
Like all of us, the men and women in front of and behind these cameras frequently fell short of their own standards. But at least they had standards, and no, that doesn’t make them hypocrites. Not a single one ever said they were perfect. What they did say, however, was that we all need to keep working to get over ourselves, to aspire towards something more honorable, and to never-ever take any shit.
In that way, great old movies are like great dads.
Happy Father’s Day to one and all.
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