Twentieth Century-Fox was created by a 1935 merger and quickly became the third-biggest Hollywood film studio. It signed such rising stars as Henry Fonda, Tyrone Power, and Shirley Temple.
Director John Ford was one of the top directors of the time, while British film director Alfred Hitchcock was lured to Hollywood, where he became an even greater success.
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Fanfare
Opening War Theme
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” from The Nutcracker.
Composed in 1892 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.
Closing War Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
Nice to hear the backstory on 20th Century-Fox! Just have to note, though, that Monument Valley is _not_ in Colorado. It’s in extreme northern Arizona, next to the Utah line, and lies within the Navajo Reservation. The Navajo have made the area a tribal park, and sell permits to drive the loop road through it. You can also get guided tours, and some sites can only be accessed that way. Monument Valley is not very big, so it’s not difficult to recognize landmarks in Ford’s films! It’s indeed been commented that it’s ironic that this 5 or so square miles has become emblematic of the whole American west.