Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

3 Godfathers

Play trailer Poster for 3 Godfathers 1948 1h 46m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Thieves and rustlers Robert Hightower (John Wayne), Pete Fuerte (Pedro Armendáriz) and the Abilene Kid (Harry Carey Jr.) rob a bank in a small Arizona town. Pursued across the desert by the indefatigable Sheriff Buck Sweet (Ward Bond), the trio lose their horses, suffer injuries, and come across a stranded woman (Mildred Natwick) who is dying while giving birth. Promising to carry the woman's newborn to safety, the repentant criminals struggle to reach the village of New Jerusalem.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

3 Godfathers

Critics Reviews

View More
Tom Milne Time Out 06/24/2006
he last reel, with Wayne explicitly identified as the Prodigal Son and a general collapse into mawkishness, might almost have strayed in from another movie. Go to Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times 03/25/2006
4/5
There are humor and honest tear-jerking in this visually beautiful film. Go to Full Review Christopher Lloyd The Film Yap Mar 31
3.5/5
A lesser partnership between the Johns -- Ford and Wayne -- this sentimental Western about three outlaws and a baby stresses the theme of civilization vs. chaos, faith/order vs. the law of the gun. Go to Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies 04/18/2024
3.5/5
Ford and cinematographer Hoch beautifully capture 3 Godfather's Western scenery in Technicolor. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 04/10/2024
3/4
Comic antics ensue -- think Three Men and a Baby with saddle sores instead of Tom Selleck -- but the film eventually turns grim. Go to Full Review Patrick McDonald HollywoodChicago.com 12/13/2023
4/4
Two Western film icons at their peak ... director John Ford and John Wayne ... deliver both a cowpoke picture and a metaphoric Christmas story in classic MGM studio fashion. Glorious on-location Technicolor and the Duke at his Duke-est. Pat&Ken Holiday! Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
thiago s @Thiagostone Dec 1 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Alec B 02/20/2024 Ford leans into the sentimentality a bit too much here but it is compelling for stretches, especially in those sequences where the characters desperately wander the desert. See more 04/10/2022 Funny and original; LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more 03/16/2022 Ford leans into the sentimentality a bit too much here but it is compelling for stretches, especially in those sequences where the characters desperately wander the desert. See more 12/27/2020 In an entertaining drama/melodrama, John Wayne plays the lead in a cinematographically beautiful film directed by John Ford. It's a Western retelling of the Christmas Story, where three run-away bank robbers take the place of the three wise men. Pretty soon hunted by a relentless band of lawmen, they are saddled with responsibility for saving the life of an infant boy, as they try to escape across the desert. See more deke p 12/22/2019 Never heard of until saw (most) on late nite TV, dec 2019. Very different. See more Read all reviews
3 Godfathers

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

John Ford

Director

John Wayne

Robert Marmaduke Hightower

Pedro Armendáriz

Pedro 'Pete' Roca Fuerte

Harry Carey Jr.

William Kearney

Ward Bond

Perley "Buck" Sweet

Mildred Natwick

The Mother

More Like This

View All
Fort Apache 100% 83% Fort Apache Watchlist Wagon Master 100% 67% Wagon Master Watchlist Rio Grande 75% 70% Rio Grande Watchlist Red River 100% 87% Red River Watchlist I Shot Jesse James 78% 67% I Shot Jesse James Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

3 Godfathers

3 Godfathers (1948) 3 Godfathers (1948) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Thieves and rustlers Robert Hightower (John Wayne), Pete Fuerte (Pedro Armendáriz) and the Abilene Kid (Harry Carey Jr.) rob a bank in a small Arizona town. Pursued across the desert by the indefatigable Sheriff Buck Sweet (Ward Bond), the trio lose their horses, suffer injuries, and come across a stranded woman (Mildred Natwick) who is dying while giving birth. Promising to carry the woman's newborn to safety, the repentant criminals struggle to reach the village of New Jerusalem.
Director
John Ford
Producer
John Ford, Merian C. Cooper
Screenwriter
Laurence Stallings, Frank S. Nugent
Production Co
Argosy Productions Corporation
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 25, 1948, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 46m
Most Popular at Home Now