I believe I read an interview with Ford, probably in the early 1960s, in which he said he was generally dissatisfied with his performances up until the late 1940s. He took some acting classes, and improved himself. The first movie I remember him in is LUST FOR GOLD, which I saw when I was six and never forgot. I always liked Ford, even though I became a bit weary of his various shticks--a frown, a Stewart-like stammer and a kind of chopping at the air with his right hand turned up in a lot of his performances. But, as I say, I liked him enough to make him one of my favorite actors of the 1950s. I especially liked him in THE BIG HEAT, one of his best performances and role, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, RANSOM!, JUBAL, THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE, COWBOY, POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES, THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER, THE ROUNDERS (often unjustly overlooked). His 1960s Westerns were often disappointing, though his good-natured role in the Disney movie SMITH! fit him like a second skin. But overall, I think my two favorite Ford movies and performances are 3:10 TO YUMA and EXPERIMENT IN TERROR.
He was especially credible in Westerns, even in what I think is his last movie, BORDER SHOOTOUT. In all of his Westerns from the early 50s on, he either wore the same distinctive curled-brim Stetson, or one that looked like it. There may have been one or two lapses. I think he may have used the same horse frequently, too.

In addition to SUPERMAN, his genre films include THE VISITOR, VIRUS and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

For years, maybe even until the end, he lived in a house next to or near the Beverly Hills Hotel. And he kept chickens. This did not please the hotel, and every now and then, a squabble between Ford and the hotel staff over his chickens was reported in the LATimes.