John Ford is considered by many America's greatest director; John Wayne is the actor whom he transformed from a B-western cowboy into a larger-than-life national icon. See how their friendship and professional collaboration changed how American saw itself.

Nominee for three 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards

John Ford is considered by many America's greatest director - winner of six Academy Awards, more than any director before or since. John Wayne is the actor whom he transformed from a B-western cowboy into a larger-than-life national icon. Their friendship and professional collaboration spanned 50 years, changed each other's lives, changed the movies and, in the process, changed how America saw itself. Their remarkable body of work - including Stagecoach , Fort Apache , She Wore a Yellow Ribbon , Rio Grande , The Searchers , The Horse Soldiers , The Alamo and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - is heroic and nostalgic, reflecting all the elements and all the paradoxes in 20th-century America: generosity of spirit, abuse of power, a sense of loyalty and a new, restless nationalism.