John Ford’s classic Western, released 70 years ago today, is celebrated here in an appreciation penned by Los Angeles writer Leo Grin.

Writes Grin, “Inevitably, every so often a Lilliputian pops out of the woodwork at this or that magazine or website, arguing that Ford was little more than a tyrannical, maudlin whitewasher of Manifest Destiny, an overwrought throwback to a less enlightened time.

“These critics resemble the pre-human apes of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, howling in vain at an artifact they cannot hope to understand. When a French admirer once asked Ford why he found ‘the theme of the family’ so important, his reply was caustic: ‘You have a mother, don’t you?’

“On other occasions he was more wistful: “Is there anything more beautiful than a long shot of a man riding a horse well, or a horse racing free across a plain? Is there anything wrong with people loving such beauty?…

“As Stagecoach celebrates its 70th birthday, John Ford’s potent brand of civilizational confidence remains as valuable as ever, defiantly crying ‘Hold it!’ in the face of a modern, decadent Hollywood seemingly hell-bent on driving our heritage and values out of America’s popular culture.”