John Wayne And John Ford Teamed Up For An Underrated Christmas Western

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If you're looking for a less traditional Christmas movie this year because you've already watched "Elf" and "It's a Wonderful Life" a thousand times each, you might want to try an acclaimed but oft-forgotten Western directed by American icon John Ford and starring Western icon John Wayne.

Written by Laurence Stallings and Frank S. Nugent, "3 Godfathers" stars Wayne as Robert "Bob" Marmaduke Hightower, a rustler (or rampant cattle thief) who traverses the wild West with Pedro Encarnación Arango y Roca Fuerte, or just "Pete" (Pedro Armendáriz), and their cohort William Kearney, also known as the "Abilene Kid" (Harry Carey Jr.). After heading into the small town of Welcome, Arizona, the three bandits run afoul of its sheriff, "Buck" Perley Sweet (Ward Bond), and go on the run as a result; during their journey, they stumble upon a woman who happens to be the sheriff's own niece (played by Mildred Natwick). The woman is in the midst of giving birth to a baby boy, and Bob, Pete, and Kid all help her, even using nearby cacti as an impromptu water source to help her. Even though she survives long enough to name her baby after the three cowboys, dubbing the baby "Robert William Pedro Hightower," she dies and begs the men to take care of the infant as — you guessed it — his three godfathers.

What does this have to do with Christmas? Well, if you recall the Biblical story about the three wise men who visited the baby Jesus to offer him gifts after his mother Mary gave birth to him under significant duress, you might start to see where I'm going with this. "3 Godfathers" is a truly classic team-up between Wayne and Ford, but it's not the only version of this particular story.

See, "3 Godfathers" is based on "The Three Godfathers," a short story written by Peter B. Kyne that was first published in the Saturday Evening Post (a since-shuttered periodical) in 1912, and throughout the years, it's been adapted into a few films ... including an unbelievably influential one that directly inspired John Ford's film. In 1913 and 1916, it got adapted twice, and incredibly, Harry Carey, father of Harry Carey Jr. from "3 Godfathers," appeared in both of those films — specifically, "The Sheriff's Baby" and "The Three Godfathers." The 1916 film got a remake just three years later, but it's now considered a lost film and can't actually be viewed. Aside from "3 Godfathers," though, one of the most famous adaptations of the original short story is director William Wyler's 1929 Western movie "Hell's Heroes," where the three cowboys are portrayed by Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, and Fred Kohler.

Technically, "3 Godfathers" is a remake of "Hell's Heroes," and people have continued adapting this particular story; it even got an animated take in 2003 with "Tokyo Godfathers," which transports the action to Japan. If you're looking to add "3 Godfathers" to your watchlist, it's available to rent or buy on major platforms, including Amazon.