TCM host Ben Mankiewicz hosts this 50th anniversary special, with archival footage from 50 years of tributes to various legends in film by the American Film Institute, which began its awards in 1973.

In 1945, two young American soldiers, brothers Budd and Stuart Schulberg, are commissioned to collect filmed and recorded evidence of the horrors committed by the infamous Third Reich in order to prove Nazi war crimes during the Nuremberg trials (1945-46). The story of the making of Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today, a paramount historic documentary, released in 1948.

Over a 50-year career and more than a hundred movies, filmmaker John Ford (1894-1973) forged the legend of the Far West. By giving a face to the underprivileged, from humble cowboys to persecuted minorities, he revealed like no one else the great social divisions that existed and still exist in the United States. More than four decades after his death, what remains of his legacy and humanistic values in the memory of those who love his work?

The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five legendary filmmakers who went to war to serve their country and bring the truth to the American people: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Based on Mark Harris’ best-selling book, “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”

A vindication of the role of the technicians and artists who made spaghetti western genre possible, and a walk through the landscapes that made it possible to recreate in Spain, mainly in the desert of Almería, hundreds of adventures set in the remote American Far West.

John Wayne, Henry Fonda and James Stewart discuss working with John Ford

This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special.

7-part documentary on John Ford's 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' ] Changing of the Guard The Irascible Poet The Hero Doesn't Win, The Winner Isn't Heroic Most Good Things Happen By Accident The Great Protector Spotlight - Lee Marvin Print The Legend

This 13 minute documentary short is found on the DVD : "The Long Voyage Home" (1940), directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. The Araner was Admiral Ford's personal vessel and home away from home.

Documentary about John Ford's relation to Monument Valley.

A remarkable film that takes a special look at the first war to be truly reported and recorded by one of the more unsung heroes of World War II: the combat photographer. Through the unflinching eye of their camera's lenses, these courageous soldiers continually risked their lives in their brave attempts to capture history.

Documentary about how the creative energies of Darryl F. Zanuck and John Ford combined to forge an enduring masterpiece despite the challenges of wartime production.

National Geographic follows underwater explorer Bob Ballard as he searches for the aircraft carrier sunk during the Battle of Midway.

Martin Scorsese celebrates American movies from the silent classics to the Hollywood of the seventies.

Documentary about the early career of Hollywood film director John Ford, written and presented by Lindsay Anderson, and first aired on the British television series Omnibus.

Documentary about the making of the John Wayne film The Alamo (1960). Included are behind-the-scenes photos and footage of the actual production of the film, clips from it and interviews with members of the cast, crew and local residents in Brackettville, TX, where it was filmed.

Jane Fonda hosts a tribute to her father.

In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a yearly recipient whose talent has fundamentally advanced the film art; whose accomplishments have been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.

A documentary encapsulating the career and Western films of director 'John Ford' , including clips from his work and interviews with his colleagues.

A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

Interview with film director John Ford. A 30-minute edited version first aired on the BBC TV program "Film Night." The complete unedited 72-minute interview appears on the Criterion Collection 2010 release of STAGECOACH.

A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail supply center. Along with them is sent a doctor who causes instant antipathy between him and the commander. The secret plan for the mission is overheard by a southern belle who must be taken along to assure her silence.

Presented by Eastman Kodak, this show was a series of original scripts directed by acclaimed directors and featuring well-known performers. The stories ranged from musicals to comedies and dramas.

A digest record of the 1952 Greek "Star Hellas" beauty contest.

A documentary short film depicting the work of the motion picture director. An anonymous director is shown preparing the various aspects of a film for production, meeting with the writer and producer, approving wardrobe and set design, rehearsing scenes with the actors and camera crew, shooting the scenes, watching dailies, working with the editor and composer, and attending the first preview. Then a number of real directors are shown in archive footage (as well as a predominance of staged 'archive' footage) working with actors and crew.

A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.

A training film for OSS agents who are to be dropped behind enemy lines.

The relationship between a male dancer and his actress girlfriend is threatened by a scheming chorister.

Bored with the ranch, Buck's girl goes off to the city and gets involved (innocently) in a brothel. When Buck brings a herd of cattle to town, a streetwalker lures him to the house just in time for him to save his girl from Martin.

When bandits capture the wife of a US army lieutenant stationed in the Philippines, along with her lover, the choice is his whether to forgive.

The Tornado mostly followed pulp Western formula -- bad guys hold up a town, take a girl hostage, and the hero rides to the rescue. But there were a couple of twists that made it seem more personal than the usual cowboy fare. Ford's Jack Dayton ... is known as "the No-Gun Man" because he faces the villains unarmed, anticipating the character played by James Stewart in George Marshall's 1939 Western comedy classic Destry Rides Again. Dayton is an immigrant who uses the reward money to bring over his mother (Jean Hathaway) from Ireland, a prototypically Fordian situation if there ever was one.

Cunard turns into The Queen of the Apaches, an outlaw who steals from the rich to gives to the poor, always leaving a purple mask behind as a trademark.

After a man and his sister move West, she fights off the advances of a bandit who makes a bet that one day she will kiss him without any pressure from him.

A movie serial directed by Francis Ford.

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

This is the first of the Sherlock Holmes' stories by the famous English author. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes and his friend, Dr. Watson, receives an invitation from Mr. Gregson, of Scotland Yard, to assist in unraveling a murder mystery. Holmes makes a careful study of the case and as a result of his ingenious deductions rounds up the murderer, one Jefferson Hope, a cabman. The man confesses his guilt and tells his life story and of the vengeance of the many wrongs he has suffered at the hands of the dead man in the years gone by. Before the case comes to trial the prisoner dies from heart failure. This is another victory for Holmes and his wonderful deductive methods, as the officers of Scotland Yard had all but fastened the guilt upon another and an innocent person.