The Iron Horse

The Iron Horse is a 1924 American silent epic Western film directed by John Ford and produced by Fox Film. It was the studio's hastily planned response to the success of Paramount Pictures' The Covered Wagon. The studio gave Ford his first major budget, which he exceeded. The gamble paid off, and The Iron Horse was an enormous success. The film marked the beginning of Ford's strong association with Westerns. In 2011, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. It is now in public domain.