Bestof ... BEST HENRY FONDA MOVIES
“Jezebel” (1938): Sort of a “Gone With the Wind” without the same exact characters, this well-regarded drama casts Bette Davis as a willful Southern belle who wants to retrieve the man she let get away (Henry Fonda).
“The Grapes of Wrath” (1940): A milestone in American movies, director John Ford’s version of the John Steinbeck novel hinges largely on Fonda’s moving portrayal of Tom Joad, the next generation of a Depression-era migrant family.
“The Return of Frank James” (1940): In one of the great Westerns, Fonda stars as slain outlaw Jesse James’s brother, who’s determined to avenge his sibling’s death.
“The Lady Eve” (1941): Director Preston Sturges’ celebrated comedy makes Fonda the target of a former flame’s (Barbara Stanwyck) deception. “Fort Apache” (1948): John Ford called the shots for Fonda again — as well as for John Wayne, Shirley Temple and others — in this signature Western about opposition between the commanding officers at a military outpost.
“12 Angry Men” (1957): Also serving as producer, Fonda mounted a classic by turning a television play into a movie vehicle for an outstanding ensemble cast as the members of a deliberating jury in a murder trial.
“Spencer’s Mountain” (1963): The inspiration for television’s “The Waltons,” this affecting drama casts Fonda as the patriarch of a close-knit mountain family.
“Fail-safe” (1964): In the same year he vied for a movie presidency (“The Best Man”), Fonda was already in the Oval Office in director Sidney Lumet’s tense thriller about nuclear gamesmanship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.