Perhaps having Shirley Temple & John Agar, Ms. Temple's first husband, appear in Fort Apache won the viewers' rating, but cinephiles would certainly differ about the relative merits of the three films in Ford's cavalry trilogy with Wayne [& Victor McLaglen], two of which omitted Mr. Bond. It's also interesting that the author focused upon Bond-Wayne collaborations since 9 of the named pairings occurred BEFORE Wayne achieved stardom in Stagecoach [1939], another film without Bond. Paul Fix appeared in 25 Wayne films AFTER his stardom dawned [only 2 in "uncredited" roles] & Fix actually co-wrote the screenplay for Tall in the Saddle [1944] which did include Bond [Mr. Fix also became the father-in-law of Harry Carey, Jr., the son of Wayne's mentor, & who also appeared in 10 Wayne films, 3 that included Bond, one where Howard Hawks deleted his scenes]. "Best" verdicts, especially with films, & especially depending upon the decade in which folks judge films, reflect considerable subjectivity tinged by changing cultural & political values. But identifying Fort Apache as the best Wayne-Bond film slights Wayne who grew beyond the Wayne whom Ford still taunted in 1948 screaming "Damn Duke, can't you learn to act!"