Stagecoach

Classy Western dealing with a motley crew of roles in a cross-country coach beset by Indians and thieves . A voyage throughout Arizona with varied group of characters , a strange assortment of individuals formed by a prostitute (Claire Trevor, who received top-billing) , a coward swank (Donald Meek) , a crooked card-player (John Carradine) turned into protector to pregnant young wife (Louis Platt) , a philosopher alcoholic doctor (Thomas Mitchell , deservedly winner Oscar) , a swindler banker (Barton Churchill) , a sheriff (George Bancroft), a sympathetic coach driver (Andy Devine) and , of course , Ringo Kid (John Wayne , who arose his career languishing in Poverty Row) . The motley crew pull off a journey through Indian territory passing Apache Wells and towards Lordsburg . At the beginning they're protected by a military detachment commanded by a brave lieutenant (Tim Holt). Ringo Kid is an outlaw looking for to revenge the killing his father and brother by the Plummer brothers (Tom Tyler) . The stagecoach is besieged by Apaches and several dangers.....

The first pairing of Ford and Wayne changed the course of the modern Western turning into adult Western , portraying in depth characters and brooding events with allegorical issues running beneath surface script . But the movie's little budget looked cash well spent when this classic picture earned more than two million dollars on first exhibitions . Based on the story 'Stage to Lordsburg' by Ernest Haycox and this one based on Guy de Mauspassant's novel . Outstanding cinematography capturing the nebulous skies by Bert Glennon and Ray Binger . Thrilling as well as sensitive soundtrack by Richard Hageman based on traditional music . Slick edition by Dorothy Spencer , a woman with a long career during fifty years . Stunning shooting by John Ford in the mythical Monumental Valley , a place that Ford was often to revisit and he befriended Indians tribes . The film won Academy Award for secondary actor , Thomas Mitchell , original musical score and was nominated to best movie for Walter Wanger and major studio , United Artists ; furthermore, for edition and Production Design . Very inferior remake in 1966 by Gordon Douglas with Alex Cord , Anne Margret , Red Buttons , Van Johnson , Mike Connors ; and a forgettable adaptation for TV in 1986 by Ted Post with Willie Nelson , Johnny Cash , Elizabeth Ashley , Mary Crosby , Tony Franciosa , John Schneider and Kris Kristopherson.

Stagecoach is not your normal, run of the mill, western. It will have you on the edge of your seat as passengers make their way through some dangerous Indian country. By the time the film ends, you will know all of the characters very well and ,for the most part,care whether they live or die.John Ford's excellent directing, great performances from John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine and, especially, Thomas Mitchell who won an Acadamy Award for his portrayal of a drunken doctor aboard the stage. Add a great score, super stunt work, and filming done at Monument Valley (Arizona /Utah border) and you have a complete motion picture. I highly recommend "Stagecoach".

John Wayne is "The Ringo Kid" in this John Ford-directed parable of outcasts traveling towards various kinds of figurative and literal redemption/salvation. On a surface level, the basic plot is disarmingly simple--a motley crew of eight takes a stagecoach from Tonto to Lordsburg, trying to avoid Geronimo and his Apaches on the way. They are having their own problems with the U.S. government and are thus likely to attack. The stagecoach bounces from outpost to outpost while the relationships of its passengers evolve, helping each other to "find themselves" and (usually) providing hope of some kind of new life.

The Ringo Kid has been wrongly accused of a crime and is on his way to Lordsburg to avenge both the false accusations and more importantly, the murder of his father and brother. Dallas (Claire Trevor) is implied to be a prostitute, and so is ostracized from Tonto (which means "stupid", "foolish" or "daft" in Spanish) by a self-stylized matronly moral majority. Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) is far more concerned with getting drunk than being a doctor, and is partially ostracizing himself from Tonto. Hatfield (John Carradine) is a "gambler gentleman" with a shady reputation and a false identity. Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt) is trying to get to her husband, who is in the military; she's in a surprisingly "secret" physical state. Samuel Peacock, whom everyone keeps mistaking for a reverend, is in the alcohol business and just wants to get back east to get back to his business. Henry Gatewood is a crooked banker trying to flee before his questionable dealings are discovered. And the stagecoach drivers consist of a lovable buffoon, Buck (Andy Devine) and the most forthright, straight arrow of the bunch, Marshal Curly Wilcox (George Bancroft).

Even though Stagecoach remains tightly focused on its wilderness road trip, that might seem like a large stable of characters to shape into a taut plot. Ford, working from script by Dudley Nichols and Ben Hecht, based on a short story, "Stage to Lordsburg", by Ernest Haycox (which itself bears a relation to Guy de Maupassant's "Boule de Suif", 1880), keeps the proceedings in check by only giving us the information we need to explore the evolving relationships, and only focusing on each character when they're important to the plot. This results in a few of the characters being functionally absent for extended lengths of time, but Ford can so easily establish a "deep" character with a minimum of screen time that the absences are not a detriment.

The principal focus, of course, is between Ringo and Dallas, as on a significant level, Stagecoach becomes a romance. They're initially brought together via their mutual ostracization, even among the ostracized, which gives them an immediate bond beyond their physical attraction towards one another. Wayne and Trevor are both fantastic in their roles, avoiding the occasional overacting by some other performers. But this is a film where it's difficult to count the slight overacting as a flaw, as it was more of a stylistic tendency of the genre during this period and it provides a nice counterbalance to Wayne and Trevor.

Stagecoach is also famous for its setting. Much of the film was shot in Utah's Monument Valley, along authentic stagecoach "roads". The (beautiful) starkness of the desert is often taken as a symbolic trip through a kind of purgatory for the characters, where they're left alone with their souls, their only connection being their small group, to contemplate their pasts and futures. Whether we choose to read something along those lines into the film or not, Monument Valley is at least a captivating presence in the film, although for me, the cinematography could have been better technically, especially considering that Stagecoach was made at the same time as The Wizard of Oz (1939). Ford's famous tendency to do only one take results in a couple minor gaffes, such as the initial shot of John Wayne--a zoom into a close-up--that is out of focus for most of the zoom.

As one could guess, eventually our passengers run into a band of Apaches, who are often interpreted as representing more of a "natural force" that our heroes must surmount. The climax features a fabulous extended chase/fight sequence with a number of amazing stunts by both humans and animals. The most impressive human stunts are performed by the legendary Yakima Canutt, including one that involved being dragged through the dirt by the horse-pulled stagecoach, which was moving along at about 40 miles per hour and supposedly missed running over Canutt by only 12 inches (30.5 cm). This scene was an inspiration for a similar stunt in Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Although it's not a "perfect" film to me, and it's not even my favorite western (I'm more partial to the classic spaghetti westerns, for example), Stagecoach is a very good film and was very influential, despite being made at a time when Ford was told that he was committing professional suicide by even contemplating a western. As the plethora of critical literature attests, it works on many levels, including as an allegorical microcosm of U.S. Depression-era society, and should be seen at least once by anyone serious about film literacy.

I grew up watching the old, crotchety, gruff John Wayne, the iconic hero of the right wing, and even though I'd seen some of his early films on television, I'd forgotten what a sexy and compelling presence he had when a young man. It's easy to see while watching his performance how this film made him a star. As great as Wayne is in this film, he doesn't overshadow any of his fellow performers. Thomas Mitchell plays the drunken doctor thrown out of town, a performance that earned him an Academy Award. Andy Devine is hilarious as the complaining, squeaky voiced stagecoach driver. John Carradine is sleek and snake-like as the gambler. Claire Trevor gives a heartbreaking turn as the good-hearted whore thrown out of town by pious hypocrites. Donald Meek plays his name, a meek whiskey salesman befriended by the whiskey-loving Doc. Each actor quickly and deftly sketches his character so vividly that every performance is memorable.

But the real star of the show is John Ford, the director. To introduce and define nine characters in the context of a fast-paced western is no easy task, and he accomplishes it in masterly fashion. Much of the action takes place in the limited confines of a stagecoach, but Ford takes advantage of the limits by staging brilliant and subtle bits between characters; John Wayne casts sultry glances at Clare Trevor, who blossoms under his glance, the young calvary wife's eyes glaze over as the banker pontificates, and Doc sneaks sips of whiskey from the samples case while he solicitously keeps the wind from chilling the whiskey salesman. When the action moves outside, he films the action in dynamic angles and stunts that were the most daring of its time.

If you enjoy westerns and haven't seen this, you have a great night of film-watching ahead of you. And if the last time you saw Stagecoach was some midnight years ago when you wandered home for a bit of the late show before bedtime, watch it again and rediscover what a great western it is

"Grand Hotel"-styled Western that puts nine very different people together on the titled vehicle to go across some very dangerous Indian territory. There is convict John Wayne (in his star-making role), scorned prostitute Claire Trevor, drunken doctor Thomas Mitchell (in a well-deserved Oscar-winning role), slick gambler John Carradine, pregnant youngster Louise Platt, shady banker Berton Churchill, whiskey salesman Donald Meek, lawman George Bancroft and driver Andy Devine on this star-studded ride. Soon the characters are turned from would-be stereotypes to very complicated three-dimensional figures that are all deep and humanistic. "Stagecoach" does not only benefit from its actors and screenplay though as legendary director John Ford (Oscar-nominated) shows his ability to mix and mesh quiet, heartfelt moments with amazingly detailed action sequences that were way ahead of their time. A great picture from arguably the cinema's finest single year of films. 5 stars out of 5.