Stagecoach (1939)

A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Ernest Haycox (original story), Dudley Nichols (screen play),

Stars:

Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claire Trevor	...	Dallas
John Wayne	...	Ringo Kid
Andy Devine	...	Buck
John Carradine	...	Hatfield
Thomas Mitchell	...	Doc Boone
Louise Platt	...	Lucy Mallory
George Bancroft	...	Curley
Donald Meek	...	Peacock
Berton Churchill	...	Gatewood
Tim Holt	...	Lieutenant
Tom Tyler	...	Luke Plummer

Storyline

A simple stagecoach trip is complicated by the fact that Geronimo is on the warpath in the area. The passengers on the coach include a a drunken doctor, two women, a bank manager who has taken off with his client's money, and the famous Ringo Kid, among others.

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Plot Keywords:

stagecoach | doctor | drunken doctor | murder | fugitive | 

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Taglines:

Danger holds the reins as the devil cracks the whip ! Desperate men ! Frontier women ! Rising above their pasts in a West corrupted by violence and gun-fire !

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

La diligencia

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$531,300 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walter Wanger Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Doctor Boone's misquote, 'Is this the face that wrecked a thousand ships/ and burned the towerless tops of Ilium?', is from 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus' by Christopher Marlowe, Scene xiv.

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Goofs

While the stage is at the ferry, Curly tells Buck to drive the stage into the river. The next shot shows Curly tying down one of the floats on the river bank.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cavalry scout: These hills here are full of Apaches. They've burnt every ranch building in sight.
[referring to Indian scout]
Cavalry scout: He had a brush with them last night. Says they're being stirred up by Geronimo.
Capt. Sickel: Geronimo? How do we know he isn't lying?
Cavalry scout: No, he's a Cheyenne. They hate Apaches worse than we do.

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Connections

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Ford (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Rosa Lee"
(uncredited)
American folk song
Used in the score

User Reviews

A Western with a timeless appeal; one of the few essential Ford/Wayne collaborations

This film is not exactly a matured western, as it does show and (may or may not) endorse the conventional slaying of the battling natives by gunfire and such. But it shows how much a western can change in time, yet still have an appeal with its story elements, character, and especially with its style. An American classic nevertheless with director John Ford bringing his valley in Arizona which he would later use with star John Wayne in The Searchers and She wore a Yellow Ribbon, among others for himself as director, to the film of the tale of a group of people all stuck together on a stagecoach. After reading the short story from which the film is based on, some of the characters made sense, but they are still very much casted perfectly. New star John Wayne is in one these kinds of iconic performances that only got as good as with the Searchers. Plus there is Oscar winner Thomas Mitchell as a drunken, but not stupid, doctor. Very memorable as character study and as a pure action Western as well. As far as the style goes, the long-touted rumor that Orson Welles watched this film 40 times before directing Citizen Kane only makes the experience more enjoyable.