Stagecoach (1939)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Ernest Haycox (story)
Dudley Nichols (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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 !

Plot:

A simple stagecoach trip is complicated by the fact that Geronimo is on the warpath in the area. The...

Plot Keywords:

Stagecoach | Drunken Doctor | Doctor | Birth | Giving Birth

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

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

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U | Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:S (1951) | Norway:16 (1939) | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #5029)

Filming Locations:

Beale's Cut, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

John Ford loved the Monument Valley location so much that the actual stagecoach journey traverses the valley three times.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the begining of the film, when the stagecoach is going into Tonto street, we see its shadow to one side. In the next shot the shadow is on the other side.

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Trail to Mexico (Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie)

Setting the Stage.

"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.