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 | Drama | Romance | Western

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:

Pictured on one of four 25¢ US commemorative postage stamps issued 23 March 1990 honoring classic films released in 1939. The stamp featured Stagecoach (1939), Beau Geste (1939), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Gone with the Wind (1939).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The military hats are all the porkpie-type top, squared off, instead of the accurate slouch hat as was appropriate in the 1860s and '70s.

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:

Referenced in Red Dead Revolver (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Lily Dale

Great ensemble western

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