Stagecoach (1939)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

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

Release Date:

2 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | 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 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.

Plot Keywords:

Stagecoach | Doctor | Drunken Doctor | Murder | Fugitive

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Appleby	...	Girl in Saloon (uncredited)
Frank Baker	...	(uncredited)
Chief John Big Tree	...	Indian Scout (uncredited)
Ted Billings	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Wiggie Blowne	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	(uncredited)
Ed Brady	...	Lordsburg Saloon Owner (uncredited)
Fritzi Brunette	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Yakima Canutt	...	Cavalry Scout (uncredited)
Nora Cecil	...	Boone's Landlady (uncredited)
Steve Clemente	...	Bit (uncredited)
Bill Cody	...	Rancher (uncredited)
Jack Curtis	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Marga Ann Deighton	...	Mrs. Pickett (uncredited)
Patricia Doyle	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Tex Driscoll	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Johnny Eckert	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Deputy Frank (uncredited)
Francis Ford	...	Billy Pickett (uncredited)
Brenda Fowler	...	Mrs. Gatewood (uncredited)
Helen Gibson	...	Girl in Saloon (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Ed - Editor (uncredited)
William Hopper	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Si Jenks	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Cornelius Keefe	...	Capt. Whitney (uncredited)
Florence Lake	...	Nancy Whitney (uncredited)
Al Lee	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Duke R. Lee	...	Lordsburg Sheriff (uncredited)
Theodore Lorch	...	Lordsburg Express Agent (uncredited)
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Chris (uncredited)
Jim Mason	...	Jim - Tonto Express Agent (uncredited)
Louis Mason	...	Tonto Sheriff (uncredited)
Merrill McCormick	...	Ogler (uncredited)
J.P. McGowan	...	(uncredited)
Walter McGrail	...	Capt. Sickel (uncredited)
Paul McVey	...	Pony Express Agent (uncredited)
Jack Mohr	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Kent Odell	...	Billy Pickett Jr (uncredited)
Artie Ortego	...	Lordsburg Bar Patron (uncredited)
Vester Pegg	...	Hank Plummer (uncredited)
Jack Pennick	...	Bartender in Tonto (uncredited)
Chris Phillips	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Joe Rickson	...	Ike Plummer (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	...	Rancher (uncredited)
Elvira Ríos	...	Yakima (uncredited)
Mickey Simpson	...	(uncredited)
Margaret Smith	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Woody Strode	...	Man in Saloon (uncredited)
Chuck Stubbs	...	(uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Telegraph Operator (uncredited)
Leonard Trainor	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Mary Kathleen Walker	...	Lucy's Infant (uncredited)
Bryant Washburn	...	Capt. Simmons (uncredited)
Whitehorse	...	Indian Chief (uncredited)
Hank Worden	...	Cavalryman Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford

Writing credits
Ernest Haycox		(original story)
Dudley Nichols		(screen play)
Ben Hecht		uncredited

Produced by
John Ford	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Gerard Carbonara		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Otho Lovering		(film editor)
Dorothy Spencer		(film editor)
Walter Reynolds		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Alexander Toluboff

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett		(costumes)

Production Management
Daniel Keefe	....	production manager (uncredited)
Jack Kirston	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wingate Smith	....	assistant director
Yakima Canutt	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Lowell J. Farrell	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wiard Ihnen	....	associate art director (as Wiard B. Ihnen)

Sound Department
Frank Maher	....	sound
Robert Parrish	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ray Binger	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Yakima Canutt	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Iron Eyes Cody	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ken Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Johnny Eckert	....	stunts (uncredited)
W. Frank Long	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Mohr	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Sharpe	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Wills	....	stunts (uncredited)
Billy Yellow	....	stunt rigger (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James V. King	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ned Scott	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Lee Bradley	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Harry Goulding	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Otho Lovering	....	supervising editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Gruenberg	....	musical score adaptation: based on American folk songs
Richard Hageman	....	musical score adaptation: based on American folk songs
W. Franke Harling	....	musical score adaptation: based on American folk songs (as Franke Harling)
John Leipold	....	musical score adaptation: based on American folk songs
Boris Morros	....	musical director
Leo Shuken	....	musical score adaptation: based on American folk songs
Danny Borzage	....	musician: accordion (uncredited)

Other crew
Walter Wanger	....	presenter
Danny Keith	....	location manager (uncredited)
W. Frank Long	....	horse handler/wrangler (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walter Wanger Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (released thru)
• Masterpiece Productions (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Atrium-Filmverleih (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Masterpiece Productions (1950) (USA) (TV)
• atlas Film (1962) (West Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Herald Film Company (1973) (Japan) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Castle Hill Productions (1992) (USA) (all media) (colorized version)
• GP Museum Soft (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Cosmic Pictures (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Emerald (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Emerald (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• First Trading (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• PSG (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Corona Film (????) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Shochiku Eihai (1940) (Japan) (theatrical)
• ARC (????) (Japan) (DVD)
• Tohokushinsha Film (2000) (Japan) (DVD)
• Tohokushinsha Film (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Tone (????) (Japan) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (196?) (USA) (all media)
• UCLA Film and Television Archive (1996) (USA) (VHS) (re-release)
• Voulez Vous Film (2010) (Germany) (DVD) (digital remastered version)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S (1951) | Norway:16 (1939) | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #5029) | Australia:G | UK:U | Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (nf) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

"Screen Director's Playhouse" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on January 9, 1949 with John Wayne and Claire Trevor reprising their film roles.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

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 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Ten Thousand Cattle

The classic film that started it all.

The Overland Stage Lines stagecoach is traveling from the frontier town of Tonto, Arizona to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Geronimo, the Apache chief, has just jumped the reservation and starts an uprising. Before leaving Tonto, the passengers are notified by the Calvary that they are now traveling at their own considerable risk but they will be escorted by the soldiers (here's a clue: don't believe it). Among the passengers are a prostitute being thrown out of town by a group of women with their noses so stuck up in the air you could fly flags off of them. She is joined by a drunken doctor, a gentlemen card shark, a meek whiskey salesman, a crooked banker, a pregnant woman on her way to meet her husband, and a young cowboy who just broke out of jail and out to revenge his family's murder. The coach driver and his shotgun complete the group.

It's all based on a short story called appropriately Stage to Lordsburg but also on a French story (Guy de Maupassant's Boule de Suif) with similar characters traveling in a coach during the Franco-Prussian War.

The basic structure of the plot is also familiar to fans of disaster films. Passengers are introduced, board a common conveyance and face a tremendous danger. The exciting adventure of who lives, who dies, will the stage make it to its destination, and what happens next is highlighted by perhaps the most famous stunts in film history by the most famous and respected stuntman of all Yakima Canutt. If one of the stunts looks familiar, Steven Speilberg recreated it for his first Indiana Jones film.

The film is also a lot more. Unlike other westerns up to its time which were mainly shoot-em-ups between the good guys in the white hats and the bad guys in the black hats, it examines very serious social issues and how different people look down at others differently. Besides prejudice, some of the characters are flawed with alcoholism, greed and revenge. We also see the good in bad people with respect for new life and ultimately redemption. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Interior Decoration, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor (won) and Best Score (won), Stagecoach was John Ford's first sound Western and elevated the genre in both critical praise and popularity. The low camera angles in Monument Valley would become a John Ford trademark. Despite doing 70 films, this is the one that made Wayne a star and it's easy to see why. Many consider it his best performance; both subtle and clear he cares for the needs of the people around him and yearns for his own need for a home, a wife and a family. It is considered one of the great films in cinemas greatest year, 1939. Gone With the Wind, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights, Dark Victory, The Wizard of Oz, Of Mice and Men and Ninotchka were all nominated for best picture alongside Stagecoach that year.

Regarding the political incorrectness of an Apache uprising, well, they happened. If you just happened to be in a stagecoach in the middle of the southwest during an Apache uprising chances are you would be killed. This story does not examine the reasons for the uprising only the effects on a group of travelers trying to travel through it.