User Reviews

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 first saw Stagecoach the year it was released 1939, when I was nine years old. I saw it again the other afternoon as a rerun on tv. Despite that technically it is showing it's age, afterall it is 63 years old, and all of it's players are no longer with us, it is still one of the greatest westerns to ever grace a cinema screen. The indian attack, the cavalry to the rescue, the drunken doctor, the bar room floozie with a heart of gold, the gambler, and the hero doing "what a man's got to do" and escaping without a scratch . All the ingredients and more of a classic western but done superbly. Not a scene overplayed, not a (film) shot wasted.

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

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.

Saw this in the 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently on a bluray. It is an awesome entertaining film with beautiful scenery n amazing action sequences. The long shots captured the landscapes well, the characters r all very memorable n the tension is maintained throughout, the action scenes were top notch, especially the stagecoach running in the middle of the vast wide open space n pursued by the Indians. Wayne shooting his guns from the top n he controlling the horses were amazing action sequences. This movie did two great things. Wayne became a major movie star n western movies upgraded to A grade. It is also the first western shot in the beautiful Monument Valley. The movie is about a group of passengers who r travelling in a stagecoach. The passengers are given the alarming news that Geronimo is on the warpath and that their lives are in danger but each of the passenges has their own reasons for taking the risk. When the Marshall is informed that an outlaw is present in the destination town, he joins the stagecoach which is filled with a driver whos got a unique voice, a prostitute who has just been forced out of the previous town, a drunken doctor, a pregnant woman, a gambler, a liquor salesman and a crooked banker. Wayne gets a solid entrance after we have heard about him multiple times from other characters. Ringo Kid (Wayne) joins the stagecoach cos his horse has gone lame. He has to surrender his gun to the Marshall n will be arrested once they reach the destined town but our Ringo kid has to settle score with a trio of outlaws who killed his father n brother.

One of my favorite movie shots of all time comes in Stagecoach when the coach rounds a bend and you see a figure in the distance and has the camera zooms in closer you recognize it as John Wayne, saddle in one hand and winchester rifle in the other.

Certainly the figure of John Wayne is familiar enough even to today's moviegoers as the man who put more people in theater seats than any other player. But back then in 1939 all he was known as was B picture cowboy who was a friend of John Ford, whom Ford happened to be giving a break to. He sure took advantage of it.

Wayne heads an ensemble group of players who are journeying from Tonto to Lordsburg by stagecoach. It is a dramatization of the western novel by Ernest Haycox and John Ford brilliantly cast his film.

Anyone of them could have been Oscar material, but one player did win an Oscar, Thomas Mitchell as the alcoholic Doc Boone. 1939 was maybe the highpoint of Mitchell's career. Imagine being in three films nominated for Oscars, Stagecoach, Gone With the Wind, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He could have been nominated for any one of them.

On top of the coach is driver Andy Devine and riding shotgun is Marshal George Bancroft. Devine is a befuddled dunce and a lot of reviewers usually pass him over in talking about the film. To be sure he is, but there is a scene where the stagecoach has to cross a deep stream. A pontoon like device is rigged, but it's professional teamster Andy Devine who drives the stage across with his team swimming it. He may be a dunce, but he's a professional at his job. I think it was Andy's moment to shine.

Bancroft is a stern but kindly marshal. He and Mitchell are friends of Wayne who plays the Ringo Kid. Wayne's busted out the penitentiary to get the Plummer brothers who framed him. There's a reward for Wayne, but Marshal Bancroft ain't worried about the reward, he's concerned about Wayne getting killed, biting off more than he can chew.

However Mitchell spends most of the journey cultivating mild mannered Donald Meek who's a whiskey salesman. A useful friend to have you like to imbibe. If ever a character actor was aptly named it certainly had to be Donald Meek.

In 1939 you couldn't say that Claire Trevor was playing a prostitute named Dallas. But it's surely hinted at often enough. Claire Trevor was Hollywood's greatest portrayer of girls with easy virtue and a heart of gold which she has here. She got her Oscar in Key Largo again playing just such a role. The difference is she loves good guy John Wayne instead bad guy Edward G. Robinson in Key Largo.

And to add to the mix we have an embezzling banker on the journey played by Berton Churchill who played many a sanctimonious hypocrite in his career. He gets news that the telegraph is down because of the Apaches on the warpath and in an act of impulse fills a satchel full of the bank's money and grabs the stagecoach at the last minute. He's also trying to escape a hatchet faced harridan of a wife. Nevertheless he's the least sympathetic and most useless character on the journey.

A few months ago I saw and reviewed the film Carrie which was based on a Theodore Dreiser novel. The lead character in that, George Hurstwood is also an embezzler of his employer's money as he runs away to New York to get away from his harridan of a wife. But Hurstwood, same crime for the same reasons, is a sympathetic figure. Not our friend banker Gatewood as Churchill portrays him here. It some times depends on the writer's point of view.

The last two passengers are John Carradine a mysterious gambler of Southern origins and the pregnant wife of an Army Captain played by stage actress Louise Platt. He also boards the stage at the last minute as he's crushing out big time over her. He becomes her protector during the journey.

Of course Stagecoach is the first film that John Ford shot in Monument Valley and the long shots of the valley with the lonely stagecoach driving on to Lordsburg are breathtaking.

And there's the Indian attack. The question is often asked why didn't the Indians just shoot the horses. The real answer is you wouldn't want to cut short abruptly one of the most spectacular chase scenes in film history. And then of course maybe the Indians wanted the live horses.

Ford uses for the first time a spectacular gambit during the Indian attack. I won't say more, but think about the fact that he repeated the same shot in Fort Apache with the Indians chasing John Agar and the repair party there.

What I like most about Stagecoach altogether is that it sticks to the first rule of movies, it moves. Even in the scenes of dialog inside the coach you get the feeling of movement. Nothing static about it, and the story could never be adequately done on a stage.

It's what movie making is all about.

Stagecoach has all the hallmarks of a truly great film.The characters,the direction, the camera work, the scenery, the soundtrack. The story may seem simple but the characters are skillfully developed and colorful. They are real and interesting, not cliches. The desert setting and the stagecoach itself serve to make the great directing and camera work even greater. So many classic scenes in one movie. There are lot of little things like the shot of the coyote howling in the desert night. The shot of the stagecoach from behind going through a sand wash. The shot of the Indians on the hill looking down at the stagecoach. They look real and they look serious. The shot of the "Ringo Kid" watching Mr. Hatfield die.The "Kid" does'nt say a word but you can tell he's thinking about his murdered brother. The very first shot of John Wayne in his very first "A" movie may be his most memorable. Even if you've never seen Stagecoach you have seen that scene of the "Ringo Kid" holding his rifle and saddle while waving down the stage with the Monument Valley as a backdrop. No actor ever had a more spectacular debut. When you here the soundtrack, you can't help thinking about the Old West. John Ford should have won the Oscar for best director. His attention to details make this movie a classic. Classic in the sense that Stagecoach does'nt seem manufactured but seems like something that always was.

`Stagecoach' isn't so much a traditional Western as it is a forefather to the modern disaster film (with Apache warriors being the `disaster'). In many ways, the film is closer in style to `The Towering Inferno' than to `True Grit', but it's undeniably a great film, one of John Wayne's best. It's a simple story, really -- eight strangers, each with their own secrets and emotional baggage, are passengers on an Arizona stagecoach going from the town of Tonto to the city of Lordsburg, despite the looming threat of imminent Apache attacks. Along the way, the stagecoach comes across the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), who's just broken out of prison -- he's looking to go to Lordsburg as well, to avenge the death of his kid brother. He joins the passengers to Lordsburg, and during the journey, in one way or another, most of the passengers wind up learning something about themselves -- and wind up fighting Indians as well.

Hokey? Not really -- the story's quite good, and for the most part, the acting's wonderful. John Wayne's great as the Ringo Kid -- this actually may be one of his best Western roles. The Ringo Kid is a murderer, looking to avenge his family, but he's also a fairly principled man. The role's a lot deeper and more complex than some of Wayne's later `white hat' heroes who were always perfectly good and flawless. The Ringo Kid wants a normal life, but at the same time knows he'll probably never have one, and John Wayne pulls off this internal conflict flawlessly. Wayne also has great chemistry with the wonderful Claire Trevor, who plays Dallas, the former lady-of-the-evening -- she's also seeking to create a new life, and the uncomfortable, almost shy way she reacts to Wayne's gentle, genuinely polite comments is terrific to watch. Like the Ringo Kid -- indeed, like most of the characters in `Stagecoach' -- Dallas wants to change her life around, but doubts that she can. The other characters in `Stagecoach' are excellent as well, but it's Claire Trevor and John Wayne who really make the film enjoyable. (Side note -- while he's quite good, I was shocked to read that John Mitchell actually won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dr. Josiah Boone in this film. His character's essentially a cross between W.C. Fields and Yoda, and while I'm not sure who else was in contention for the Best Supporting Actor award with Mr. Mitchell, I find it hard to believe that this was, in fact, the best supporting performance captured on film in the year 1939.)

John Ford's direction is excellent as well. `Stagecoach' is the first film where Mr. Ford used the breathtaking landscapes of Monument Valley, and even in black-and-white, they're still used to vivid effect. His action shots of an Apache attack and war raid are also stunning, even by today's standards. Ford also has great touch with changing moods in `Stagecoach' -- the film moves effortlessly from light comedy to tear-jerking drama, and the changes of mood never seem contrived. `Stagecoach' is clearly one of John Ford's better films.

Does `Stagecoach' have problems? Yes, but most of them are more a by-product of the customs and conventions of filmmaking in the 1930s. For example, the music is often obtrusive, and doesn't always fit with what's actually happening in a given scene. There's also not a lot of time spent exploring the character's backgrounds -- it would've been nice to know lot more about where the characters had come from (particularly Dallas), if only to help understand each character's motivations. Since this can be said about most films made during this era, it' somewhat forgivable. However, one significant flaw of `Stagecoach' itself is the character of Hatfield (John Carradine) -- while Mr. Carradine does a good job with the part, the character constantly contradicts himself. He behaves one way in one scene, then in a completely different manner in the next, and there's never a reason given for this. Add to this that Hatfield adds next to nothing in the film (his only useful purpose, apparently, is to ask Mrs. Platt (Lucy Mallory) `Are you all right?' every thirty seconds), and he becomes totally superfluous. If the part of Hatfield had been excised entirely from the script, "Stagecoach" would have been much better.

`Stagecoach' is not a typical Western (there's a lot more character introspection going on than blazing six-shooters), but it's an extremely entertaining film nonetheless. The memorable interaction between John Wayne and Claire Trevor alone makes it a near-classic. Grade: A-

Stagecoach, compared to any amount of western films would seem almost bland and stereotypical. All of the characters are exactly what you'd expect, a lead female without fault, a kind-hearted prostitute, a greedy banker, and John Wayne being John Wayne. It takes place in the wild west and there's a constant threat of attacking native Americans. There's guns and saloons. It's all very... generic. However, Stagecoach gets credit where credit is due, as it is THE western film to base all western films on and because it helped make John Wayne become a success. The story consists of three parts, a buildup, and action packed climax, and a wrap-up ending. Without going into plot details, the buildup focuses entirely on character development. At the time, this would be great, no one has seen these character tropes before. Now it almost seems excessive. I found myself bored for a good portion of the intro simply because the film establishes well defined character tropes for half the film. After making it through the character build-up phase the film picks up quite a bit and is over all quite enjoyable. Also John Wayne never said 'Pilgrim", which was a little disappointing.

This is the breakout film that helped to propel John Wayne from a B-movie star to first-rate status. Up until 1939, he'd been relegated to series B-movies like the Three Mesquiteers or other rather generic hour-long movies. In this case, he heads an ensemble cast of dynamic supporting actors in one of the best Westerns of the era.

Before I go any further, I should mention that I've seen this film several times but only this last time did I realize that this movie is actually a re-working of the old Chester Morris film, FIVE CAME BACK. In FIVE CAME BACK, the setting was a downed airliner in the jungle and in STAGECOACH the setting is a stage that is trying to avoid Apache Indians on the warpath in the old West. However, apart from this, the films are remarkably similar--with many of the same style characters--such as the "fallen woman" who in the end proves that she is "true blue", the embezzler, and all the rest of the characters are so similar that at times I mixed the movies up in my head.

Both are superb films, but I have got to give the nod to STAGECOACH as the better of the two films due mostly to some amazing stunt and camera-work. The scene where they are being attacked by Indians on horseback is incredible--without the use of cheesy rear projection and top-notch stunts. In addition, the location shooting throughout made it a much prettier film, as FIVE CAME BACK had more the appearance of a stage production with lots of decorative plants--it wasn't bad, really, just not quite as realistic.

Overall, I loved both films but insist you see STAGECOACH if you consider yourself to be a film lover. It is one of the top 5 or 10 Westerns made and is brimming with quality from start to the exciting finish.

UPDATE: I had a chance to actually see this on the big screen last weekend. I enjoyed it immensely. However, I also saw another great Ford film that same weekend ("How Green Was My Valley") and realized that "Stagecoach" actually was more impressive when it came to cinematography. Inventive camera angles, the use of light and dark and impressive framing of the scenes give me an even greater appreciation for "Stagecoach" and because of that I am raising its score to 10. For a relatively low-budget western, it is awfully impressive and is without flaws.

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".

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.

I admit I am not a huge western fan, but there have been some I have really liked. Stagecoach is no exception, in fact it is a brilliant film not just as a western but of any genre really. Everything about it is wonderful, and I can see why Orson Welles watched this apparently 40 times preparing for Citizen Kane. The cinematography is gorgeous, and as always the Monument Valley locations are magnificent. The music is very well done too, and the story while simple always grips. The script is clever and well written and all the characters are credible. On top of that the big chase sequence for me has to be one of the finest action set pieces for any film. The special thing about these characters are that by the end of the film they aren't as they are initially seen to be. John Ford's direction is superb, and the acting is excellent, not just from John Wayne who gives one of his better performances here but also from the likes of John Carradine. Thomas Mitchell though is the one that steals the show. Overall, a fine film and a benchmark in the western genre. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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.

For some reason, 1939 has been proclaimed "Hollywood's greatest year". I doubt that, but the year IS important if only because John Ford released his mythic *Stagecoach* in the midst of the surrounding Technicolor sap 'n' pap (*Gone With the Wind*, *Wizard of Oz*, etc.). In fact, *Stagecoach* firmly gets my vote for the best Western John Ford ever made. Unlike the current critics' darling, *The Searchers*, this movie doesn't depend solely on John Wayne to save it from self-parody and/or pretension. In 1939, Monument Valley wasn't a cliche, yet. (As it was by 1956, when *The Searchers* came out.) The whore-with-the-heart-of-gold, the Southern-gentleman-who-is-handy-with-a-gun, the overeducated-drunk-who-can-be-counted-on-in-a-pinch, and naturally the honorable-gunslinger weren't cinematic cliches yet, either. For that matter, John Wayne wasn't a cliche, yet. Therefore, if you can forget the 6 or 7 decades of baggage that trailed after this movie, baggage that has turned up not just in Westerns but in other genres such as film noir and romantic comedies and "disaster epics", then the freshness of *Stagecoach* becomes readily apparent.

Oddly enough, the movie seems at first to be a cowboy spoof of *Grand Hotel* in the manner in which it throws together its 7 archetypal characters into the stagecoach for the long journey to Lordsburg. But soon enough Ford creates his own archetypes, like John Wayne emerging from the desert, alone, carrying his saddle like some epic hero. And there's the magnificent setting itself, empty and unforgiving and beautiful. Unfortunately, Ford would come to rely on Monument Valley to convey "significance", but here it seems at once incidental and yet integral to the plot. *Stagecoach* ultimately comes to feel like the birthing of our great mythos, both of our understanding of our nation's expansion and of the importance of our 20th-century entertainers. Even the characters' names have been burned into our consciousness (Ringo Kid, Stella Dallas, Doc Boone). And this is the movie that made John Wayne the indispensable American hero, a role he easily carried for 4 decades.

Above and beyond all this, the movie also features one of the all-time great chases in cinema: the breakneck race across the salt-flats, with Wayne expertly wielding his shotgun, keeping Geronimo's hordes from getting too close. Watch for some death-defying stunt-work as Wayne's character leaps from harness-to-harness along the team-of-eight . . . then consider how cheaply it would be done today, with computer imaging and choppy editing. Ford delivered action the old-fashioned way: he made his stunt-players EARN it, keeping an unblinking camera on them the whole way. Superb.

The famous John Wayne got his first major break starring as Ringo Kid in the 1939 classic "Stagecoach". Personally, I'm usually not a big fan of the old westerns but this one definitely interested me. The presence of a mysterious villain, Geronimo lingers along a feeling of suspense throughout the movie. The audience feels like he could appear at any moment and that is exciting, As the characters in the movie ride on the stagecoach throughout the movie, we get to know each character better and each is more unique than the next. With the presence of many western elements, this film also contains a love story between Ringo Kid and Dallas. Ringo promises her a simple life and vows to keep this promise as the movie goes on. Many consider this film to be significant solely due to the emergence of John Wayne as the focal point of western films. However, this film is significant due to the plot, action, suspense, and love. Any western lovers would surely enjoy this movie,

The John Ford Stagecoach (1939) is a movie to be treasured, not analyzed. Its enormous virtues have more to do with the way it was made than what it is about, whether the characters are well-written, or how much sense certain scenes make. Stagecoach is not sensible, it is a movie; and it is the kind of movie than Americans do best and which no one else can touch.

Ford was a great primtive artist, not a thinker. In Stagecoach we see him at his best. He blends action and emotion seamlessly; and has the one virtue that all great directors possess whatever their subject matter or level of sophistication: he knows exactly where to place the camera. This may seem like a minor virtue to literary-minded critics and viewers, but it is as much as anything what Ford is about. Stagecoach is, among other things, one perfectly photographed and acted scene after the other; with the camera, whether discreet or close at hand, always positioned for maximum effect, which in this film is as much musical as visual. Stagecoach is among Ford's most graceful films. It is also perhaps his least pedantic.

The actors, whether sitting, standing, jumping, riding, talking, shooting, giving birth or dropping dead, are at all times where they ought to be on screen. How they go through their motions constitutes the bulk of the movie. We are not told how characters feel through dialogue; it is shown to us, vividly. The later scenes in Lordsburg are staged almost like a ballet; a ballet in the dark. Whether in a crowded saloon or an empty street we experience the movements of the principle characters, as well as the denizens of the town, often accompanied by music, some of it underscoring, some of it from an upright barroom piano, all of it relevant to the feeling of the story and the film. This is not a smart movie of the kind they make today. What irony there is is none too impressive; and the dialogue is not clever. It works at a different, almost subconscious level; and what one of its characters says about the young couple riding off to freedom in the end could be said of the entire movie, saved as it is, from the blessings of civilization.

This was made when Westerns were Westerns and Men were Men, and Women were Thankful. Of course, now, all of this is unacceptable from a PC point of view, and we would be rooting for the Indians to kill all of them. All of that politicizing should be put aside, however, and we should enjoy the film strictly for its entertainment value, which is considerable. John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Claire Trevor, John Carradine and Andy Devine (before Andy's Gang was plunking magic twangers) make the cast rich and varied. Enjoy the carnage.

This is one of the three best westerns ever. Shane, High Noon and Stagecoach rise above movie characterizations, but all are all time CLASSICS. The story line of Stagecoach, the cinematography, the drama. The excitement, the dialogue, the acting rise above almost any other film of any type! Watch it!

The passengers who board the stagecoach, in the town called Tonto, are well defined. There is the whiskey drummer named, Samuel Peacock, who's submissive character lives up to his actor's surname, Donald "Meek". Gatewood the banker. Arrogant and anxious; the supposed pillar of of any community and running out with a valise full of the bank's funds. Hatfield, the so-called gentleman gambler. A possible southern aristocrat, who's probably fallen on hard times as a result of the civil war. Lucy Mallory, the pregnant wife of a cavalry officer, who is joining him at his frontier outpost. We have the likable, drunken doctor, Josiah Boone. Dallas the scarlet woman, the good bad girl who worked in the Tonto saloon, driven out of town along with the whiskey-sodden Doc Boone by the hatchet-faced sourpuss old matrons of Tonto. The stage driver is excitable and squeaky-voiced, Buck. The man riding shotgun is Sheriff Curly Wilcox.

On the first leg of the journey to Lordsburg the Ringo Kid, recently busted out of jail, flags down the stage. Curly Wilcox orders Ringo to hand over his Winchester rifle. Ringo tells the sheriff that he may need him to help to fight off Geronimo's Apaches who are on the warpath. Ringo is determined to get to Lordsburg to hunt down and kill the Plummer boys who killed his family.

The stage stops at a way station for the passengers to rest and eat. At the next stop, Mrs Mallory gives birth. The now sobered up Doc Boone and Dallas deliver the baby, and the softer side of Dallas surfaces as a result. She tries to get Ringo to make a run for it but he's determined to get the Plummer boys.

On the final leg of the journey the stage is attacked by an Apache war party and is saved by the timely arrival of a troop of cavalry. Back in nineteenth century frontier reality Sheriff Wilcox and Ringo would probably have shot and brought down the Apache ponies instead of the riders. Blunting the attack at the beginning of the chase. Likewise, the Apaches could possibly have shot down the lead horses in the coach team. But on the big twentieth century silver screen the tension and excitement would have been blunted for the moviegoers!

In Lordsburg Ringo finally catches up and kills the Plummers. He shoots Hank Plummer, played by Tom Tyler, in the street. Hank then crashes through the bat wing doors and into the saloon, and staggers to his death like a drunken man. Tom Tyler would repeat a similar drunken-like performance when in his death throes seven years later as the gunman, Lafe McWilliams, when Errol Flynn kills him off in "San Antonio".

Critics have rated this a classic. It may well be; but his later westerns, like the never-to-be-forgotten, "The Searchers", are miles ahead in perfection. Ford raised the western genre from its Ken Maynard, Charles Starrett, and Buck Jones, 1930's "B" picture existence to a well deserved prominence. He took liberties with frontier history. Then who didn't? He did frontier history a favour by painting the harsh and cruel loneliness of human existence in the new republic, in a poetic manner and on the broad canvas of Monument Valley. It has won him plaudits ever since. And how well deserved they are, too.