Stagecoach (1939)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Ernest Haycox (story)
Dudley Nichols (writer)

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:

Cult Western | Pregnancy | Childbirth | Pregnant Woman | Native American Attack

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Claire Trevor	...	Dallas
John Wayne	...	The Ringo Kid
Andy Devine	...	Buck
John Carradine	...	Hatfield
Thomas Mitchell	...	Doc Boone
Louise Platt	...	Lucy Mallory
George Bancroft	...	Marshal Curly Wilcox
Donald Meek	...	Samuel Peacock
Berton Churchill	...	Henry Gatewood
Tim Holt	...	Lt. Blanchard
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 | West Germany:12 (nf) | UK:U | Iceland:L | Finland:S (1951) | Norway:16 (1939) | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Beale's Cut, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

Asked why, in the climactic chase scene, the Indians didn't simply shoot the horses to stop the stagecoach, director John Ford replied, "Because that would have been the end of the movie."

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:

Referenced in Red Dead Revolver (2004) (VG)

Not just a great western but one of the best movies ever made.

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.