Stagecoach (1939)

Stagecoach
Directed by John Ford
Written by Dudley Nichols from a story by Ernest Haycox
1938/USA
Walter Wanger Productions
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#130 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Buck: If there’s anything I don’t like, it’s driving a stagecoach through Apache country.[/box]

John Ford finds a canvas wide enough to contain his vision.

A motley group of passengers board a stagecoach on a dangerous journey through Apache country.  Town drunk/medical man Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) and painted lady Dallas (Claire Trevor) are being driven out of town.  Much to Doc’s delight, a little whiskey drummer (Donald Meek) is along for the ride.  The passengers are rounded out with a sick lady on the way to join her soldier husband and her last-minute protector shady gambler Hatfield (John Carridine).  As the coach is departing town a whingeing blowhard banker hops a ride.  In the drivers seat is Buck (Andy Devine), with sheriff Curley riding shotgun (George Bancroft).  The party is completed when the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), who has escaped from jail, is forced to hitch a ride and apprehended by the sheriff.

The story follows the group dynamics as they move from a bickering set of individuals to a mostly cohesive unit battling challenges from child-birth, to love, to Apaches on the warpath.

It is hard to imagine a time when John Wayne wasn’t a movie star but such was the case here.  He didn’t even get top billing.  That distinction went to Claire Trevor, who previously had been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Dead End.  And, really, this is an ensemble piece.  Wayne does make his entrance in grand style, though!

For me, John Ford is the star of this movie.  The use of composition and vistas is stunning.  Ford would never look back.

Thomas Mitchell won a Best Support Actor Oscar for his work in this film.  (He couldn’t have been hurt by his great performances in Gone with the Wind and Only Angels Have Wings either.)  The film also won an Academy Award for its Scoring.  Stagecoach was also nominated by the Academy in the following categories:  Best Picture; Best Director; Best Cinematography (B&W); Best Art Direction; and Best Film Editing.

Theatrical Trailer