Stagecoach (1939)

Stagecoach was nominated for Best Picture in the banner year of 1939, one of the best years in Hollywood history for quality films. This film is usually credited with making John Wayne a star, and he is certainly very good here as the Ringo Kid. However, this is truly an ensemble film, and every one of the performers is a joy to watch.

Despite the threat of attack from Geronimo and his warriors and the lack of a promised military escort, a band of travelers boards a stagecoach in a small town in Arizona. They're quite an assortment: Ringo, who is being held captive to prevent him from going after the men who shot his brother; Dallas, a woman whose reputation has led the ladies in town to exile her; a second woman who is later revealed to be pregnant although she demonstrates no obvious signs that she is near delivery; a whiskey manufacturer everyone mistakenly assumes is a preacher; an alcoholic doctor who quickly befriends the whiskey maker; a slick gambler type who seems a bit too sympathetic to the plight of the expectant mother; a banker who is trying to escape with a substantial amount of payroll funds; a marshal on hand to keep Ringo in check and the others safe; and the driver.

Did I forget to mention that these people are played by some of the best character actors in Hollywood at the time? Thomas Mitchell, who was having a very good year in 1939, won the Oscar for his portrayal of Doc Boone, the drunk who sobers himself up long enough to deliver a child. Claire Trevor plays Dallas, the saloon girl who seems to have accepted that no one will ever look at her as human, only to be surprised by Ringo's tender demeanor toward her. John Carradine plays Hatfield, the gambler with a dubious past; he has just the right amount of oiliness for the part. Andy Devine plays Buck, the stage coach driver who can never seem to get a full meal no matter where they stop; Devine was always a delight as the comic relief in a movie. And the list goes on. Even Wayne, here in his 80th movie (already!), is at the top of his form. You'll probably be surprised by how youthful he looks; despite his rather lanky frame, he's also one of the prettiest men you'll see on film. Ford certainly takes advantage of his leading actor's good looks from the time the camera zooms in on his face when he first appears on screen.

While the shoot-outs are certainly interesting and the scenery is breathtaking--it's filmed in Monument Valley, which would become one of director John Ford's favorite places to make movies--it's the interaction between these characters stuck in that tiny coach that make the film entertaining. Trevor is my particular favorite in this film; she has a way of looking at the other passengers in such a way that you know exactly how she feels about them--it's usually revulsion, by the way. She would win an Oscar a few years later for Key Largo, but she livened up dozens of films in her career, including this one. Mitchell is a close second, and he's even better here than he is in that other movie for which he took a supporting role in 1939. Perhaps you have heard of it? He plays Scarlett's father in Gone with the Wind.

Stagecoach is one of the best movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood. It richly deserved its place on the list of films up for the Oscar that year. Even if almost every character and plot line has since become something of a cliche (an Indian attack! a cavalry rescue!), you will still enjoy seeing this film. It manages to seem fresh and entertaining now almost 70 years after its initial release, and much of that is a testament to the great cast and to the people like Ford who brought them together for this ride.