| Stagecoach | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Ford |
| Screenplay by | Dudley Nichols |
| Based on | "The Stage to Lordsburg" 1937 story inCollier's byErnest Haycox |
| Produced by | Walter Wanger |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
| Edited by | |
| Music by |
|
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates | |
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $531,374[2] |
| Box office | $1,103,757[2] |
Stagecoach is a 1939 AmericanWestern film directed byJohn Ford and starringClaire Trevor andJohn Wayne. The screenplay byDudley Nichols is an adaptation of "The Stage to Lordsburg", a 1937 short story byErnest Haycox. The film follows an eclectic group of travelers riding on astagecoach through dangerousApache territory.
The film has long been recognized as an important work transcending the Western genre, and is widely considered one of thegreatest and most influential films ever made. In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United StatesLibrary of Congress and selected for preservation in theirNational Film Registry.[3] Still,Stagecoach has not avoided controversy. Like most Westerns of the era, itsdepiction of Native Americans as mere savages has been criticized.[4]
Stagecoach was the first of many Westerns that Ford shot inMonument Valley, on theArizona–Utah border in the American Southwest. Some scenes blended shots of Monument Valley with those filmed on theIverson Movie Ranch inChatsworth, California,RKO Encino Ranch, and elsewhere, and as a result geographic incongruities appear.
In June 1880, stage driver Buck prepares astagecoach from Tonto,Arizona Territory, toLordsburg, New Mexico. Among the passengers are Dallas, aprostitute driven out of town by the "Law and Order League"; the alcoholic doctor Josiah Boone; snobbish belle Lucy Mallory, who is travelling to join her cavalry officer husband; and diminutive whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock.
Meanwhile, Henry the "Ringo Kid" has broken out of prison to avenge the murder of his father and brother by Luke Plummer, a dangerous gunslinger who is in Lordsburg with his two brothers. The Plummers also accused Ringo of killing their foreman, which led to Ringo's conviction. Marshal Curley Wilcox decides toride shotgun on the stage and find Ringo.U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant Blanchard announces thatGeronimo and hisApache warriors are on the warpath, therefore Blanchard's troop will provide a temporary escort to Dry Fork station. Hatfield, a chivalrous gambler and formerConfederate Army officer, offers Mallory his protection and climbs aboard. Ellsworth H. Gatewood, an arrogant banker, also boards.
En route, the stage encounters Ringo, stranded after his horse went lame. Though Curley and Ringo are friends, Curley takes Ringo into custody. When they reach Dry Fork, they learn the expected cavalry detachment has gone on to Apache Wells station. Most of the party votes to proceed. The group is taken aback when Ringo, unaware of her profession, bonds with Dallas as the journey progresses.
At Apache Wells, Mallory learns that her husband was wounded in battle with the Apaches and rushed to Lordsburg. She faints, and stunning the group, goes into labor. Doc Boone sobers up and delivers the baby with Dallas assisting. Later that night, Ringo asks Dallas to marry him and live on a ranch he owns across the border inMexico. Afraid to reveal her past, she is evasive. The next morning, she accepts with Boone's encouragement, but is unwilling to leave Mallory and the newborn; instead, she encourages Ringo to escape, promising to meet him in Mexico later. Before Ringo can leave, he seessmoke signals heralding nearby Apache and returns to custody.
The stage reaches aferry crossing, which the Apaches have murderously sacked. Curley uncuffs Ringo to help lash logs to the stagecoach and float it across the river. The Apache eventually attack and a long chase ensues, during which Buck and Peacock are wounded. Down to his last bullet, Hatfield prepares to humanely dispatch Mallory when he is mortally wounded. The stage is then rescued by the6th Cavalry.
At Lordsburg, Gatewood is arrested for attempting to abscond with his bank's funds. Mallory learns that her wounded husband will fully recover; she thanks Dallas, who gives Mallory her shawl. Peacock invites Dallas to visit his home inKansas City, Kansas. Ringo escorts Dallas to her destination in a seedy part of town and finally learns who she is, but he reiterates his desire to marry her.
Luke Plummer, who is playing poker in one of the saloons, hears of Ringo's arrival and summons his brothers to join him in the showdown. Ringo guns down the Plummers in a shootout, then surrenders to Curley, expecting to go back to prison. As Ringo takes his seat on abuckboard, Curley invites Dallas to ride with them to the edge of town. But when she gets aboard, Curley and Boone stampede the horses, happily letting the couple speed off together towards Ringo's ranch.
Uncredited:
The screenplay is an adaptation byDudley Nichols of "The Stage to Lordsburg," a short story byErnest Haycox. The film rights to the work were bought by John Ford soon after it was published inCollier's magazine on April 10, 1937.[5] According to Thomas Schatz, Ford claimed that his inspiration in expandingStagecoach beyond the bare-bones plot created by Haycox was his familiarity with another short story, "Boule de Suif" byGuy de Maupassant,[6] although Schatz believes "this scarcely holds up to scrutiny".[7] Ford's statement also seems to be the basis for the claim that Haycox himself relied upon Guy de Maupassant's story. However, according to a Haycox biographer, there is no direct evidence of Haycox being familiar with Maupassant's tale, especially as he was documented as going out of his way to avoid reading the work of others that might unconsciously influence his writing, and he focused his personal reading in the area of history.[5]
John Ford admitted that he took inspiration from a 1907 painting byFrederic Remington namedDowning the Nigh Leader for the chase scene.[8]
Before production, Ford shopped the project around to several Hollywood studios, all of which turned him down because big budget Westerns had been out of vogue since the silents, and because Ford insisted on using then-B-movie actorJohn Wayne in the key role in the film.[citation needed] Independent producerDavid O. Selznick finally agreed to produce it, but was frustrated by Ford's indecision about when shooting would begin, and had his own doubts over the casting. Ford withdrew the film from Selznick's company and approached independent producerWalter Wanger about the project. Wanger had the same reservations about producing an "A" Western and even more about one starring John Wayne. Ford had not directed a Western since the silent days.[9] Wanger said he would not risk his money unless Ford replaced John Wayne withGary Cooper and brought inMarlene Dietrich to play Dallas.[10]
Ford refused to budge; it would be Wayne or no one. Eventually the pair compromised, with Wanger putting up $250,000, a little more than half of what Ford had been seeking, and Ford would give top billing toClaire Trevor, better known than John Wayne at the time.[11]
The members of the production crew were billeted inKayenta, in NortheasternArizona, in an oldCCC camp. Conditions were spartan, production hours long, and weather conditions at the 5,700 ft (1,700 m) elevation were extreme, with constant strong winds and low temperatures. Nonetheless, directorJohn Ford was satisfied with the crew's location work, which took place nearGoulding's Trading Post on the Utah border, about 25 miles from Kayenta.[12] Additional scenes were filmed inMonument Valley locations, as well as theIverson Movie Ranch and theRKO Encino Ranch.[13]Stagecoach was the first of many Westerns that Ford shot using Monument Valley as a location, many of which also starred John Wayne.Anatopic incongruencies of landscape and vegetation are thus evident throughout the film, up to the closing scene of Ringo and Dallas departing Lordsburg, in theChihuahuan Desert of southwestern New Mexico, by way of the unmistakable topography of Monument Valley'sColorado Plateau location.
The film was released on March 2, 1939, and met with immediate critical and trade paper praise.[14] The picture cemented John Wayne's standing as anA-list leading man, and made a profit of $297,690.[2] Cast member Louise Platt, in a letter recounting the experience of the film's production, quoted Ford on saying of Wayne's future in film: "He'll be the biggest star ever because he is the perfect 'everyman'".[15] OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of100%, based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 9.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Typifying the best that the Western genre has to offer, Stagecoach is a rip-roaring adventure given dramatic heft by John Ford's dynamic direction and John Wayne's mesmerizing star turn."[16]
Stagecoach has been lauded as one of the most influential films ever made.[17][18]Orson Welles argued that it was a perfect textbook of filmmaking and claimed to have watched it more than 40 times in preparation for the making ofCitizen Kane.[19] In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United StatesLibrary of Congress and selected for preservation in theirNational Film Registry;[3] it was also included in theVatican's list of films that year under the category of "Art".[20]
The film has been recognized as transcending the Western genre.Robert B. Pippin has observed that both the collection of characters and their journey "are archetypal rather than merely individual" and that the film is a "mythic representation of the American aspiration toward a form of politically meaningful equality."[21] Nevertheless, itsdepiction of Native Americans is not above criticism.[4] Writing in 2011,Roger Ebert noted, "The film's attitudes toward Native Americans are unenlightened. The Apaches are seen simply as murderous savages; there is no suggestion the white men have invaded their land."[22]
In 2025,The Hollywood Reporter listedStagecoach as having the best stunts of 1939.[23]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Outstanding Production | Walter Wanger | Nominated | [24] |
| Best Director | John Ford | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Thomas Mitchell | Won | ||
| Best Art Direction | Alexander Toluboff | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography – Black-and-White | Bert Glennon | Nominated | ||
| Best Film Editing | Otho Lovering andDorothy Spencer | Nominated | ||
| Best Scoring | Richard Hageman,W. Franke Harling,John Leipold, andLeo Shuken | Won | ||
| National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | 3rd Place | [25] | |
| Best Acting | Thomas Mitchell | Won | ||
| National Film Preservation Board | National Film Registry | Inducted | [26] | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | John Ford | Won | [27] |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Inducted | [28] | |
The film was originally released throughUnited Artists, but under the terms of its seven-year-rights rule, the company surrendered distribution rights to producer Walter Wanger in 1946. Numerous companies have held the rights to the picture in the years since. The film's copyright (originally by Walter Wanger Productions) was renewed by20th Century Fox, which produced a later1966 remake ofStagecoach. The rights to the original 1939 film were subsequently acquired byTime-Life Films during the 1970s. The copyright has since been reassigned to Wanger Productions through the late producer's family under the Caidin Trust/Caidin Film Company, the ancillary rights holder. However, distribution rights are now held byShout! Factory, which in 2014 acquired Jumer Productions/Westchester Films (which in turn had bought the Caidin Film holdings after the folding of former distributorCastle Hill Productions).Warner Bros. Pictures handles sales and additional distribution.
The original negative ofStagecoach was either lost or destroyed. Wayne had one unscreened positive print that directorPeter Bogdanovich noticed in Wayne's garage while visiting. In 1970, Wayne allowed it to be used to produce a new negative, often seen at film festivals.[32] UCLA fully restored the film in 1996 from surviving elements and premiered it on cable'sAmerican Movie Classics network. The previous DVD releases byWarner Home Video did not contain the restored print but rather a video print held in the Castle Hill/Caidin Trust library. A digitally restored Blu-ray/DVD version was released in May 2010 viaThe Criterion Collection.
The theme of the movie has been reproduced as a Lone Ranger radio episode "The Last Coach West", which played August 22, 1945.[citation needed] Most main characters in the movie had a counter-part in the radio play.
| Movie character | Radio character |
|---|---|
| The Ringo Kid, protagonist, escaped from prison | The Waco Kid, suspected bank robber |
| Dallas, prostitute driven out of town | Joessy, dance-hall girl driven out of town |
| Doc Boone, alcoholic doctor | Doctor Taylor, alcoholic doctor |
| Lucy Mallory, pregnant | Phyllis Alden, wounded by arrow |
| Luke Plummer, killed Ringo Kid's father and brother | John Gall, framed Waco Kid |
| Marshal Curley Wilcox, arrested The Ringo Kid | Sheriff Beaker, arrested The Waco Kid |
| Henry Gatewood, a banker absconding with embezzled money | John Gall, loan-shark banker, frames Waco Kid |
| Samuel Peacock, whiskey salesman | Horace Pennypacker, whiskey salesman |
| Buck, stage driver | Pete Morley, stage driver |
The plot of the radio play closely paralleled that of the movie in spite of the character changes, with exception of the Lone Ranger and Tonto heroically saving the stagecoach occupants from Geronimo's warriors.
The radio play run time was only about 22 minutes, less than one quarter of the movie's 96.[citation needed]
John Ford, in an interview with fellow film director Peter Bogdanovich [...] would admit that he had carefully studied Frederic Remington's 1907 paintingDowning the Nigh Leader, which depicts a stagecoach being pursued by Indians on horseback, in designing the chase scene inStagecoach.
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