Stagecoach Movie Review 1939

Varied group of characters with nothing in common are stuck together inside a coach besieged by bandits and Indians. Considered structurally perfect, with excellent direction by Ford, it's the film that made Wayne a star as the Ringo Kid, an outlaw looking to avenge the murder of his brother and father. The first pairing of Ford and Wayne changed the course of the modern western. Stunning photography by Bert Glennon and Ray Binger captured the mythical air of Monument Valley, a site that Ford was often to revisit. Based on the story "Stage to Lordsburg" by Ernest Haycox. Remade miserably with in 1966 and again--why?--as a TV movie in 1986.

Distribution

Time-Life Video and Television, 1450 Palmyra Ave., Richmond, VA 23227-4420, Phone: (804)266-6330, Toll-free: 800-950-7887, Fax: (757)427-7905

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 100 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Westerns, Survival, Adapted from a Story, Director/Star Teams: Ford & Wayne, 4 Bones

Screenplay

Dudley Nichols

Cast

John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, George Bancroft, John Carradine, Andy Devine, Donald Meek, Louise Platt, Berton Churchill, Tim Holt, Tom Tyler, Chris-Pin (Ethier Crispin Martini) Martin, Francis Ford, Jack Pennick

Cinematography

Bert Glennon, Ray Binger

Director

John Ford

Producer

United Artists, Walter Wanger Productions

Awards

Oscars 1939: Support. Actor (Mitchell), Score; AFI 1998: Top 100, Natl. Film Reg. 1995;; N.Y. Film Critics 1939: Director (Ford).