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Title: Stagecoach
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is some mild violence, but nothing too serious. Recommended for ages 5 and up. |
John Ford used to say to people “I make westerns.” This was likely a true statement. Likely in that it would also accurate if Akira Kurosawa said “I make samurai films.” Both men were good in the genre’s they defined but both would make other great films in other genre’s. I think Ford used to say this all the time because he was most fond of the western genre. He also felt most at home in this genre and for movies like “Stagecoach” it shows. The movie is a very simple B movie story: A bunch of strangers are thrust together and have to travel the barren deserts to get to a location.
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Yeah, it takes about one sentence to describe what this movie is about. Like a Kurosawa film though that is hardly the end of it. All the characters that are on this journey have their own personal reasons and motivations for going on the dangerous journey. Each character has a history, personal story, and personality that is engaging to watch. Though there’s not enough time to list them all special notice should be paid to John Wayne’s character The Ringo Kid. This is the role that made Wayne a star and more then seventy years later it’s easy to see why: It’s just an iconic character/performance all around.
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From the introduction of reveling the character, to the cool dialog, to Wayne’s soft delivery, it’s all one great package that reminds us what it means to truly be a screen presence. It’s easy to see why this supporting character was elevated to staring role in the eyes of movie audiences at the time. Great performance as it is though, it’s not the only reason to see this film. The main reason to see this film is that the movie is just an all around well made film. This was Ford’s first sound western. Back then it was common for directors to fall into the trap of feeling that the dialog was the star of the show instead of the overall production.
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Ford was a better director then this though, and spent just as much time showing people what was going on rather then talking about it. There is a great scene where Indians are chasing the stagecoach and the scene just gets more and more intense as it goes along. There is almost no dialog in this scene or commentary about what the characters must do. They just do it, which much have been considered very daring at the time. While the movie is slow to start once it picks up it almost never slows down and is rarely boring. This was the movie that revived interest in the (at the time) fading interest in the western genre. Ironic as the western genre could use a similar movie like “Stagecoach” to jump-start the genre one more now.
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