Review of Stagecoach (1939) by Kylie P — 12 Sep 2009

Stagecoach is an interesting blend of traditional western, action-adventure film, and character drama. It literally has something for everyone, and for that reason, itâ??s entertaining. John Ford, the director of this and other great westerns such as The Searchers, expertly directed this film, making it a thrilling adventure as well as a compelling story of characters vying and struggling between social acceptance or civilization and ostracism or social exclusion.

The money shot in this film is the introduction of Ringo Kid. A gunshot heralds his presence, and then a fast-moving dolly camera zooms in on a stoic, chiseled John Wayne, introducing him to film history, this film included, with pluck and artistic bravado. Other impressive elements of this film include the performances, particularly by Wayne, who made Kid a sympathetic hero, striving to protect the society that would otherwise shun him from Apache attacks and menacing outlaws. Also, Thomas Mitchell, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this film (though he ironically appeared in Mr. Smith and Gone with the Wind the same year), was delightful as the drunkard Boone, who injected some witty and acerbic humor into the proceedings even as his feigned intoxication required him to offer a little slapstick, and his rare sobriety offered glimpses into a thinking and feeling man who was once great at his profession. Dr. Boone is certainly of the most layered characters ever to grace early cinema, and Mitchell gave an outstanding performance.

The stunt work in this film is also both impressive and marvelous; the scene where the stagecoach is actually attacked by Indians on horseback, with Ringo jumping from horse to horse in the stageâ??s train, is gaspingly exciting for the year in which the film was made. The cinematography is also sort of breathtaking for a black and white film: the wide camera views of desert vistas and two-track trails as well as romantically lit moon-soaked nights in which Ringo, uncaring of Dallasâ?? past, attempts to consummate the unspoken love between them, are truly amazing. Also, the story is satisfying â?? formulaic according to what the genre demands, to be sure, but filled with clearly defined lines of good and evil, right and wrong, judgment and misjudgment, and happy endings. The score was also delightful, tinny and orchestral though it was, because it was so illustrative of the events on screen.

Dallasâ?? scandalous past is easily assumed but deliberately ambiguous and unnecessarily confusing, no doubt as a result of the Hayes Production Code of film decency in place at the time (after all, prostitution was probably not something to celebrate or call by name in movies in 1939 â?? see also Gone with the Wind). All in all, though, Stagecoach is fun to watch, entertaining and artistic, and another great product from a great year in Hollywood history.