Stagecoach (1939)

Marshal Curly Wilcox: Come busting in here - you'd think we were being attacked! You can find another wife.
Chris: Sure I can find another wife. But she take my rifle and my horse. Oh, I'll never sell her. I love her so much. I beat her with a whip and she never get tired.
Dr. Josiah Boone: Your wife?
Chris: No, my horse. I can find another wife easy, yes, but not a horse like that!

Director:  John Ford
Producer:  John Ford (uncredited)
Main Cast:  Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell
Runtime:  96 minutes

Usually when the name John Ford is mentioned visions of Monument Valley come to mind (My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon) usually with John Wayne somewhere in the foreground.  John Ford is famous for shooting his movies on location in picturesque Monument Valley and here in Stagecoach is no different.  It’s a movie that set a new standard for the Western genre and even shot John Wayne to major star status.  Interesting to note that this was John Ford’s first sound western and John Wayne’s 80^th movie.  Hard to believe.

In a nutshell, nine people board a stagecoach to travel from Tonto Arizona to Lordsburg New Mexico.  They become aware that the fierce Apache Indian leader Geronimo is in the area which forces them to work together in a hope to get to their destination safely.

Don’t let the year of production put you off.  This is not classed as a landmark Western for nothing and its quality story and acting will likely surprise you, not to mention the beautiful scenery (John Ford’s first movie filmed in Monument Valley).  Local Indians were also hired to play their parts which also adds to the realism of the film (no face painting here folks).

Overall, I really enjoyed the film and if you like Westerns, especially older ones, you’ll love this.  Yes, you can tell that some scenes were shot in a studio but remember this is 1939 and to be honest they would likely do the same these days but with a green screen.  There are also stunts and some sequences that they would not do these days (thankfully in some cases) for various reasons but it’s really the story, acting and location which make me give this the big thumbs up.  It’s just a well-made quality landmark film that is worth watching.

Copies of the film are sadly limited in Australia.  There was a DVD released some time back however I am unsure of its quality.  The Bluray used in the review was imported from Germany as it was on sale and from what I understand it appears to be the same quality transfer as the USA Criterion version (Region A locked, but comes with several extra features) which is excellent news. The image quality varies but overall is very good considering the age of the film and materials used.  There is some film damage right near the end however this is more of an issue with the film source used as opposed to the transfer to disc and I am sure that all efforts were made to correct as many of the issues as possible. Audio is more DVD quality but is sufficient, though an uncompressed audio would have been more ideal.  No extras are included.

Highly recommended for fans of Westerns and/or John Wayne/John Ford.  It was much better than I had anticipated.  There is also a 1966 remake that is good in its own right, though not as good when compared to this version but still worthwhile.

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