History Film / Stagecoach

'''''Stagecoach''''' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and notable as the first major role for Creator/JohnWayne.

* PluckyComicRelief: Buck is the whiny yet affable coach driver played by Andy Devine.

John Wayne had previously appeared in some 80 "B" pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to putting him in a major film, but Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on casting Wayne as the Ringo Kid. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

John Wayne had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

-->-- '''The Ringo Kid''' (Creator/JohnWayne)

'''''Stagecoach''''' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, notable as Creator/JohnWayne's first major role.

'''''Stagecoach''''' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The story involves a disparate group of travelers--a prostitute (Claire Trevor), an alcoholic doctor (veteran character actor Thomas Mitchell), a pregnant army wife, a fugitive under arrest (Wayne), and others--who all wind up on the same stagecoach traveling from Tonto, Arizona Territory to Lordsburg, New Mexico Territory. Besides having their own secrets, burdens, and crimes to deal with, they have to worry about Geronimo and the Apaches, who are on the warpath.

The story was redone once more in 1986 as a MadeForTVMovie, starring Kris Kristofferson as the Ringo Kid, Music/WillieNelson as Doc (Holliday instead of Boone), Music/JohnnyCash as Curley, and Music/WaylonJennings as Hatfield.

''Stagecoach'' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The story involves a disparate group of travelers--a prostitute (Claire Trevor), an alcoholic doctor (veteran character actor Thomas Mitchell), a pregnant army wife, a fugitive under arrest (Wayne), and others--who all wind up on the same stagecoach traveling from Tonto, Arizona Territory to Lordsburg, New Mexico Territory. Besides having their own secrets, burdens, and crimes to deal with, they have to worry about Geronimo and the Apaches, who are on the warpath.

* StarMakingRole: John Wayne had been a bit player and B-movie actor for nearly a decade before this film made him a huge star.
** Ford had known Wayne for some time and had become friends with him, but refused to cast him in any of his movies until he was sure Wayne was ready for it. Ford got ahold of this script and [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming figured Wayne was ready for it]].

'''''Stagecoach''''' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The actor had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

* {{Badass}}: The Kid and Hatfield
* BadassLongcoat: Hatfield

* TheCavalry
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Gatewood
* DeadMansHand: Luke holds this hand. He is shortly therafter gunned down by the Ringo Kid.
* EnemyMine: Wilcox and the Ringo Kid
* TheGambler: Hatfield again
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Dallas
* JerkAss: Gatewood

* {{Revenge}}: The Kid's motivation to get to Lordsburg.

* StandardSnippet: Par for the course in a John Ford movie, but probably used more here than in any other. By one count, the score uses seventeen folk and popular songs from the era, some as [[{{Leitmotif}} leitmotifs]], for instance ''I Dream of Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair'' for Mrs. Malory.

* USMarshal: Wilcox

-->''Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from''.
-->--The Ringo Kid (Creator/JohnWayne)

''Stagecoach'' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The actor had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

!!These films provide examples of:

->''"Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from."''
-->-- '''The Ringo Kid''' (Creator/JohnWayne)

'''''Stagecoach''''' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The actor had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

!!''Stagecoach'' provides examples of the following tropes:

-->''Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from''.
-->--The Ringo Kid (Creator/JohnWayne)

''Stagecoach'' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The actor had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

Many decades later, two brothers who were fans of this movie would be inspired to write [[PitchBlack their own "survivors escape from Hellish Wilderness" story, complete with a sympathetic criminal and a bounty hunter in place of a Marshal.]] The rest, as they say, [[TheChroniclesOfRiddick is History]].

!!These films provide examples of:

->''"Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from."''
-->-- '''The Ringo Kid''' (Creator/JohnWayne)

'''''Stagecoach''''' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The actor had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

Many decades later, two brothers who were fans of this movie would be inspired to write [[Film/PitchBlack their own "survivors escape from Hellish Wilderness" story, complete with a sympathetic criminal and a bounty hunter in place of a Marshal.]] The rest, as they say, [[Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick is History]].

!!''Stagecoach'' provides examples of the following tropes:

''Synopsis''

A random cross-section of 1880s American society boards the stagecoach from Tonto, Arizona Territory, to Lordsburg, New Mexico Territory, including the [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell), whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek), the pregnant officer's wife Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), gambler and SouthernGentleman Hatfield (JohnCarradine), [[CorruptCorporateExecutive banker]] Henry Gatewood (Barton Churchill), and [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold soiled dove]] Dallas (Claire Trevor). US Marshal "Curley" Wilcox (George Bancroft) provides protection, and Buck (Andy Devine) drives the coach. Before long, they pick up the Ringo Kid (Wayne), who is planning to kill the outlaws who killed his family. Wilcox and the Kid are old friends, but Wilcox arrests him anyway. The Kid begins to fall for Dallas.

The US cavalry warns the stagecoach passengers that Apaches are active in the area and that Geronimo is on the warpath. However, the stagecoach sets out anyway, first with a full cavalry detachment, but not long on the trip they break away to join the main Army group. They get to Dry Fork without incident, though the outpost is undefended, and continue on to Apache Wells, where Lucy is expecting to meet her husband, who is in the Army. When they reach Apache Wells, they find it nearly abandoned, no soldiers in sight, and Lucy's husband nowhere to be found. Someone at Apache Wells tells Lucy that her husband has been wounded, and hearing this Lucy faints and gives birth, off-screen, so the passengers rest a day before pressing on. The Ringo Kid considers escape, but decides against it when he sees smoke from buildings burnt by Apaches. They continue on to Lee's Ferry, which is burnt down, and ford the river. They think they're clear, but several dozen Apaches on horseback attack them. After a long chase, during which one passenger dies and another is injured, the US cavalry stages a last-minute rescue.

Once they arrive in Lordsburg, the Ringo Kid has a shoot-out with the outlaws, then goes back to Wilcox, expecting to be arrested. Instead, Wilcox and Doc Boone laughingly allow the Kid to escape with Dallas, and they ride off into the sunrise.

The film was [[TheRemake remade]] in 1966 by director Gavin Douglas, with Alex Cord replacing Wayne as the Ringo Kid, BingCrosby as Doc Boone, [[TheLongestDay Red Buttons]] as Peacock, [[Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE Stephanie Powers]] as Mrs. Mallory, Mike Connors as Hatfield, Robert Cummings as Gatewood, Van Heflin as Curley, [[DrStrangelove Slim]] [[Film/BlazingSaddles Pickens]] as Buck, and Ann-Margret as Dallas. Despite an improved script (the Gatewood subplot is particularly satisfyingly tied in to the Ringo plot, with [[TheGreatRace Keenan]] [[SantaClausIsCominToTown Wynn]]'s delightfully nasty Luke Plummer being fatally hired by the defaulting banker) and a remarkably strong showing by Crosby, the film is killed dead by a leaden performance by Cord. Ultimately the most memorable aspects of this remake are the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arUlPqXDnE0 portraits done of the cast in-character]] by NormanRockwell.

-->''Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from''.
-->--The Ringo Kid (Creator/JohnWayne)

''Stagecoach'' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary Creator/JohnFord, and Creator/JohnWayne's first major role. The actor had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

Many decades later, two brothers who were fans of this movie would be inspired to write [[PitchBlack their own "survivors escape from Hellish Wilderness" story, complete with a sympathetic criminal and a bounty hunter in place of a Marshal.]] The rest, as they say, [[TheChroniclesOfRiddick is History]].

!!These films provide examples of:

-->--The Ringo Kid (JohnWayne)

''Stagecoach'' is a classic 1939 [[TheWestern Western]] directed by the legendary JohnFord, and JohnWayne's first major role. The actor had previously appeared in some 80 B pictures; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to casting him in a major film, but John Ford (whose first ''sound'' Western this was to be) insisted on Wayne. (Notably, the actor was paid far less than any of his co-stars except for Creator/JohnCarradine.) Ford, well known for abusing his cast and crew, reportedly brutalized Wayne to screw an effective performance out of him -- and succeeded. This film also marked the first time that Ford would shoot in [[SceneryPorn Monument Valley, Utah]], the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films.

* AdaptationDistillation: The movie draws inspiration from "Boule de Suif", a short story by Creator/GuyDeMaupassant. The story is a social critique of French passengers trying to flee a hot spot in the French-Prussian War, and where one of the passengers (a [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold jovial well-meaning prostitute]]) is forced to have sex with a Prussian officer to help the coach passengers escape. The movie changes the setting, removes the degradation of the prostitute, but leaves the social critique pretty much intact (with a karmic punishment for the crooked banker).
** A more direct source of the movie was "The Stage to Lordsburg" by Ernest Haycox, which had a "bare-bones plot". Ford merged it with de Maupassant's story to add more characterization.

* CardGames: Used when Hatfield cuts the cards to decide whether to go on to Lordsburg, and again for {{Foreshadowing}} when Luke Plummer is dealt the "dead man's hand" while playing poker.
** Ford loves using the Aces and Eights to foreshadow doom.