Trivia / Stagecoach

• Beam Me Up, Scotty!: That famous Catchphrase "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" is often attributed to John Wayne in this film. What he actually says is, "Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from."
• Completely Different Title:
  • The film was first released in Germany as Hell-Ride to Santa Fe, even though the stagecoach went to Lordsburg. The title was later changed to Ringo.
  • In France, it was released as The Fantastic Ride.
  • In Italy, it was released as Red Shadows.
  • In Portugal, it was released as The Heroic Ride.
  • In Brazil, it was released with a similar name to the original, In the Time of Diligences\In the Time of Stagecoaches
• Enforced Method Acting: John Ford gave John Wayne absolute hell on the set, mocking him at every turn and being constantly critical. Eventually, the other actors felt so bad for Wayne that they got together and demanded that Ford lay off the young star—which is exactly what Ford wanted them to do. He sensed (perhaps accurately) that some of the older actors might have resented a younger player getting such a prominent part; by making himself the bad guy, he instead got them to support Wayne.
• Executive Meddling: No financial backer wanted John Wayne to be cast in this film and John Ford had to fight tooth and nail for Wayne to be included. Although Ford eventually won the battle, the producers insisted that Claire Trevor be given top billing because she was the better-known name at the time.
• Fake Nationality: Most of the Apache characters were played by members of other tribes. Local Navajo were the most represented, but one scout was played by Seneca actor Chief John Big Tree. Yakima, meanwhile, was played by Mexican actress Elvira Ríos.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Thomas Mitchell had stopped drinking alcohol more than two years before he played the drunken Doc Boone.
• Star-Making Role: John Wayne had been a bit player and B-movie actor for nearly a decade before this film made him a huge star.
  • John 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 figured Wayne was ready for it.
• Those Two Actors: This was the first of three films in which John Wayne and Claire Trevor were paired as a romantic team.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The producers originally wanted Gary Cooper for The Ringo Kid and Marlene Dietrich for Dallas.
  • John Ford initially wanted Katharine Hepburn, who he'd previously worked with on Mary of Scotland and he'd had an affair with, to play Dallas.
  • Errol Flynn and Joel McCrea were considered for Ringo Kid.

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