Stagecoach (1939)
Grade: 91
"Stagecoach" is an outstanding early Western, directed by John Ford and featuring John Wayne, who was escaping from an endless series of "B" Westerns. While there is plenty of drama, the characters are diverse and well-defined, and their relationship is the heart of the film.
The plot has a stagecoach that must make it across a vast prarie dominated by hostile indians. The coach is loaded with passengers of various social classes, who have to get along with each other in tight and tense quarters.
John Wayne plays an escaped prisoner seeking revenge on the man who killed his father and brother. Claire Trevor is an apparent prostitute, and is shunned by the other passengers. John Carradine is a notorious gambler who is risking his life to serve as escort for proud Louise Platt, who is travelling to meet her officer husband. There is also an alcoholic doctor (Thomas Mitchell, who won Best Supporting Actor), a hapless liquor salesman, and an aging banker who is skipping town with the embezzled deposits. Almost forgot comic relief Andy Devine, whose trademark of talking off key led to a long and successful career. The doctor and salesman have an entertaining friendship, with the doctor guzzling the "samples" despite the salesman's wimpy complaints. The poor salesman is also constantly mistaken for a reverend, and no one can get his name right.
It is interesting that the married Platt avoids Trevor, but basks in the attention given to her by gambler Carradine.
The moral of the film is that you cannot judge a person's character by their social position. Wayne, Trevor, Carradine and the doctor all come through at the right time. Meanwhile, the honorable bank president is actually an ill-tempered crook.
One obvious weakness of the film is a needless musical number. Mexicans are referred to as lazy and portrayed as horse thieves, while the indians are savage marauders.
"Stagecoach" was probably the best Western movie ever at the time of its release, although subsequent films such as "Red River" (1948) have surpassed it.
http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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