One of my faves since film school in the 1960s. The first adult Western and it made Wayne a star, getting him out of the B-films he'd been stuck in for almost ten years. Another adult Western is The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).
The Doctor was the Uncle Billie in 1946's It's a Wonderful Life, who lost the $8,000...he is the famous Actor Thomas Mitchell, who also played the father of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind [same year -1939]...this actor got around in lots of movies, like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and scores of comedies. He was an incredible character actor.
A perfect reaction. Thank goodness people still give old movies a chance. Yes, the movie that set the standard for feature length Westerns. Your reaction is stellar and I thank you for watching this. Orson Welles was asked to name his three most influential Hollywood film directors and he repliedJohn Ford, John Ford, John Ford.
Madison, it's inspiring when you light up and champion great storytelling and characterization! You're a John Wayne, Henry Fonda and John Ford fan, you get them all in the film Fort Apache!
The stuntman doubling for both the Apache and the Ringo character in the chase scene was the legendary Yakima Canutt. The part where he is shot from the lead horse and falls under the wagon was later recreated in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Canutt pulled this off in a few movies.
He was also playing as the bartender in the town where the story starts and Doc Boone and Mr. Peacock first meet. Yakima was instrumental in helping John Wayne getting some stunt man gigs when he was in college.
Thank you for reacting to this movie! It’s an important movie for two reasons. Its John Wayne’s breakout role, but more importantly, its considered the first modern western. The prototype for what’s come since. Other known actors are: John Carradine, who plays Hatfield, the Southern gentleman. He was a character actor for 50 years. He is the father of David and Keith Carradine. Thomas Mitchell, who plays drunken doctor Boone, is also Uncle Billy in ‘Its a Wonderful Life’. Clair Trevor, who plays scorned love interest Dallas, was actually the established A-list star and she gets top billing in the credits. Also: Hatfield was the son of the Judge he mentions at the end. The silver drinking cup from the plantation Mrs. Mallory knew of was his family’s.
John Carradine was also The Honorable Cassius P. Starbuckle, "the cattleman's mouthpiece, the lowing herd" in _The Man who Shot Liberty Valence._ I'm thinking he was also in _The Grapes of Wrath._ He was also in another great (but non-Ford) movie, _Captains Courageous,_ as Long Jack. Btw, just tonight and one more day to see _Captains Courageous_ for free on Tubi. I hope they will put it on UA-cam for free, but who knows?
Carradine was also the father of Robert Carradine (aka "Lewis" from "Revenge of the Nerds") who as a teen played "Slim Honeycutt" in "The Cowboys" which Madison watched a few months ago.
John Ford...the only director to have been awarded four Academy Awards ('Oscars') (for best director). Don't really know what 'Indians' did to captured ('white') women, Hatfield was trying to save Mrs Mallory(?) from whatever that fate would have been (by shooting her). Real cowboys performing really dangerous 'stunts'...you don't see that anymore, - in this age of computer generated images ('CGI'). Gatewood absconded with $50,000. How much would that be in today's $?. Hmmmm....a whole bunch I imagine! Madison: don't know/remember if you've reacted to these, but three really good Westerns (in my opinion): "The Searchers" (starring John Wayne), "High Noon" (starring Gary Cooper - with an incredible performance by (Mexican actress) Katy Jurado), and "The Horse Soldiers" (starring John Wayne and William Holden), each well worth your time to watch...wonderful, very entertaining movies. See you soon!
@@joelmoreno4223great comment! You’re right about Hatfield almost “sparing” Mrs. Mallory from degradation and terror before being killed. You see it explained by the brief shot of Hatfield covering a dead woman at the burned ferry.
The two stunts on the chase scene are just amazing for 1939. To think they got the horses up to that speed and kept the camera truck going with enough room for the long shot, all in a remote environment.
The Indian who was shot off the horses, and who gets driven over between the horses hooves and the wheels was the famous Yakima Canutt. All that trouble to set up that scene, and at the end of it, he gets up off the ground! The cowboy.who jumps from pair of horses, to pair of horses to get to the front and take charge of the team: that was actually John Wayne.
It is worthwhile remembering that, at the time this film was made, the San Fernando Valley was still cattle country, the first Hollywood stuntmen were working cowboys, and Wyatt Earp retired to Los Angeles where John Ford met him.
You hit all the points that make this movie great. The cast is like a Who’s Who of top character actors of the era. Thomas Mitchell won a supporting Oscar as the doctor, and Andy Devine (the coach driver), John Carradine (the Southern Gentleman), and Donald Meek (the drummer) were unfailingly good. Claire Trevor was one of the most underrated actresses of classic Hollywood. She was excellent in lots of movies and finally got recognized with a supporting Oscar for her part in “Key Largo” (1948)---highly recommended BTW.
Mitchell was great in this film, but I betcha he won in a landslide because of the love for his roles in Mr. Smith and Gone With the Wind the same year too.
Hatfield was a fallen son of the Southern aristocracy (Virginia). He had the Greenfield crest on his silver cup, and his last words were for his father, Judge Greenfield.
Wayne’s first big role was in 1930’s “The Big Trail,” which was the first widescreen western. It was for that film that Marion Michael Morrison was given a new name, John Wayne. Sadly, it was expensive to produce and theatres could not afford to convert to the equipment necessary to project the film during the Great Depression. That sank Wayne’s career for nearly a decade. Ford and Wayne had been friends since the late ‘20’s when Duke was a prop man for Ford. He had appeared as an extra for Ford in a number of films. Once, while Ford was preparing to film Stagecoach, they were on a fishing trip on Ford’s boat, The Araner, the director asked Wayne to suggest an actor to play Ringo, Wayne replied “Lloyd Nolan,” not knowing that Ford fully intended to cast Duke in the role.
Thomas Mitchell (Doc Boone) has the distinction of co-starring in three of the Best Picture nominees for this year, 1939: He was in Gone With the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Stagecoach. And he won Best Supporting Actor for Stagecoach!
Mitchell also had a couple more 1939 classics: Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings, reuniting him with Mr Smith costar Jean Arthur, and the Charles Laughton starring Hunchback of Notre Dame.
"Sagecoach "is the movie that made John Wayne a major star. Prior to "Stagecoach" Wayne had several years as the star of small budget/ little scene westerns for minor movie studios
The actor playing the stagecoach driver was Andy Devine. Devine co-starred in the 1950s TV western "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" which starred Guy Madison in the lead role. There is a street in Kingman, Arizona named Andy Devine Avenue.
That's where he was from. He also played "Sheriff Linc Appleyard" in _The Man who Shot Liberty Valence._ His yodell-y, gravelly, low+high, vocal ''fry'' was heard in many western films. Also, notice Claire Trevor's similar breaking voice!
@@blueboy4244 the doctor was played by Thomas Mitchell ( who later appeared in Mr Smith goes to Washington and It's a wonderful life ), however the newspaper man Dutton Peabody was played by Edmond O'Brien
The Criterion Collection DVD has an excellent video essay among the supplements on the disc. It points out the prevalence of reaction shots and cuts to matching shots of characters gazing at each other (for example, early on in the movie, Hatfield gazing out of the window of the saloon and Mrs. Mallory gazing out of the window of the stagecoach back at him; also, Dallas gazing from her seat in the stagecoach at Ringo seated on the floor, and Ringo gazing back at her from under his hat). All these shots of faces (reaction shots and gazing shots) were a trademark of Ford, and they really serve to connect the audience to the characters. In the video essay, I believe they point out the importance of reaction shots for tying an audience to the characters emotions. This is masterful filmmaking. Orson Wells screened Stagecoach 40 times in preparation for making Citizen Kane.
I love this! Makes me think of the Edelweiss scene in The Sound of Music when the Captain can't stop staring at Maria, the Baroness keeps stealing glances at Maria to see how she's reacting (Maria is staring at him too), and Max sees the Baroness watching them. Silent reaction shots like that, when used well, just draw you into the characters.
@@melanie62954 I agree. I also love that scene in The Sound of Music. That's one of the things I love about classic movies (movies of the 30s, 40s, 50s, and early 60s): they give the characters time to breathe. They let us the audience just sit with the characters, and look at the characters; they let us peek at the characters' faces when they are stealing glances at one another. Modern movies seem like they are so concerned to stuff more and more plot into the runtime that they neglect these quieter moments.
Aces and eights--"dead man's hand"--were what Wild Bill Hickock was dealt when he was shot dead from behind in a barroom, Mad. There's a very good western worth your attention that contains a scene that recounts that shooting: "The Plainsman," starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.
Yakima Canutt was the legendary stuntman who did the stunt of jumping onto the horses and falling under them and the stagecoach. 42 years after this movie, stuntman Terry Leonard would recreate the stunt in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but under a truck rather than stagecoach.
Enjoyed your review. Fun piece of trivia (true or not). John Ford said in an interview that he showed the movie to some of the elder chiefs who were around at that time and asked them specifically if the chase scene was authentic enough. They told him, “No. We would have just shot the horses.”
The actor with the man with the distinctive voice "Buck" the stagecoach driver is Andy Devine he has starred in probably one hundred movies mostly Westerns. He started acting in 1926 his last movie was "Alias Smith and Jones" in 1972.
Great pick. You're right, about one thing: through great writing and acting, we learn about the rather deep back stories of each character through quick scenes and comments. Enough is said and hinted at that we, the audience, can re-create the history of each character. Even Gatewood has a back story: the staid banker oppressed by his shrew of a wife so much that he will commit theft and disappear from his life to get away from her. Hatfield also has defined, but hidden, back story. It is hinted that he was the dissolute son of a reputable family. He still has his sense of honor and duty, shown by his willingness to go on the coach to Lordsburg to protect Mrs. Mallory. His dying comment shows that he wanted "the Judge" to know he died with honor. (Even his last act, was intended to spare Mrs. Mallory from the horrors of capture (Again hinted at through creative filming, by the brief scene at the ford where Hatfield covers the bare backed body of the woman with his cape.) He was not "saving the last one for himself." Each character has a purpose and is a rational actor in the story.
Fun fact -- the actor playing Doc was the first version of Peter Falk's TV detective COLUMBO, on stage in San Francisco. He was a wonderful character actor also known for playing Jimmy Stewart's uncle in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and Scarlett O'Hara's father in GONE WITH THE WIND.
1939 is an amazing year for films. Among the movies that came out that year: Stagecoach Gone With The Wind The Wizard of Oz Dark Victory Goodbye Mr Chips Mr Smith Goes To Washington The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Great list. Don’t forget Ninotchka Gunga Din Jesse James Union Pacific Wuthering Heights Drums Along The Mohawk Babes In Arms The Hound Of The Baskervilles The Roaring Twenties Of Mice And Men Young Mr Lincoln Not to mention the Andy Hardy and Young Dr Kildare movies
Cool little fact! the stunt guy who did the stunts at 26:28 and 26:57, went on to help direct the chariot race scene in Ben Hur. Yakima Cunnut was his name
Great reaction and enjoyed your take on discovering the side of so many American Westerns. Today we forget that John Ford was highly respected and had been making admired movies for over a decade. Westerns were considered mostly B movies made on low budgets to be shown in second tier theaters and rural markets.This movie was a thunderbolt to the movie industry. The techniques , framing, and blocking of the scenes was revolutionary. It was this movie that was being studied by directors, camera directors, and production executives. The artistry influenced a generation and you nailed the business part. So much was placed in the movie and it made sense and has impact. It also came in under budget, a comparatively low cost, and made a fortune. So the business people studied how a location movie made away from the studio was profitable. This also opened the door to use character actors has leads to move the story without having big stars. A great movie
The name of the stuntman that did the horse scene with the stage coach being chased down, his name is Yakima Kanut and he did a ton of movies with John Wayne before this
Yes! Ford was making a very clear statement about American society: the westward expansion would free American society from the social prejudices of the old world which still resided on the East Coast, prejudices of class and the appearance of social propeity, prejudices embodied by the Ladies Law and Order League who run the good-hearted Dallas and Doc Boone out of town at the beginning of the movie. That town they are run out of is named Tonto, the Spanish word for stupid. Notice that the really good people (Dallas, Ringo, Doc Boone) are all social outcasts (a prostitute, an escaped convict, and a drunk), but the lousy people (Gatewood, Mrs. Mallory) are upstanding types (a banker, and a lady from the Southern upper class). Dallas and Ringo are like the Adam and Eve of the new nation being brought into existence through westward expansion. As they drive off into the countryside at the end of the film, Doc says, "They're freed from the blessings of civilization." The whole movie is about American expansion into the western wilderness as a project of freeing ourselves from the "blessings of civilization" (meant in a sarcastic sense to refer to the curses of civilization).
John Wayne introduces his signature weapon in this movie, the Winchester Sporting Model with the big lever grip. He used this carbine many times in his Western movies.
If, in the future, you review "The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre", the young Calvary Lieutenant in this movie was played by a very young Tim Holt. In "Sierra Madre" he plays the "partner" of Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston, the father of the director of the movie, John Huston. He is also the Grandfather of actress Angelica Huston.
This is the movie that made John Wayne a star. He had spent 10+ years working in B Westerns for Monogram and Republic Studios. This was a big break and the chance to work with John Ford for the first time. Thomas Mitchell who played Doc Boone won the best supporting actor Oscar for this role. He was also nominated for playing Scarlett O'Hara's father in Gone with the Wind. 1939 is considered to be the greatest year for Hollywood releases. Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gunga Din, The Wizard of Oz, Drums Along the Mohawk, Wuthering Heights, Of Mice and Men, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Women, Beau Geste, Destry Rides Again to name a few.
The stagecoach driver is Andy Devine, a character actor, he played the sheriff in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. That same year Dallas, Claire Trevor was with John Wayne in Allegheny Uprising (Should give it a try). and again in the 50's in The High And The Mighty. Was shot up in Monument Valley, when storms roll in in the southwest you get lots of dust pushed in front of them. I've crossed those Salt Flats between the Arizona Border and Lordsburg, along I-10.
It is significant that Hatfield is the only one who died and he was the only one who was on the stagecoach voluntarily. His being there was optional. He also represented the romantic way of the old south;destined to die.
You have reacted to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, from 1939. Which is a great year for film: This film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Wizard of Oz Gone With the Wind Thomas Mitchell, Doc Boone, was in GWTW and Mr. Smith/Washington as well this year. You also remember him as forgetful Uncle Billy in It's A Wonderful Life. He won Supporting Actor category at the Academy Awards for the Doc Boone portrayal.
You are mentioning the beautiful sky in this movie. John Ford asked especially for big skies and indoor roofs to escape from the otherwise claustrophobic plot. This inspired Orson Wells and Greg Toland to do the same in Citizen Kane two years later.
@@nomadpi1 In particular, he uses shots against the backdrop of the sky for moments of glory (the lead-up to Fort Apache's final battle) and spirituality (Tom Joad's journey to find the answer to the riddle of injustice at the end of the Grapes of Wrath).
John Wayne's introductory shot as the Ringo Kid with his Winchester in this one is just classic. Only one I can think of that compares is Orson Wells first appearance in the Third Man.
THE Western. The breakthrough film for one Marion Michael Morrison, who had played football at USC, but got hurt and lost his scholarship, leading him to try the movies. He made dozens of B-Westerns before major stardom. John Wayne.
Stagecoach was and still is one of the best movies made. There have been remakes but none of them come close to the original. Stagecoach made John Wayne the major star he was meant to be.
The actor playing the bartender who served doc before he got on the stagecoach was in a lot of John Wayne movies, Rio Grande, The Horse Soldiers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon I believe, etc
I believe the guy with the voice you recognized at first is the same guy who played the marshal in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." The drunk doctor was Uncle Billy in "It's A Wonderful Life." And John Carradine as Hatfield from ALL those old horror movies, and of course, other things too. Those were the only people I recognized.
The 2 stagecoach stunts (the Indian jumping on the lead horse, being shot & falling under the team and Ringo jumping down from the coach to walk up to mount the lead horse) were performed for the 1st time in this movie by the famous cowboy (horse) stuntman Yakima Canutt. You need to watch "The Searchers" (1956) starring John Wayne & Natalie Wood.
The guy you thought was slimy was John Carradine. You watched his son a few months ago in "The Cowboys " he was Slim. His brother's were actors too. A western called "Long Riders" had 4 sets of real brothers in it. You would like it. It's about the James and younger gangs
The stage coach driver is (big) Andy Devine, if you have seen "the man who shot Liberty Valance" he has the Sheriff & was in quite a few other movies, not only with John Wayne
Another very very good John Wayne western ... with a romantic twist is "The Angel and the Bad Man", a very entertaining movie. Stagecoach, way, way before computer generated images, all the incredible 'stunt work'... that's how John Wayne broke into movies, working with movie cowboys, learning how to ride and do stunt work (after he lost his football scholarship to USC because of a body surfing injury).
It's hard to imagine but the same could be said for a Vietnam war-based picture being made today. Fifty years after the fact. Just enough time passes for a new generation to have forgotten, yet still having the ability to tap into any older people who might have lived through it. Great observation.
The soiled dove is played by Claire Trevor, who could portray any character the threw at her. I liked her best in "Key Largo" playing an alcoholic nightclub singer with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall as well as in "Murder, My Sweet," where she's one of the best dangerous dames in film noir.
It’s very interesting… I’ve seen this film so many times over the years, but it still sheds a new and different light when watching it ‘in the company of’ someone (in this case, you). Ford and Wayne did other non-western movies you may be interested in, one particularly excellent one (and I highly recommend you watch it) being “THE QUIET MAN” (1952). Although not a western (as such), it could be considered a ‘non-western’ in that this particular movie is often listed in the ‘western’ category (don’t ask me why, but it does seem and appropriate listing). Another of my favourite movies is the 1956 Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn western “LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL”, and yet another excellent John Wayne western (set in 1900), yet with Don Siegal as director rather than John Ford, is the 1976 film “THE SHOOTIST”.
Westerns have been a genre since the very first films--silents--of the 1900's. 1939 was a banner year for great films Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz.(both very early color films)
Here are 2 black and white films from the early 1930’s which are absolute gems and I think you would appreciate and enjoy them immensely. “Trouble in Paradise” (1932) and “Design for Living” (1933) (both pre-code comedies.)
John Wayne did that horse team jump in his movies he did in the early black and white films in 1933, 34, 35, 36, 38. He even rides a water "slide" in one. Great reaction.
The is such a great movie i love so many things about it. Each character is valuable. There are tons of movies that use this formula because of it. Hawkes made 3 spiritual successors, my favorite being 'Rio Bravo.
...except you can see the shadow of the camera/cameraman going over the back of the team as they cross the river. The scene of stuntman Yakima Canute jumping on the team and crawling out to the leaders (he also played the Indian who was dropped from the front of the team and the dreary reaction after the stage passed him was genuine) made his reputation as a stuntman. He ended up being a well employed stunt coordinator and second unit director.
Ford was very interested in social dynamics and he presented these with great depth in his films. Here it's interesting that Hatfield is a kind of Doc Holiday character. As Hatfield dies, he acknowledges his southern aristocratic background, through his father a well regarded judge in Virginia. Dallas, Ringo and the doctor are social outcasts, but they are stand up people with a moral compass. While Gatewood, through his wife, is a pillar of the community, but is an embezzler. Hatfield is a card sharp and dandy, who may be a back shooter. Mrs. Mallory is an acknowledged lady, who seems spellbound by the opinions of the community moralizers, but grows into someone with a greater perspective after her experiences with Dallas and the doctor. I think Hatfield has fallen away from his Virginia aristocratic background into a life as a sharp gambler and something of a reprobate, and so exaggerates his lost status as a gentleman.
I felt Mallory was a woman who got knocked up by a man who wasn't her husband, but the Hays Code looked down on any mention of marital infidelity. She felt lonely, being a Southern lady and having a Union Army captain for a husband.
Your "familiar" stagecoach driver is named Andy Devine; you may remember him from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Andy usually provided some comic relief in his movie roles. The gambler in the coach is played by John Carradine, father of "Kung Fu"'s David Carradine. The drunk doctor's role is portrayed by Thomas Mitchell, Scarlett O'Hara's father in "Gone with the Wind." John Wayne as The Ringo Kid owns a rifle -- a rare, custom job for the movie's timeframe -- like Chuck Connors' (in "The Rifleman" TV show)! In so many westerns, the last bullet is often saved to "protect" a woman from the indignities of being captured, and ... um, abused ... by the predatory "red savages." Doc and the Sheriff walking off at the end to go get a drink is a precursor to Rick and Louie (Renault) heading to Brazzaville to begin their "beautiful friendship" in "Casablanca"'s ending. Very enjoyable analysis and commentary, MKT!
I CANNOT believe you have not watched Stagecoach until now!!! HAHAHAH. Andy Devine is the guy with the funny voice. He was always hoot in anything, not just westerns. He appeared in 1963' Mad Mad Mad Mad World comedy, as county sheriff, and other comedies.
Guy slipping off stage horses and falling between is the great stuntman Yakima Canutt. One of the greatest stunts of all time. Also jumping down from mthe stage to tghe horses
The wide screen version of The Big Trail is quite good. The narrow screen version, which is all that could be shown without special equipment, is not nearly as good as the wide screen. Both are now available on Blu-ray.
I saw a documentary about Ford once which started with someone asking Welles about his favorite directors, and he said, “I prefer the old masters, by which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford."
I think Hatfield was using an alias, as his last words were "If you see Judge Greenfield, tell him his..."(dies). So he might have been the son of the patriarch at the Greenfield home.
The classic stunt of jumping from the coach down into the horse rigging was done by Yakima Canutt, the most famous stuntman of the era. Canutt also gave that specially modified Winchester to Wayne and showed him the signature twirl cocking trick. The leap from the coach to the horses has been copied a few times since, but only a very few have dared to do it. Wayne's first staring role was nine years earlier in the first widescreen extravaganza western "The Big Trail" directed by Raoul Walsh. It was a commercial flop, partly because only two theaters in the country were equipped to project the doubled 35mm film and the narrow screen version that most theaters could show is just not as good. John Ford was mad at Wayne for working with another director and kept him in "B" westerns for nine years before finally deciding to give him this role which made him at last a star.
I've been to Lordsburg, NM an it is a pretty cool little town, but what is even cooler is that just slight south of it is a ghost town named Shakespeare! It is really worth the time to check it out if you are ever in the area. And oh yea, Tombstone is just up the road a bit!
I love your reactions. Another classic western is "The Ox Bow Incident" 1943 staring Henry Fonda. I think that you seem to enjoy westerns that have a theme more than just the classic western formula. 🙂
It's funny that John Wayne's love interest in this movie, Dallas, is also the same name of his love interest in "Hatari". If you haven't seen Hatari, I definitely suggest it. It's actually one of my favorite John Wayne movies.
Now that you've watched the movie that made John Wayne the star he is you need to watch his last, "The Shootist" from 1976. It's a fantastic final act to a legendary career!
John Wayne had met someone who would be the model Mr. Wayne would base his character for most the western roles he accepted. The man he met as a stage hand and as he started acting in the serials he started with. John Wayne had met Wyatt Earp and was please to learn anything about the west from him....
I agree with what's been said but I also reccomend giving Gary Cooper a look in "The Westerner" (1940) by William Wyler who also did such classics as "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), "Roman Holiday" (1953), and "Ben Hur" (1959). Another even older western is "Cimarron" (1930). It was the first and only Western to win best picture until 1992 when Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" became the 2nd. It's about Oklahoma territory and the Cherokee Strip land rush and the supposed civilization that quickly moved in and evolved over one lifetime. The story began around 1890 and went into the 20s so it was made very close to the events described but it was based on an Edna Ferber novel. Watch it, I'm sure you'll find it interesting.
Another great reaction, Madison. I’m so glad you got round to this magnificent movie that really launched the film western. Everything works in STAGECOACH - the direction, the acting by a wonderful cast (including the wild card casting of John Wayne as Ringo) the photography, the location shooting, the action etc. But the basis of it, IMHO - and this is something you’d appreciate, as a writer yourself - is a script by DUDLEY NICHOLS that is just about perfect. I challenge anyone to find a dud line in this film. Another Ford/ Wayne western masterpiece is FORT APACHE, while GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) shows Ford at his best outside the western genre.
One of my faves since film school in the 1960s. The first adult Western and it made Wayne a star, getting him out of the B-films he'd been stuck in for almost ten years. Another adult Western is The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).
I think this was Fords first film in Monument Valley.
The Doctor was the Uncle Billie in 1946's It's a Wonderful Life, who lost the $8,000...he is the famous Actor Thomas Mitchell, who also played the father of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind [same year -1939]...this actor got around in lots of movies, like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and scores of comedies. He was an incredible character actor.
He was also Driscoll in Ford's movie based on plays by Eugene O'Neill, _The Long Voyage Home._
A perfect reaction. Thank goodness people still give old movies a chance. Yes, the movie that set the standard for feature length Westerns. Your reaction is stellar and I thank you for watching this. Orson Welles was asked to name his three most influential Hollywood film directors and he repliedJohn Ford, John Ford, John Ford.
Madison, it's inspiring when you light up and champion great storytelling and characterization!
You're a John Wayne, Henry Fonda and John Ford fan, you get them all in the film Fort Apache!
Glad you enjoyed it!🙏🏻❤️ Fort Apache is on my to watch list!
The stuntman doubling for both the Apache and the Ringo character in the chase scene was the legendary Yakima Canutt. The part where he is shot from the lead horse and falls under the wagon was later recreated in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Canutt pulled this off in a few movies.
Canutt appears in the beginning of the film as the Union Army scout who returns to base with the Cheyenne man.
He was also playing as the bartender in the town where the story starts and Doc Boone and Mr. Peacock first meet. Yakima was instrumental in helping John Wayne getting some stunt man gigs when he was in college.
@@feldweible The bartender was played by Jack Pennick, a Ford regular.
Thank you for reacting to this movie! It’s an important movie for two reasons. Its John Wayne’s breakout role, but more importantly, its considered the first modern western. The prototype for what’s come since. Other known actors are:
John Carradine, who plays Hatfield, the Southern gentleman. He was a character actor for 50 years. He is the father of David and Keith Carradine. Thomas Mitchell, who plays drunken doctor Boone, is also Uncle Billy in ‘Its a Wonderful Life’. Clair Trevor, who plays scorned love interest Dallas, was actually the established A-list star and she gets top billing in the credits. Also: Hatfield was the son of the Judge he mentions at the end. The silver drinking cup from the plantation Mrs. Mallory knew of was his family’s.
John Carradine was also The Honorable Cassius P. Starbuckle, "the cattleman's mouthpiece, the lowing herd" in _The Man who Shot Liberty Valence._ I'm thinking he was also in _The Grapes of Wrath._ He was also in another great (but non-Ford) movie, _Captains Courageous,_ as Long Jack.
Btw, just tonight and one more day to see _Captains Courageous_ for free on Tubi. I hope they will put it on UA-cam for free, but who knows?
John Carradine also played Dracula in a couple of movies that starred Boris Karloff and even Lon Chaney Jr.
Carradine was also the father of Robert Carradine (aka "Lewis" from "Revenge of the Nerds") who as a teen played "Slim Honeycutt" in "The Cowboys" which Madison watched a few months ago.
John Ford...the only director to have been awarded four Academy Awards ('Oscars') (for best director).
Don't really know what 'Indians' did to captured ('white') women, Hatfield was trying to save Mrs Mallory(?) from whatever that fate would have been (by shooting her).
Real cowboys performing really dangerous 'stunts'...you don't see that anymore, - in this age of computer generated images ('CGI').
Gatewood absconded with $50,000. How much would that be in today's $?. Hmmmm....a whole bunch I imagine!
Madison: don't know/remember if you've reacted to these, but three really good Westerns (in my opinion): "The Searchers" (starring John Wayne), "High Noon" (starring Gary Cooper - with an incredible performance by (Mexican actress) Katy Jurado), and "The Horse Soldiers" (starring John Wayne and William Holden), each well worth your time to watch...wonderful, very entertaining movies.
See you soon!
@@joelmoreno4223great comment! You’re right about Hatfield almost “sparing” Mrs. Mallory from degradation and terror before being killed. You see it explained by the brief shot of Hatfield covering a dead woman at the burned ferry.
Ford had a stock answer to the question as to why the Indians didn’t just shoot the stagecoach’s horses: “That would have ended the picture.”
A more logical answer would be they wanted to steal the horses...
As it had been told in Firefly: "Shoot the man, not the horse. Dead horse is cover, injured horse is all kinds of chaos."
The two stunts on the chase scene are just amazing for 1939. To think they got the horses up to that speed and kept the camera truck going with enough room for the long shot, all in a remote environment.
The Indian who was shot off the horses, and who gets driven over between the horses hooves and the wheels was the famous Yakima Canutt. All that trouble to set up that scene, and at the end of it, he gets up off the ground!
The cowboy.who jumps from pair of horses, to pair of horses to get to the front and take charge of the team: that was actually John Wayne.
Yakima also plays the rider who delivers the message in the first scene.
It is worthwhile remembering that, at the time this film was made, the San Fernando Valley was still cattle country, the first Hollywood stuntmen were working cowboys, and Wyatt Earp retired to Los Angeles where John Ford met him.
You know John Wayne started out working on movie sets as a laborer, prop boy, stuntman and movie extra.
@@Nitedawg1 Gary Cooper, Yakima Canutt, and others were working cowboys.
@@TedLittle-yp7uj cool, and I think John Wayne said he met Wyatt Earp
@@Nitedawg1 It is possible that Wayne met Earp; Earp died in 1929 and Wayne started at USC in 1925. Possible but I don't know the reference.
You hit all the points that make this movie great. The cast is like a Who’s Who of top character actors of the era. Thomas Mitchell won a supporting Oscar as the doctor, and Andy Devine (the coach driver), John Carradine (the Southern Gentleman), and Donald Meek (the drummer) were unfailingly good. Claire Trevor was one of the most underrated actresses of classic Hollywood. She was excellent in lots of movies and finally got recognized with a supporting Oscar for her part in “Key Largo” (1948)---highly recommended BTW.
THANK YOU - that's where I knew her from...
Mitchell was great in this film, but I betcha he won in a landslide because of the love for his roles in Mr. Smith and Gone With the Wind the same year too.
Hatfield was a fallen son of the Southern aristocracy (Virginia). He had the Greenfield crest on his silver cup, and his last words were for his father, Judge Greenfield.
Hatfield had seen what the indians did to the woman at the ferry. He didn't want the lady to go through the same thing.
They wouldn't have killed her, they would have kept her for years, without asking for her consent...
I would heartily recommend John Wayne's 1930 western debut, the spectacular widescreen epic "The Big Trail."
Wayne’s first big role was in 1930’s “The Big Trail,” which was the first widescreen western. It was for that film that Marion Michael Morrison was given a new name, John Wayne. Sadly, it was expensive to produce and theatres could not afford to convert to the equipment necessary to project the film during the Great Depression. That sank Wayne’s career for nearly a decade. Ford and Wayne had been friends since the late ‘20’s when Duke was a prop man for Ford. He had appeared as an extra for Ford in a number of films. Once, while Ford was preparing to film Stagecoach, they were on a fishing trip on Ford’s boat, The Araner, the director asked Wayne to suggest an actor to play Ringo, Wayne replied “Lloyd Nolan,” not knowing that Ford fully intended to cast Duke in the role.
Prior to The Big Trail Wayne's role were uncredited except for Words and Music (1929) where he was credited as Duke Morrison.
"The Big Trail" is one of my two favorite John Wayne movies, along with "The Cowboys." What a breathtaking epic it is.
Thomas Mitchell (Doc Boone) has the distinction of co-starring in three of the Best Picture nominees for this year, 1939: He was in Gone With the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Stagecoach. And he won Best Supporting Actor for Stagecoach!
Mitchell also had a couple more 1939 classics: Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings, reuniting him with Mr Smith costar Jean Arthur, and the Charles Laughton starring Hunchback of Notre Dame.
@@juanbarraza1490 He is so good in Only Angels Have Wings.
"Sagecoach "is the movie that made John Wayne a major star. Prior to "Stagecoach" Wayne had several years as the star of small budget/ little scene westerns for minor movie studios
The actor playing the stagecoach driver was Andy Devine. Devine co-starred in the 1950s TV western "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" which starred Guy Madison in the lead role. There is a street in Kingman, Arizona named Andy Devine Avenue.
He was also the sheriff in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence"
@@FlyingTigress and the doctor was the newspaper man
That's where he was from.
He also played "Sheriff Linc Appleyard" in _The Man who Shot Liberty Valence._ His yodell-y, gravelly, low+high, vocal ''fry'' was heard in many western films.
Also, notice Claire Trevor's similar breaking voice!
He's Friar Tuck to this Disney kid!
@@blueboy4244 the doctor was played by Thomas Mitchell ( who later appeared in Mr Smith goes to Washington and It's a wonderful life ), however the newspaper man Dutton Peabody was played by Edmond O'Brien
The Criterion Collection DVD has an excellent video essay among the supplements on the disc. It points out the prevalence of reaction shots and cuts to matching shots of characters gazing at each other (for example, early on in the movie, Hatfield gazing out of the window of the saloon and Mrs. Mallory gazing out of the window of the stagecoach back at him; also, Dallas gazing from her seat in the stagecoach at Ringo seated on the floor, and Ringo gazing back at her from under his hat). All these shots of faces (reaction shots and gazing shots) were a trademark of Ford, and they really serve to connect the audience to the characters. In the video essay, I believe they point out the importance of reaction shots for tying an audience to the characters emotions. This is masterful filmmaking. Orson Wells screened Stagecoach 40 times in preparation for making Citizen Kane.
I love this! Makes me think of the Edelweiss scene in The Sound of Music when the Captain can't stop staring at Maria, the Baroness keeps stealing glances at Maria to see how she's reacting (Maria is staring at him too), and Max sees the Baroness watching them. Silent reaction shots like that, when used well, just draw you into the characters.
@@melanie62954 I agree. I also love that scene in The Sound of Music. That's one of the things I love about classic movies (movies of the 30s, 40s, 50s, and early 60s): they give the characters time to breathe. They let us the audience just sit with the characters, and look at the characters; they let us peek at the characters' faces when they are stealing glances at one another. Modern movies seem like they are so concerned to stuff more and more plot into the runtime that they neglect these quieter moments.
Aces and eights--"dead man's hand"--were what Wild Bill Hickock was dealt when he was shot dead from behind in a barroom, Mad. There's a very good western worth your attention that contains a scene that recounts that shooting: "The Plainsman," starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.
Yes, and I also reccomend "The Westerner" (1940) also with Gary Cooper.
Yakima Canutt was the legendary stuntman who did the stunt of jumping onto the horses and falling under them and the stagecoach. 42 years after this movie, stuntman Terry Leonard would recreate the stunt in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but under a truck rather than stagecoach.
Enjoyed your review. Fun piece of trivia (true or not). John Ford said in an interview that he showed the movie to some of the elder chiefs who were around at that time and asked them specifically if the chase scene was authentic enough. They told him, “No. We would have just shot the horses.”
The actor with the man with the distinctive voice "Buck" the stagecoach driver is Andy Devine he has starred in probably one hundred movies mostly Westerns. He started acting in 1926 his last movie was "Alias Smith and Jones" in 1972.
Maybe his last live-action movie, but don't forget his voice work! He will always be Friar Tuck to me in Disney's Robin Hood.
1939 is known for being one of, if not arguably THE, greatest year for awesome movies ever!
Look up what went down!
That guy with the voice you remember played the sheriff in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance aside of some Disney voice overs.
Andy Devine. He had the voice of a rusty harmonica.
And he voiced Friar Tuck in Disney 's Robin Hood
He was also Jingles in the TV show "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" in the 50s.
what is crazy good is that most the movie is happening in the stagecoach , a small place but it sets everything in shape
I'm so glad that you got around to watching and reacting to this at long last, Madison, it's such a great and classic film.
Yes! I was waiting for this as well. So good to finally see it with her 🙂
Great pick.
You're right, about one thing: through great writing and acting, we learn about the rather deep back stories of each character through quick scenes and comments. Enough is said and hinted at that we, the audience, can re-create the history of each character. Even Gatewood has a back story: the staid banker oppressed by his shrew of a wife so much that he will commit theft and disappear from his life to get away from her.
Hatfield also has defined, but hidden, back story. It is hinted that he was the dissolute son of a reputable family. He still has his sense of honor and duty, shown by his willingness to go on the coach to Lordsburg to protect Mrs. Mallory. His dying comment shows that he wanted "the Judge" to know he died with honor. (Even his last act, was intended to spare Mrs. Mallory from the horrors of capture (Again hinted at through creative filming, by the brief scene at the ford where Hatfield covers the bare backed body of the woman with his cape.) He was not "saving the last one for himself." Each character has a purpose and is a rational actor in the story.
Gatewood was going to steal the money, shrewish wife or not.
The superb writing, by today's standards, but was common in Holly Wood studios at that time.
Fun fact -- the actor playing Doc was the first version of Peter Falk's TV detective COLUMBO, on stage in San Francisco. He was a wonderful character actor also known for playing Jimmy Stewart's uncle in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and Scarlett O'Hara's father in GONE WITH THE WIND.
The great John Ford, one of the greatest directors ever, and o e of the greatest westerns ever
1939 is an amazing year for films. Among the movies that came out that year:
Stagecoach
Gone With The Wind
The Wizard of Oz
Dark Victory
Goodbye Mr Chips
Mr Smith Goes To Washington
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
I am longing for someone to react to Goodbye Mr Chips.
Great list. Don’t forget
Ninotchka
Gunga Din
Jesse James
Union Pacific
Wuthering Heights
Drums Along The Mohawk
Babes In Arms
The Hound Of The Baskervilles
The Roaring Twenties
Of Mice And Men
Young Mr Lincoln
Not to mention the Andy Hardy and Young Dr Kildare movies
Don't forget Son Of Frankenstein.
@@porflepopnecker4376 Sadly I did. Thanks for the reminder.
And four of the films in that list feature Thomas Mitchell.
Cool little fact! the stunt guy who did the stunts at 26:28 and 26:57, went on to help direct the chariot race scene in Ben Hur. Yakima Cunnut was his name
Great reaction and enjoyed your take on discovering the side of so many American Westerns. Today we forget that John Ford was highly respected and had been making admired movies for over a decade. Westerns were considered mostly B movies made on low budgets to be shown in second tier theaters and rural markets.This movie was a thunderbolt to the movie industry. The techniques , framing, and blocking of the scenes was revolutionary. It was this movie that was being studied by directors, camera directors, and production executives. The artistry influenced a generation and you nailed the business part. So much was placed in the movie and it made sense and has impact. It also came in under budget, a comparatively low cost, and made a fortune. So the business people studied how a location movie made away from the studio was profitable. This also opened the door to use character actors has leads to move the story without having big stars. A great movie
Thank you, William! Glad you enjoyed it😊
The Doc, Thomas Mitchell, one of the great character actors
The name of the stuntman that did the horse scene with the stage coach being chased down, his name is Yakima Kanut and he did a ton of movies with John Wayne before this
Yay for you. Great cast. Story based on a short story by Flaubert. All elements of society traveling a coach together.
Yes! Ford was making a very clear statement about American society: the westward expansion would free American society from the social prejudices of the old world which still resided on the East Coast, prejudices of class and the appearance of social propeity, prejudices embodied by the Ladies Law and Order League who run the good-hearted Dallas and Doc Boone out of town at the beginning of the movie. That town they are run out of is named Tonto, the Spanish word for stupid. Notice that the really good people (Dallas, Ringo, Doc Boone) are all social outcasts (a prostitute, an escaped convict, and a drunk), but the lousy people (Gatewood, Mrs. Mallory) are upstanding types (a banker, and a lady from the Southern upper class). Dallas and Ringo are like the Adam and Eve of the new nation being brought into existence through westward expansion. As they drive off into the countryside at the end of the film, Doc says, "They're freed from the blessings of civilization." The whole movie is about American expansion into the western wilderness as a project of freeing ourselves from the "blessings of civilization" (meant in a sarcastic sense to refer to the curses of civilization).
Elevated John Wayne to the A-List...would be box office king for the 40's, 50's and 60's, 3 decades as the number one draw.
John Wayne introduces his signature weapon in this movie, the Winchester Sporting Model with the big lever grip. He used this carbine many times in his Western movies.
It was made specifically for this movie and it turned into an amazingly popular modification.
Andy Devine was the sheriff in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". The gambler is John Carradine, father of Keith, Robert, David.
If, in the future, you review "The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre", the young Calvary Lieutenant in this movie was played by a very young Tim Holt. In "Sierra Madre" he plays the "partner" of Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston, the father of the director of the movie, John Huston. He is also the Grandfather of actress Angelica Huston.
Walt's great in an early Frank Capra film, "American Madness" as a bank manager. His grandson, Danny and great-grandson, Jack, are also actors.
And was in The Magnificent Ambersons for Orson Welles.
This is the movie that made John Wayne a star. He had spent 10+ years working in B Westerns for Monogram and Republic Studios. This was a big break and the chance to work with John Ford for the first time. Thomas Mitchell who played Doc Boone won the best supporting actor Oscar for this role. He was also nominated for playing Scarlett O'Hara's father in Gone with the Wind. 1939 is considered to be the greatest year for Hollywood releases. Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gunga Din, The Wizard of Oz, Drums Along the Mohawk, Wuthering Heights, Of Mice and Men, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Women, Beau Geste, Destry Rides Again to name a few.
Oh Yeah! Madison does 'Stagecoach' ... I know you enjoyed this one!
The stagecoach driver is Andy Devine, a character actor, he played the sheriff in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. That same year Dallas, Claire Trevor was with John Wayne in Allegheny Uprising (Should give it a try). and again in the 50's in The High And The Mighty. Was shot up in Monument Valley, when storms roll in in the southwest you get lots of dust pushed in front of them. I've crossed those Salt Flats between the Arizona Border and Lordsburg, along I-10.
It is significant that Hatfield is the only one who died and he was the only one who was on the stagecoach voluntarily. His being there was optional. He also represented the romantic way of the old south;destined to die.
You have reacted to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, from 1939.
Which is a great year for film:
This film
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Wizard of Oz
Gone With the Wind
Thomas Mitchell, Doc Boone, was in GWTW and Mr. Smith/Washington as well this year. You also remember him as forgetful Uncle Billy in It's A Wonderful Life. He won Supporting Actor category at the Academy Awards for the Doc Boone portrayal.
Wuthering Heights, The Women, Of Mice And Men, The Hunchback Of Norte Dame, and Only Angels Have Wings
You are mentioning the beautiful sky in this movie. John Ford asked especially for big skies and indoor roofs to escape from the otherwise claustrophobic plot. This inspired Orson Wells and Greg Toland to do the same in Citizen Kane two years later.
Small actors against big skies was a Ford trademark.
@@nomadpi1 In particular, he uses shots against the backdrop of the sky for moments of glory (the lead-up to Fort Apache's final battle) and spirituality (Tom Joad's journey to find the answer to the riddle of injustice at the end of the Grapes of Wrath).
John Wayne's introductory shot as the Ringo Kid with his Winchester in this one is just classic. Only one I can think of that compares is Orson Wells first appearance in the Third Man.
Good comparison.
Orson Welles watched Stagecoach night after night while he was making Citizen Kane. Ford was one of the biggest influences in film, ever.
The Searchers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Quiet Man, and Donovan’s Reef are great John Wayne movies directed by John Ford.
THE Western. The breakthrough film for one Marion Michael Morrison, who had played football at USC, but got hurt and lost his scholarship, leading him to try the movies. He made dozens of B-Westerns before major stardom. John Wayne.
That stagecoach driver was the town sheriff in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Stagecoach was and still is one of the best movies made. There have been remakes but none of them come close to the original. Stagecoach made John Wayne the major star he was meant to be.
The actor playing the bartender who served doc before he got on the stagecoach was in a lot of John Wayne movies, Rio Grande, The Horse Soldiers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon I believe, etc
I believe the guy with the voice you recognized at first is the same guy who played the marshal in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." The drunk doctor was Uncle Billy in "It's A Wonderful Life." And John Carradine as Hatfield from ALL those old horror movies, and of course, other things too. Those were the only people I recognized.
The 2 stagecoach stunts (the Indian jumping on the lead horse, being shot & falling under the team and Ringo jumping down from the coach to walk up to mount the lead horse) were performed for the 1st time in this movie by the famous cowboy (horse) stuntman Yakima Canutt. You need to watch "The Searchers" (1956) starring John Wayne & Natalie Wood.
The guy you thought was slimy was John Carradine. You watched his son a few months ago in "The Cowboys " he was Slim. His brother's were actors too. A western called "Long Riders" had 4 sets of real brothers in it. You would like it. It's about the James and younger gangs
I'm hoping Mad watches a season or 2 of Kung Fu.
The stage coach driver is (big) Andy Devine, if you have seen "the man who shot Liberty Valance" he has the Sheriff & was in quite a few other movies, not only with John Wayne
Andy Devine (“Buck”) also voiced Friar Tuck in Disney’s Robin Hood.
Another very very good John Wayne western ... with a romantic twist is "The Angel and the Bad Man", a very entertaining movie.
Stagecoach, way, way before computer generated images, all the incredible 'stunt work'... that's how John Wayne broke into movies, working with movie cowboys, learning how to ride and do stunt work (after he lost his football scholarship to USC because of a body surfing injury).
OMG!!!! So exciting! The Duke & Ford duo at its best (one of 'em anyway)! Madison, you're awesome!
@4:24 He played Uncle Billy in "It's a Wonderful Life"
It's hard to imagine but the same could be said for a Vietnam war-based picture being made today. Fifty years after the fact. Just enough time passes for a new generation to have forgotten, yet still having the ability to tap into any older people who might have lived through it. Great observation.
The soiled dove is played by Claire Trevor, who could portray any character the threw at her. I liked her best in "Key Largo" playing an alcoholic nightclub singer with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall as well as in "Murder, My Sweet," where she's one of the best dangerous dames in film noir.
It’s very interesting… I’ve seen this film so many times over the years, but it still sheds a new and different light when watching it ‘in the company of’ someone (in this case, you). Ford and Wayne did other non-western movies you may be interested in, one particularly excellent one (and I highly recommend you watch it) being “THE QUIET MAN” (1952). Although not a western (as such), it could be considered a ‘non-western’ in that this particular movie is often listed in the ‘western’ category (don’t ask me why, but it does seem and appropriate listing).
Another of my favourite movies is the 1956 Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn western “LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL”, and yet another excellent John Wayne western (set in 1900), yet with Don Siegal as director rather than John Ford, is the 1976 film “THE SHOOTIST”.
Westerns have been a genre since the very first films--silents--of the 1900's. 1939 was a banner year for great films Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz.(both very early color films)
All Quiet on the Western Front from 1930 is almost 100 years old but it has to be seen to be believed how epic it is
Here are 2 black and white films from the early 1930’s which are absolute gems and I think you would appreciate and enjoy them immensely. “Trouble in Paradise” (1932) and “Design for Living” (1933) (both pre-code comedies.)
John Wayne did that horse team jump in his movies he did in the early black and white films in 1933, 34, 35, 36, 38. He even rides a water "slide" in one. Great reaction.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
I enjoyed your commentary as it made me forget this is a black-and-white film. I can't add more than the others. Thanks for making Friday fun again :)
The is such a great movie i love so many things about it. Each character is valuable. There are tons of movies that use this formula because of it. Hawkes made 3 spiritual successors, my favorite being 'Rio Bravo.
Thanks for such an enthusiastic and perceptive reaction. Brilliant.
One of my favorite movies. The acting is fantastic, the emotion, the story. So epic.
The man you recognized at the beginning was Andy Devine, he had nearly 200 movie & TV credits.
Good one, Madison! Love the classic westerns! Thanks for sharing this one. 🙂
People say the story is from Guy de Maupassant, but it always reminds me of Bret Harte.
The De Maupassant story is one of his best: "Ball of Fat." Highly recommended
...except you can see the shadow of the camera/cameraman going over the back of the team as they cross the river. The scene of stuntman Yakima Canute jumping on the team and crawling out to the leaders (he also played the Indian who was dropped from the front of the team and the dreary reaction after the stage passed him was genuine) made his reputation as a stuntman. He ended up being a well employed stunt coordinator and second unit director.
Ford was very interested in social dynamics and he presented these with great depth in his films. Here it's interesting that Hatfield is a kind of Doc Holiday character. As Hatfield dies, he acknowledges his southern aristocratic background, through his father a well regarded judge in Virginia.
Dallas, Ringo and the doctor are social outcasts, but they are stand up people with a moral compass. While Gatewood, through his wife, is a pillar of the community, but is an embezzler. Hatfield is a card sharp and dandy, who may be a back shooter. Mrs. Mallory is an acknowledged lady, who seems spellbound by the opinions of the community moralizers, but grows into someone with a greater perspective after her experiences with Dallas and the doctor.
I think Hatfield has fallen away from his Virginia aristocratic background into a life as a sharp gambler and something of a reprobate, and so exaggerates his lost status as a gentleman.
I felt Mallory was a woman who got knocked up by a man who wasn't her husband, but the Hays Code looked down on any mention of marital infidelity. She felt lonely, being a Southern lady and having a Union Army captain for a husband.
Your "familiar" stagecoach driver is named Andy Devine; you may remember him from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Andy usually provided some comic relief in his movie roles. The gambler in the coach is played by John Carradine, father of "Kung Fu"'s David Carradine. The drunk doctor's role is portrayed by Thomas Mitchell, Scarlett O'Hara's father in "Gone with the Wind." John Wayne as The Ringo Kid owns a rifle -- a rare, custom job for the movie's timeframe -- like Chuck Connors' (in "The Rifleman" TV show)! In so many westerns, the last bullet is often saved to "protect" a woman from the indignities of being captured, and ... um, abused ... by the predatory "red savages." Doc and the Sheriff walking off at the end to go get a drink is a precursor to Rick and Louie (Renault) heading to Brazzaville to begin their "beautiful friendship" in "Casablanca"'s ending. Very enjoyable analysis and commentary, MKT!
I CANNOT believe you have not watched Stagecoach until now!!! HAHAHAH. Andy Devine is the guy with the funny voice. He was always hoot in anything, not just westerns. He appeared in 1963' Mad Mad Mad Mad World comedy, as county sheriff, and other comedies.
If you havent Tried "The Searchers" and "The Man who shot Liberty Valance" you should give those a try
She's seen them both.
Now you need to go 1 year earlier to Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Deitrich's Destry Rides Again. Another banger of a western.
Every time i watch this one i'm always mesmerized by Mrs Mallory's amazing eyes.
It’s not so much that his roles previous to this were smaller, but that they were in less notable productions- B-movies, as it were.
Guy slipping off stage horses and falling between is the great stuntman Yakima Canutt. One of the greatest stunts of all time. Also jumping down from mthe stage to tghe horses
A great black-white western classic.
I recommend his first Western movie as the lead. The Big Trail (1930)
The wide screen version of The Big Trail is quite good. The narrow screen version, which is all that could be shown without special equipment, is not nearly as good as the wide screen. Both are now available on Blu-ray.
Orson Welles reportedly watched this movie over and over before he made Citizen Kane.
I saw a documentary about Ford once which started with someone asking Welles about his favorite directors, and he said, “I prefer the old masters, by which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford."
Tall in the saddle is one of my favorites of the older Wayne westerns. If you haven't seen it then it's a must for a reaction video
I knew Madison’s face was going to light up when they zoomed in on John Wayne
I love your appreciation for classic films. I'd like to suggest Fort Apache, another John Wayne - John Ford collaboration.
I think Hatfield was using an alias, as his last words were "If you see Judge Greenfield, tell him his..."(dies). So he might have been the son of the patriarch at the Greenfield home.
The classic stunt of jumping from the coach down into the horse rigging was done by Yakima Canutt, the most famous stuntman of the era. Canutt also gave that specially modified Winchester to Wayne and showed him the signature twirl cocking trick. The leap from the coach to the horses has been copied a few times since, but only a very few have dared to do it.
Wayne's first staring role was nine years earlier in the first widescreen extravaganza western "The Big Trail" directed by Raoul Walsh. It was a commercial flop, partly because only two theaters in the country were equipped to project the doubled 35mm film and the narrow screen version that most theaters could show is just not as good. John Ford was mad at Wayne for working with another director and kept him in "B" westerns for nine years before finally deciding to give him this role which made him at last a star.
I've been to Lordsburg, NM an it is a pretty cool little town, but what is even cooler is that just slight south of it is a ghost town named Shakespeare! It is really worth the time to check it out if you are ever in the area. And oh yea, Tombstone is just up the road a bit!
I love your reactions. Another classic western is "The Ox Bow Incident" 1943 staring Henry Fonda. I think that you seem to enjoy westerns that have a theme more than just the classic western formula. 🙂
It's funny that John Wayne's love interest in this movie, Dallas, is also the same name of his love interest in "Hatari". If you haven't seen Hatari, I definitely suggest it. It's actually one of my favorite John Wayne movies.
Now that you've watched the movie that made John Wayne the star he is you need to watch his last, "The Shootist" from 1976. It's a fantastic final act to a legendary career!
John Wayne had met someone who would be the model Mr. Wayne would base his character for most the western roles he accepted. The man he met as a stage hand and as he started acting in the serials he started with. John Wayne had met Wyatt Earp and was please to learn anything about the west from him....
I agree with what's been said but I also reccomend giving Gary Cooper a look in "The Westerner" (1940) by William Wyler who also did such classics as "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), "Roman Holiday" (1953), and "Ben Hur" (1959). Another even older western is "Cimarron" (1930). It was the first and only Western to win best picture until 1992 when Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" became the 2nd. It's about Oklahoma territory and the Cherokee Strip land rush and the supposed civilization that quickly moved in and evolved over one lifetime. The story began around 1890 and went into the 20s so it was made very close to the events described but it was based on an Edna Ferber novel. Watch it, I'm sure you'll find it interesting.
Another great reaction, Madison. I’m so glad you got round to this magnificent movie that really launched the film western. Everything works in STAGECOACH - the direction, the acting by a wonderful cast (including the wild card casting of John Wayne as Ringo) the photography, the location shooting, the action etc. But the basis of it, IMHO - and this is something you’d appreciate, as a writer yourself - is a script by DUDLEY NICHOLS that is just about perfect. I challenge anyone to find a dud line in this film. Another Ford/ Wayne western masterpiece is FORT APACHE, while GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) shows Ford at his best outside the western genre.
The exact cause of Andy Devine's voice issue is uncertain--an accident, growths on the vocal cords, etc. It added to his personality.
Claire Trevor, excellent actress.
That was stunt man Yakima Canutt that fell between the horses and under the stage coach; no CGI here.