Stagecoach Details

A classic

Stagecoach was John Wayne’s 80th film. But it might as well have been his first- it was the film that put him on the map, and made Westerns a respectable genre for the first time. A true classic, it stands out from other contemporary studio pictures due to two things: strong characterisation is the first, and exceptional action sequences are the second.

Neither attribute is to be underestimated: and while the action sequences may stand out more (they’re impressive even by today’s standards),the characters are what make the film such an unforgettable experience.

You may think that Clint Eastwood in a poncho is as old as good westerns get. Think again.

[Highly rated reviewer]

A film of surprising, deceptive depth

It's not difficult to see why 'Stagecoach' became such a popular, instant classic. By taking the western genre seriously - Dudley Nichols' careful plotting and proper characterisations - John Ford gave America its most consistently compelling cinematic genre, one of the few genuinely American art forms, and the best reflection, down the years, of the country itself.

Here we are given a group of travellers journeying to Lordsburg on a stage they all know might be threatened at any moment by attack from Geronimo and his 'savages'. No-one is quite what they seem, each person revealed to be something other than their first appearance would suggest, as Ford and Nichols point up the hypocrisy that comes with 'civilization'. But there's nothing so simple as a counterpoint with the 'innocence' of the west; that, too, is a brutal, unknown other, the majesty of Monument Valley hiding its own particular terrors. An understanding must be reached by all those aboard, a compromise, so that a true American society can be born.