- John Ford's Stagecoach is the quintessential Western. The genre had technically been around since the advent of motion pictures, with Ford himself directing some of the more well-regarded early efforts, but this was the film that you might say codified the laws of the West, establishing patterns that would be imitated in countless later films. Even if Stagecoach had only succeeded in introducing Monument Valley and John Wayne to the world, it would have been considered a success. That it managed simultaneously to be an entertaining adventure and effective societal critique make it truly great.
- The plot is simple: a disparate (and desperate) collection of people, linked only by their mutual fear of an Apache attack, share a stagecoach ride across the Southwestern territories of the United States. Some, like the prostitute Dallas (Claire Trevor), the perpetually pickled Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell), and the haughty embezzler Gatewood (Berton Churchill) are running away from something. Others, like the stalwart Ringo Kid (John Wayne), the devoted Mrs. Mallory (Louise Platt), and her suspiciously chivalrous Southern escort (John Carradine) are running toward someone. The rest of the passengers, including the wonderfully bumbling driver (Andy Devine), an honest lawman (George Bancroft), and a timid salesman (Donald Meek) are just doing their jobs.
- While this sounds like an interesting enough collection of personalities as presented, where Stagecoach really shines is in pointing out the difference between true decency and societal perceptions thereof. The three primary protagonists are introduced to us as a whore, a drunkard, and a criminal -- reputations which prove, in one of the film's great scenes, to be a liability even at the dinner table. By the film's end, however, all three get the chance to become heroes in their own right, whether it's through caring for the living or avenging those who have died. Meanwhile, it turns out that the esteemed banker is a thief, while the Southern gentleman puts more effort into killing Mrs. Mallory than saving her. I guess things aren't always as they appear in the Old West. Perhaps one occasionally needs "to be saved from the blessings of civilization."
- After providing the audience with a flurry of wonderful Southwestern scenery and a spectacular (if perfunctory) Indian ambush, Stagecoach finally reaches the big showdown. The Ringo Kid has come to town to kill the villainous Plummer (Tom Tyler) and his brothers for what they did to his family, while Dallas nervously awaits the outcome of the duel. The newspapermen already have the headline ready: "The Ringo Kid was killed on Main Street in Lordsburg tonight," although they hadn't yet settled on who else might get killed. I don't know, maybe these guys didn't realize they were dealing with John Wayne. Regardless, it damn sure wasn't the Plummers who rode off with Dallas into the sunrise at the end.
- While this was far from John Wayne's first film, it was certainly the first one to get him much attention and the first collaboration with John Ford.
- This was also Ford's first sound Western and his first filming in Monument Valley.
