Stagecoach

Year: 1939

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Ford

Review

the only ford film that really captured my attention and respect upon first viewing was “grapes of wrath;” everything else either took multiple viewings, or has yet to intrigue me. i didn’t immediately like the searchers or the man who shot liberty valance; i saw about half of the quiet man and wretched; my darling clementine was good, but didn’t strike me to be as amazing as most seem to think it is; they were expendable, too, didn’t inspire to jump with joy. i came around on the searchers and the man who shot liberty valance, but have mixed feelings on the others i mentioned; and now i can add stagecoach to that unfortunate list. i know the guy was talented, i can see it in most of his pictures, but for some reason i don’t see him as a brilliant filmmaker. that said, looking back on this film’s elements i can see why it’s considered great. let me first say that i think it’s a better written film than it is filmed. searchers and grapes of wrath had much better cinematography, in my opinion, than stagecoach. so far as i know this is the first great western and i suppose that should count for something. ford certainly should get some recognition for his overall effect on one of the most important genres in american cinema. i liked the ensemble cast and the well-drawn characters from john wayne as an outlaw on the run to the southern gentleman who almost betrays us all near the end of the film. stagecoach also has a good amount of comic relief and action to draw upon, which makes the film far more multi-dimensional than i would imagine most westerns of the time were. i can see stagecoach as a landmark film because of what it did relative to its time, but from a technical standpoint i don’t see why this work would be considered “genius.” kurosawa called ford “the master” and welles said he studied “stagecoach” extensively when preparing to direct “citizen kane” (a fact i didn’t know until just now). certainly i saw some nice shots, including plenty of shots that included the ceiling within the frame (something citizen kane is often credited with doing to great effect).