Stagecoach is an iconic western film directed by legendary filmmaker John Ford in 1939. The film is about a group of strangers who travel from Tonto, Arizona to Lordsburg, New Mexico by stagecoach. Their trip gets complicated when tensions rise as Geronimo crosses the stagecoach on their warpath.
When director John Ford began to make the film in 1938 he wanted a close friend of his to play the part of the character Ringo Kid. His friend was then B-movie actor, John Wayne. Wayne at the time was mostly unknown, only have starred in a large amount of western films, a genre that was deemed dead in Hollywood. Ford had been quoted saying he was hesitant to cast Wayne in one of his films saying he was unsure if Wayne was ready as an actor. At the time Wayne had recently had his first major film role in the film The Big Trail which turned out to be a big flop. Ultimately Ford handed Wayne a script and asked him who he thought Ford should cast for the part of Ringo, unknowingly that Ford had Wayne himself in mind for the part. Studio head Walter Wanger was against the idea of having John Wayne cast in the film based on his previous work. But Ford gave Wanger the ultimatum that either Wayne gets casted or no one does. Eventually they reached a compromise with Wayne being cast and Ford taking a budget cut on the film.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagecoach_(1939_film)When director John Ford began to make the film in 1938 he wanted a close friend of his to play the part of the character Ringo Kid. His friend was then B-movie actor, John Wayne. Wayne at the time was mostly unknown, only have starred in a large amount of western films, a genre that was deemed dead in Hollywood. Ford had been quoted saying he was hesitant to cast Wayne in one of his films saying he was unsure if Wayne was ready as an actor. At the time Wayne had recently had his first major film role in the film The Big Trail which turned out to be a big flop. Ultimately Ford handed Wayne a script and asked him who he thought Ford should cast for the part of Ringo, unknowingly that Ford had Wayne himself in mind for the part. Studio head Walter Wanger was against the idea of having John Wayne cast in the film based on his previous work. But Ford gave Wanger the ultimatum that either Wayne gets casted or no one does. Eventually they reached a compromise with Wayne being cast and Ford taking a budget cut on the film.
Despite the troubles John Ford went through while making this film it went on to be a big hit and was
widely raved about by critics everywhere. It revived the western drama and made John Wayne become
arguably the best western star in the history of film in spite of the doubts surrounding his acting. Ironically
this was Wayne’s 80th film but it’s best known as his breakout role, the role that put him on the map of
Hollywood and made him the most iconic western film star.
This was the first actual western movie I’ve seen as well as the first John Wayne movie I’ve seen even
though I have heard of him many times before. I was pretty impressed with the direction of the action
sequence at the end of the film with the gang shooting at the stagecoach while they were all on horses. It
was unlike any stunt scene I have seen in a film of its time. After seeing this film I realized I really have
underestimated how enjoyable a western film could be and started to look into more of John Wayne’s
famous films that I’ll start to add to my Netflix queue to see how much he as an actor and his films have
evolved with the time periods of film making.
