Rent Stagecoach (1939)
3.8 of 5 from 115 ratings
1h 32min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The film is set against the impressive backdrop of Monument Valley in Utah and tells the story of a mixed group of travellers who are making their way across the country to Arizona. They are endangered by an Indian War Party and this, along with their personal histories, results in difficulties.
- Actors:
- John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell, Louise Platt, George Bancroft, Donald Meek, Berton Churchill, Tim Holt, Tom Tyler
- Directors:
- John Ford
- Producers:
- John Ford
- Writers:
- Ernest Haycox, Dudley Nichols, Ben Hecht
- Others:
- Richard Hageman, Dorothy Spencer, Leo Shuken, Bert Glennon, Otho Lovering, Alexander Toluboff, Frank Harling, John Leipold
- Studio:
- Universal Pictures
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like Citizen Kane, Award Winners, Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Sidney James, Holidays Film Collection, Ireland At the Oscars, Oscar's Two-Time Club, The Cinema Paradiso Kissing Montage, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1939
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Not available for rental
- Run Time:
- 96 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- A
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary by western authority Jim Kitses (Horizons West)
- Bucking Broadway, a 1917 silent feature by John Ford, with new music composed and performed by Donald Sosin
- Journalist and television presenter Philip Jenkinson's extensive 1968 video interview with Ford
- New video appreciation of 'Stagecoach' with director and Ford biographer Peter Bogdanovich
- New video interview with Ford's grandson Dan Ford about the director and his home movies
- New video piece, featuring journalist Buzz Bissinger, about trader Harry Goulding's key role in bringing Monument Valley to Hollywood
- New video homage to legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt, with celebrated stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong
- Video essay by writer Tag Gallagher analyzing Ford's visual style in 'Stagecoach'
- Screen Director's Playhouse 1949 radio dramatization of 'Stagecoach', with John Wayne, Claire Trevor, and Ford
- Theatrical Trailer
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Reviews (2) of Stagecoach
A Classic Western - Stagecoach review by CP Customer
My whole family enjoyed this, and I’m not surprised. After (in my opinion) a bit of a slow and very slightly confusing first 10-15 minutes the adventure begins. The basic story covers a group of mismatched people who are begrudgingly bought together to travel on a stagecoach through the deserts of Utah and the difficulties this throws upon them. Best known as the film that brought John Wayne into the spotlight, it also has some great character acting from actors such as Claire Trevor, Tim Holt and Thomas Mitchell.
The photography and scenery are amazing when you think it was made in 1939. I recommend this to any fan of Western films, it’s also a great introductory film of the Western genre.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Key Western. - Stagecoach review by Steve
This is rated a critical landmark because it is the first major studio western of the sound era... Well, that is debatable, but it is at least a key release for genre superstar John Ford, as his breakthrough picture set in the old west. However, if it was innovative at the time, it has been copied so relentlessly, it has lost any impression of originality.
A group of conflicting western archetypes take a stagecoach journey through 'Indian' country. There is the outlaw (John Wayne), the good hearted sex worker (Claire Trevor), the gambler (John Carradine), the whisky doctor (Oscar winning Thomas Mitchell), the aloof lady of manners (Louise Platt). And many more. And they overcome their differences to see off an Apache attack.
There are the standard virtues of a Ford western, with the Utah landscape, the artistic photography, the wistful score... which all builds to a well-staged action climax. Though it might be acknowledged that many horses were killed during the shoot. And there are the usual negatives too, with the native Americans serving no other purpose than as targets for the heroes' guns.
The characters and situations are formulaic, but that's expected in a genre film. The actors are well cast with a star making role for Wayne. This is a decent Ford melodrama with lots of atmosphere, and stunts which are still impressive. It's even interesting as an insight into the conditions of stagecoach travel in the old west! But it's not going to convert anyone who doesn't already love westerns.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.