Movie #44 Stagecoach

John Wayne never told a lie.  At least not on screen he didn't.  I know there is a stigma that goes along with John Wayne movies.  It's the limping, chawing, shotgun at his side, "little missy" characterization that is associated with Wayne.  And for good reason.  A lot of his films used variations on the same character and he was happy to fill that role.  But let's not forget about the actor inside these characters.  According to IMDB Wayne has 173 roles in movies and TV.  Many of which took place when there were only a hand full of actors working.  Wayne didn't write the scripts.  He just filled the characters he played with honesty and integrity.  That is what I mean when I say he never told a line on screen.  And lets not forget about the breakout roles.  His roles in movies like Red River, Rio Bravo, The Searchers, The Green Berets and True Grit just to name a few are roles that will be remembered as long as there are movie lovers.  This review is about 1939's Stagecoach.

To call Stagecoach a "John Wayne film" is an abomination.  It is 100% a John Ford film.  He is the director.  He is the master.  Today's movies and movie makers would still be trying to perfect the zoom and the tracking shot if Ford hadn't done it 70 years ago.  I know old movies scare some people off.  So do westerns and black and white movies.  I don't care.  If you love movies, you should love this one.

The story is pretty simple. A stagecoach filled with a variety of different people is heading to the next town when they get word of a Indian posse that could attack them.  This is loosly the plot of 60 percent of today's road trip and traveling conflict movies.

What impressed me the most with this movie was the movement of the camera.  Something that Ford was not particually know for.  There are some shots that were 30 ahead of their time.  Including one where they must have had to dig a 20 foot hole in the desert dirt in order to have a stagecoach and horses pass over the camera.  There are pans and zooms that perfect highlight the actors in them and that bring us (the audience ) right into the picture. 

I am a fan of the late 90's movie Tombstone. I think Val Kilmer's Doc Holiday was a once in a lifetime character played to perfection.  After seeing Stagecoach I found his inspiration.  John Carradine as Hatifield had to be the inspration for Holiday.  Tombstone directly owes A LOT to Stagecoach.  I'm sure a lot of other films do as well.

I really enjoyed this movie.  It moved at a brisk pace.  The story was engaging, the acting was good for the period, the action was classic Hollywood.  John Ford wasn't a genius, he was a master and this film is evidence of that.  I give Stagecoach a 4/5 stars.  Check out the link below for an early trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBuPI4m4pO8