The Stagecoach

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class, we began to discuss the popular western genre and how it came about and effected the film industry.  The grittiness and themes that came with this genre were unfamiliar to most audiences until watched.  With the western genre, came a name that no one had heard of before.  This name would become synonymous with the entire genre and would even spark the popularity of the western further. This name was, of course, John Wayne. 

The Stagecoach gave John Wayne his break-out role, pushed him into the Hollywood limelight, and transformed him from a B-List actor, to a A-List actor.  However, John Wayne would not have been able to accomplish this if it was not for the director, John Ford.  John Ford insisted that Wayne play the part of Ringo after being advised that it was a bad move.  This movie is said to have revitalized the western genre.

 

2) Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet. Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91227/Stagecoach/articles.html

In the above link, James Steffan from Turner Classic Movies writes an indepth article about The Stagecoach. He gives a synopsis of the main plot of the movie as well as a description of the main characters.  Steffan also talks about the making of the film and gives unique insights and quotes.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

One of the reasons why I am always so eager to read articles on movies that we watch in class, is that I get to learn about what went into making the film, both the positives and the negatives.  For example, Steffan gives insight about Ford and his pain-in-the-ass work ethic.  It's said that he was very hard to work with and impress.  He often critizied his actors harshly like calling Andy Devine a "fat tub of lard".  Although being a difficult person to work with, John Ford worked magic with his actors and on his sets.  I still think negatively about Ford, but he is definitely a great director.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

After being told how wonderful this film was and reading up on how it won seven academy awards over big blockbusters that y;ea, I had my expectations up quite a bit.  Unfortunately, The Stagecoach never quite lived up to those expectations, however I feel that it may be due to how dated this particular movie is.  I did not find it completely uninteresting though.  Usually, my interests do not tend to be drawn to the lighting aspects of a movie, but with this film, that certainly became the case.  Although, most of the fill uses low contrast shots, I felt that there were some truly stunning high contrast shots.  From Ringo standing in a village house hallway to the final showdown involving Ringo, some of these shots were quite interesting to watch and learn from.  Also, this movie covers quite a range of themes and personifies them in the form of our main characters. 

I would also like to mention that the stunts in this movie are phenomenal.  In today's world, most stuntmen would never try some of the stunts that were pulled in this 1939 movie.  Yakima Canutt's outstanding stunts helps deliver some of the high intensity I felt it was missing.

 

Throughout it all, I understand why this movie was so well received and jsut from the one to two hours I spent watching it, I have learned so much about what it really means to make a movie.