Review of Stagecoach

John Ford's Stagecoach(1939)does a great many things well. The photography of the beautiful and deadly wild west landscape, impressive action sequences, universally solid performances and very good use of light and shadows to set the tone and mood of the piece. Where the film failed for me was that I just didn't find any of the interlocking stories of the travelers very interesting. The romance between John Wayne's Ringo and Claire Trevor's Dallas seemed to come out of nowhere, as the characters had no previous contact it just seemed like the romance hadn't been earned in the time they shared on the screen. At one moment Ringo is inviting Dallas to sit next to him at dinner and at the next he's proposing marriage, it just didn't follow for me. The crime drama story seemed to be completely thrown away and needless with Berton Churchill's Gatewood being a thief that nobody really cares about. John Carradine's mysterious Hatfield is probably the most interesting of the dramatic characters as the dark and brooding gambler is not one to show his cards. The film's main thrust is John Wayne's revenge storyline and it certainly the most satisfying storyline of the piece but Wayne's characteristic lack of emotion hurts what could have been a more interesting and personal through-line. The film's brightest spots are two genuinely entertaining comedy double acts in the drunkard Doc and whiskey salesman Peacock as well as Buck the driver and Marshall Curly Wilcox. Both pairs have great comic dialogue and wonderful comedic performances and really bring a lightness and an easiness to an otherwise dark film. The other highlight of the picture was the climatic wagon chase scene near the end of the film, while it wasn't exactly believable(the Indians just kept coming)it was extremely impressive and entertaining. Stagecoach(1939) is certainly a mixed bag but there are a few very nice treats for those like me who just can't get into the whole John Wayne thing.