“Stagecoach” (1939) by John Ford

Upfront, I will do something that should be incumbent upon every critic, but that few critics actually do. I will state and admit any biases.

Normally, I am not a fan of Westerns. Wayne, in particular, turns me off. His phony machismo, his stiff delivery, and the way he always struts on screen becomes very repugnant very, very quickly.

That said, John Ford’s Stagecoach is actually a terrific film. It is certainly better than the most acclaimed Ford/Wayne film, the bizarrely overrated The Searchers, is. It even comes close to greatness, and is very reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Lifeboat, itself a fine film. Both films put their characters into a life-and-death situation, whilst stuck together in a transport in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, both films just barely fall below the bar of greatness, for all of the characters are stereotypes- most of them, however, act in a believable manner, and it occasionallt falls prey to cliché- most notably towards the ending.

The thing it does well is make its stereotypes into actual believable characters, all of whom give good-to-great performances...yes even Wayne. Thomas Mitchell gives a terrific performance as the alcoholic doctor, and deserved his Oscar. Claire Trevor also gives a nuanced performance as the hooker with a heart of gold.

I’ll go further into detail on this one later. Just let it be said though, that this is a terrific and well-made film that comes damned close to greatness.