STUDIO:
20th Century Fox. Known for socially-conscious adventure films and “hokey cheesey ‘Americana’.” Worked with Ford and Wayne.
CAST/CREW:
Director: John Ford
A well known Director working in the 30's, made a lot of westerns, frequently worked with John Wayne and worked with Bert Glennon on Stagecoach in 1939.
Cinematographer: Bert Glennon
Received the Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Black & White) for Stagecoach in 1939
Actors: John Wayne, Alice Faye
John Wayne is a quintessential Western movie star that works with John Ford and Fox.
Faye also worked with Fox and was considered very popular and attractive.
GENRE:
Western. Audience familiarity. Escapism from the 30's. Cultural critique against banks/wealth.
The idea of the rugged individual can comfort the poor conditions of the great depression. The themes of justice are of interest to a bank-hating public.
SYNOPSIS:
The movie begins with Charles (Wayne) and a group of five rugged bandits looking upon a fairly large mansion on a grassy knoll. As conversation begins to develop, it is learned that the group is there to ransack the mansion for all it’s worth, and it appears that Charles is the ringleader for tonight. Charles explains that the rich couple that owns the house is out for the night, and won’t be back until late in the evening. After a few more gloss overs of the plan, the band separates to get in through the three different entrances, each man at an entrance carefully picking a door open. Once the men are in the building, all is well, until Charles discovers a girl cowering in her closet in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Charles quickly notices that the girl has made a phone call and assumes that it was to the police; seconds later, law enforcement has arrived, and, not yet spotted, Wayne snatches the girl and bolts out of the building, riding off into the night on horseback. It is explained that the girl’s name is Margaret, (Faye) and Charles says the intention of the kidnapping was for some sort of ransom. He explains that he’s not going home without any money. After several escape attempts by Margaret, the two are attacked by a group of bandits looking for loot. Charles ends up fighting them off, and becomes a sort of protector to Margaret, no longer seeing her as a tool for money. As the relationship between the two grows as they continue journeying, Margaret expresses her desire to live in Sacramento. Charles agrees, and after a long and arduous journey, is met with law enforcement officials who know his face. After a solitary respite in a town shop, Margaret is alerted to the sound of gunshots. As she runs outside, she finds Charles dead on the ground, having killed two officers before being gunned down. *Note: it is never made clear whether Margaret loves Charles back or not, just that the hostility fades and she’s complacent with being with him/enjoys his company. It is possible that she loves him, but that’s up to viewer speculation.
HAYS CODE:
Considering the movie follows an anti-hero turned hero, it’s fairly hard to make judgement calls on what’s appropriate and what’s not. However, our character is initially portrayed as a morally detestable person, one that audiences will struggle to support or relate with. Until the point where Charles begins his change of character, the actions committed are frowned upon, due to the law winning in the end over the bandits. As the relationship between Charles and Margaret develops and the audience begins to identify with Charles, his actions will have the audience rooting for good causes, like protecting someone special. However, in order to make the movie a real moral tale, Charles death informs the audience that a life of crime doesn't just fade away, no matter how much you do to wipe it clean. Charles will always be an enemy in the eyes of the law: his actions have already defined him.
TECHNOLOGY:
Black and White film. Common for 30's Westerns. Stagecoach was black and white and was made in 1939… received award for best cinematography.
IF I COULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY:
I wouldn't have chosen the title we ended up with. I guess it's kind of cool to have the whole generic western thing turned on it's head by the end of the film, but it made me feel like I had to joke about it. It worked out though, didn't it? I'm still struggling to figure out how.
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