Stagecoach (1939) is a hell of a stunt show

Genres come about because people like the same shit over and over. The child of genre is the sequel, and the child of the sequel is the "universe," but really we just want to see the same shit we like. Sorta like how if one Japanese hot dog place becomes a hit then five more and a truck will be in the neighborhood within a year, including barbeque, teriyaki, and Mexican Japanese hot dogs.

     Stagecoach jumpstarted the western genre by telling a simple story: a group of disparate individuals in a single vehicle traveling through dangerous terrain. Everyone had their own agenda and solidified the archetypes they represent. And it's also a hell of a western stunt show.

     Let's get this right out in the open: the depiction of Native American's is pretty shitty. At best they are child-like. At worst they are savage monsters. There are some discussion of various tribes, but for the most part they are the dangerous enemy on the horizon. It's shameful and one sided, but that's what we have. This isn't Bone Tomahawk that makes a particular band of natives alien even to other tribes. Here, all Apache and Geronimo in particular are evil and coming for the "good people."

     That being said, there are very few "good people" in this story. Everyone here is affected by society marching through and shaming them for lives they have lived free on the frontier. The prostitute with a heart of gold, the escaped criminal whose family was murdered, and the drunken doctor all prove more effective than the high society banker (who steals), the pregnant woman looking for her husband (who hides her condition), and the gentleman who insists on manners (who is also a Confederate traitor). 

      Pretty much the entire cast is amazing. This movie made a star of John Wayne, and that entrance of him twirling the rifle is iconic. Claire Trevor gives a quiet confidence to the role of the prostitute who wants a real life after being shunned and kicked out of town. Thomas Mitchell delights while on screen as his drunken Doc Boone grows his heart back as the story goes on, showing how skilled he can be as a doctor. John Ford leads them all as the director that not only shot the shit out of Monument Valley but had the balls to even attempt that stagecoach chase.

     A special shout out to Yakima Canutt and his team of stunt coordinators. Dude really jumped from horse to the team of horses, pretended to be shot, "fell" down between the horses where he hung on until letting go, and then had four horses and a damn stagecoach run over him on the Utah salt flats. He also doubled John Wayne to jump from the stagecoach to the team of horses to slow everything down. This man was insane.

     See this when and where you can. Four and a half stars.