Stagecoach

Released Mar 2, 1939

1h 36m

Western

List

100%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

86%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

John Ford's landmark Western revolves around an assorted group of colorful passengers aboard the Overland stagecoach bound for Lordsburg, New Mexico, in the 1880s. An alcoholic philosophizer (Thomas Mitchell), a lady of ill repute (Claire Trevor) and a timid liquor salesman (Donald Meek) are among the motley crew of travelers who must contend with an escaped outlaw, the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), and the ever-present threat of an Apache attack as they make their way across the Wild West.

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Critics Consensus

Typifying the best that the Western genre has to offer, Stagecoach is a rip-roaring adventure given dramatic heft by John Ford's dynamic direction and John Wayne's mesmerizing star turn.

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John C. Mosher

New Yorker

For the sake of the view, you forgive all. In Stagecoach, the view is certainly something, and it hardly matters at all what goes on. The credit for the valuable things in this film unquestionably belongs to the cameramen.

Aug 15, 2022

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Directorially, production is John Ford in peak form, sustaining interest and suspense throughout, and presenting exceptional characterizations. Picture is a display of photographic grandeur.

Feb 18, 2020

Full Review

TIME Staff

TIME Magazine

The rugged background of Monument Valley, Ariz..., the admirable pace given to the screen play by Writer Dudley Nichols and Director John Ford, the unostentatious acting of a well-chosen cast make it one of the season's most satisfactory pictures.

Feb 18, 2020

Full Review

Zita Short

InSession Film

Ford directs with characteristic reserve and passion for capturing the beauty of the natural world, and his dramatic camerawork helped to make this a landmark entry in the genre.

Feb 1, 2023

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The characters are interesting, the politics and social class discord intriguing, and the action-oriented cinematography above standard.

Rated: 8/10

Jul 30, 2020

Full Review

David Parkinson

Radio Times

Everything about this picture is perfection.

Rated: 5/5

Feb 18, 2020

Full Review

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Audience Member

I've never gotten around to seeing this until very recently, despite the fact that I've seen a couple of the remakes, and it was really worth the wait. Despite it's old age, the film doesn't creak at all. The dialogue is crisp, the action is very good and the direction is first class. The acting is uniformly good and never corny, and it's easy to see why this film made John Wayne a star. Pretty much a must see for anybody interested in classic films, particularly westerns.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/26/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Fantastic Western, and the first John Wayne movie I’ve ever actually sat down and watched all the way through. I really like the story too, a group of people all headed for Lordsburg are in the same stagecoach. I like how all the characters personalities clashed, and caused a lot of conflict throughout the film. There was some great stunt work in this film too, specifically the leaping from horse to horse done by what I assume was a stuntman. I also loved the dramatic use of camera turns, to show things hidden off screen or things that happened while the camera was pointed away. Good movie 4.5/5 stars. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is and always will be my favorite western. (Django Unchained & The Outlaw Josey Wales are very close though)

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/25/24

Full Review

ChrisCSH H

"Stagecoach" is a grand sweeping western epic with realistic [for the time] landscapes, thrilling, gun fights, and a dramatic climax. Stagecoach is worthy of every Oscar nomination it got and one. The picture has many memorable characters, with the one standing out to be John Wayne, for even at the time you could see he would become a great western star.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/20/24

Full Review

Danny T

There's much to like about this movie. Then there's that ending. The sheriff turns a blind eye to the "hero" seeking out and killing a couple of bad guys (as long as he agrees to go far away as soon as he does the deed), which endears him all the more to his newfound love; sick.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/24

Full Review

Noel F

It really is a classic. The character development is far beyond most shoot'em up Westerns. There are some details about bad decisions and bad people being rewarded, but overall it is a good, mostly clean tale.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

nick s

The characters are rich and interesting with good arcs, which really anchors this movie. To see how not to do it, try the 66 remake.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/26/23

Full Review

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John Ford

Director

John Wayne

The Ringo Kid aka Henry

Claire Trevor

Dallas

Andy Devine

Buck

John Carradine

Hatfield

Thomas Mitchell

Dr. Josiah Boone

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Synopsis

John Ford's landmark Western revolves around an assorted group of colorful passengers aboard the Overland stagecoach bound for Lordsburg, New Mexico, in the 1880s. An alcoholic philosophizer (Thomas Mitchell), a lady of ill repute (Claire Trevor) and a timid liquor salesman (Donald Meek) are among the motley crew of travelers who must contend with an escaped outlaw, the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), and the ever-present threat of an Apache attack as they make their way across the Wild West.

Director: John Ford
Producer: John Ford
Screenwriter: Ernest Haycox, Dudley Nichols, Ben Hecht
Distributor: UCLA Film and Television Archive [us], Warner Home Vídeo, United Artists
Production Co: Walter Wanger Productions, Inc.
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 2, 1939, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2011
Runtime: 1h 36m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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