Stagecoach (United Artists 1939, John Wayne, John Carradine)

Stagecoach is the greatest Western entry in Hollywood’s annus mirabilis of 1939, and Ford’s prototype for the Western genre he dignified. This also marked John Wayne’s commercial breakthrough and a new level of maturity in his performances.

A motley crowd — a loose woman, a gambler, a banker with a mysterious satchel, an expectant young bride, a whiskey salesman, and a drunk doctor — set out from a dusty New Mexico town with Andy Devine at the reins and George Bancroft riding shotgun and with eye out for the escaped outlaw, the Ringo Kid (Wayne). They pick up Wayne soon enough, and alliances and suspicions are forged in the tension of anticipating an Indian attack. The first of many Westerns filmed in the forbidding majesty of Monument Valley.

Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Picture; Best Director; Best Cinematography; Best Editing.

production details
USA | United Artists | 96 minutes | 1939

Director: John Ford
Script: Dudley Nichols, Ben Hecht, Ernest Haycox,

cast
John Wayne as The Ringo Kid
Claire Trevor as Dallas
Kent Odell as Billy Pickett Jr
Robert Homans as Ed – Editor
John Carradine as Hatfield
Theodore Lorch as Lordsburg Express Agent
Thomas Mitchell as Doc Josiah Boone
Joe Rickson as Ike Plummer
Louis Mason as Tonto Sheriff
Tim Holt as Lt. Blanchard
Tom Tyler as Luke Plummer
Berton Churchill as Ellsworth H. Gatewood
Cornelius Keefe as Capt. Whitney
Jim Mason as Jim – Tonto Express Agent
Andy Devine as Buck
Louise Platt as Lucy Mallory
George Bancroft as Marshal Curly Wilcox
Donald Meek as Samuel Peacock
Woody Strode as Man in Saloon (uncredited)
Chris-Pin Martin as Chris (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook as Telegraph Operator (uncredited)
Francis Ford as Billy Pickett (uncredited)
William Hopper as Sergeant (uncredited)
Ted Billings as Bit Part (uncredited)
Hank Worden as Cavalryman Extra (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum as Deputy Frank (uncredited)
Chief John Big Tree as Indian Scout (uncredited)
Yakima Canutt as Cavalry Scout (uncredited)
Paul McVey as Pony Express Agent (uncredited)
Jack Pennick as Bartender in Tonto (uncredited)
Whitehorse as Indian Chief (uncredited)
Dorothy Appleby as Girl in Saloon (uncredited)
Wiggie Blowne as Bit Part (uncredited)
Danny Borzage as (uncredited)
Ed Brady as Lordsburg Saloon Owner (uncredited)
Fritzi Brunette as Bit Part (uncredited)
Nora Cecil as Boone’s Landlady
Steve Clemente as Bit (uncredited)
Bill Cody as Rancher (uncredited)
Jack Curtis as Bartender (uncredited)
Marga Ann Deighton as Mrs. Pickett (uncredited)
Patricia Doyle as Bit Part (uncredited)
Tex Driscoll as Bit Part (uncredited)
Johnny Eckert as Small Role (uncredited)
Brenda Fowler as Mrs. Gatewood
Helen Gibson as Girl in Saloon
Si Jenks as Bartender
Florence Lake as Mrs. Nancy Whitney
Al Lee as Small Role
Duke R. Lee as Lordsburg Sheriff
Merrill McCormick as Ogler
J.P. McGowan as (uncredited)
Walter McGrail as Capt. Sickel
Jack Mohr as Small Role
Artie Ortego as Lordsburg Bar Patron
Vester Pegg as Hank Plummer
Chris Phillips as Small Role
Buddy Roosevelt as Rancher
Mickey Simpson as (uncredited)
Chuck Stubbs as (uncredited)
Leonard Trainor as Small Role
Mary Kathleen Walker as Lucy’s Infant
Bryant Washburn as Capt. Simmons
Elvira Ríos as Yakima