A group of nine strangers ride aboard a stagecoach on their way to Lordsburg, New Mexico. The passengers come from different parts of the U.S., different classes, and they each have competing desires and expectations of their destination. For example, Ringo Kid (John Wayne) has busted out of prison to exact revenge for the murder of his father and brother, while alcoholic Doc Boone and prostitute Dallas have been driven from the Arizona Territory by local morality snobs. In addition to competing personalities, the whole expedition is made more tense by the knowledge that Geronimo and the Apaches are raiding settlements, and the stagecoach loses its cavalry protection half-way there. Additionally, stuck-up wife of an officer Louise Platt grows increasingly less-well and fatigued, burdening their journey but leading to a surprise twist that ratchets up the stakes. The film concludes with a roaring chase and fight with the Apaches, as well as a more subdued and tense face-off in Lordsburg.
There was a lot that I surprisingly enjoyed about “Stagecoach”. The Monument Valley setting was beautiful, expanse, and cliche (but this film is what started the cliche, so I give it a pass!). The whole “strangers in a claustrophobic and uncomfortable stagecoach setting” felt like an earlier, less philosophical but equally conflicted version of “12 Angry Men”. I thought this was one of John Wayne’s better performances (he’s pretty young, so he’s not yet playing a caricature of himself). I loved how the romance between Ringo and Dallas blossomed. This wasn’t storybook romance—it was two individuals in pain showing kindness to one another and cultivating affection and a real sexual-energy that buzzed in a small stagecoach with other strangers. It was kinda weird, but I loved it. Finally, the stagecoach chase-“Indian attack” sequence is actually a brilliant piece of action cinema. The whole sequence was beautifully shot, with dramatic stunts, clear stakes, and a “woo-hoo” hero moment...
Which means I gotta talk about the “cowboys and Indians” part of this film. The depiction of Native Americans was predictably shallow, unfair, and racist. The Apaches are given no background or motivation—they simply serve as the cartoonish, indefensible antagonist, like Klingons. In fact, outside of the battle, they actually have no screen time. I think this is intentional. I think the film isn’t “about” the conflict with “Indians”, but between Americans. The passengers on the stagecoach represented Americans across a wide array of experiences—rich, poor, Union, Confederate, family-oriented, untethered, law-enforcing, criminal, and more. To me, the film was less “cowboys and Indians” and more a general tale of disparate Americans coming together to survive a growing threat, recover from past traumas, and shepherd new hope into the world. Perhaps it’s another white-washed, post-Civil War, chest-beatingly patriotic tale divorced from historic reality. Or perhaps it was wild west-era allegory to serve as a warning for the new, global threats facing Americans in 1939. Whether the film’s morality has aged well or not, I believe John Ford’s storytelling techniques absolutely succeed in delivering his point in a dramatic and sort-of entertaining fashion.