The 1939 one.The only thing I knew of it before seeing it was that it made John Wayne a star. My favorite scene was the bandana one where he slowly looks up at Claire Trevor’s Dallas. Yum.
Dunno why I was expecting a sad ending. It ended gloriously. Also thought Mrs. Mallory would join up with the Southern gambler played by John Carradine (and she didn’t see that he was trying to shoot her).
Was it eclipsed that year by Gone with The Wind? (at that time)
Bogdanovich has a pretty good article about the mass of great flicks from 1939 iirc.
Good for you watching this great movie. You’ll probably end up seeing it a hundred times and finding something new and exciting at every go through.
Gone with the Wind was a huge hit but it wasn’t really a factor in regards to Stagecoach. Stagecoach came out in February and had left the theatres by the time Gone with the Wind premiered in December.
Stagecoach did well when it was released and it was a critical success. But it wasn’t a blockbuster. It was sort of the equivalent of a Coen brothers movie - the people who saw it thought it was great but it was something of a niche film. It wasn’t even the top western of that year: Dodge City and Jesse James sold more tickets.
Well done.
I own it and watch it every couple of months.
It not only launched his career, but was the first in a long line of Wayne films wherein there was a female lead who had the name of a city or state. At times it’s hard to tell them apart.
Amazing cast, fantastic scenery, great action/stunts, and John Ford as director. What more could anyone ask in a movie?
Her Dallas? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?
(Sorry. Back on topic, yes it’s a great movie.)
I know what you mean! I never “got” John Wayne until I saw that movie. My favorite scene is where he hails the stagecoach. What an entrance!