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Stagecoach [DVD Boxset]

2 discs
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Regarded by many as the best Western ever made, STAGECOACH shot John Wayne to stardom and elevated the prestige of a genre that had hitherto been considered a B-movie province. With rumors in the air of a possible Apache attack, a motley group of travelers in a small New Mexico town board the Overland Stage bound for Lordsburg. Among them are the pregnant Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt); timid liquor salesman Peacock (Donald Meek); Hatfield, an aloof gambler (John Carradine); Gatewood (Berton Churchill), a pompous, embezzling banker; and two who have been exiled from town, alcoholic Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) and Dallas (Clair Trevor), a lady of the evening. Along the trail, they pick up the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), an outlaw who's escaped from prison to take revenge on the Plummer brothers for destroying his family and framing him for murder. As their journey progresses, the hypocrisy of the supposedly respectable passengers becomes clear, and it's the tainted outsiders who display courage and humanity. Described by Orson Welles, who watched the film innumerable times before making CITIZEN KANE, as his cinematic textbook, STAGECOACH is superbly made in every respect, layering humor and sharp characterization into an exciting plot that includes a spectacularly photographed chase in Monument Valley.
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor 1939 Thomas Mitchell Oscar-winning actor, STAGECOACH, GONE WITH THE WIND
Academy Awards Best Adapted or Musical Song/Score 1939 Richard Hageman American Composer\D. 1966
Academy Awards Best Adapted or Musical Song/Score 1939 Leo Shuken American Composer\D. 1976
Academy Awards Best Adapted or Musical Song/Score 1939 Frank Harling Music Arranger/Composer
Academy Awards Best Adapted or Musical Song/Score 1939 John Leipold Music Arranger
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Credits

John Wayne, Marion Michael Morrison, Duke Morrison, Claire Trevor, Claire Wemlinger, John Carradine, John Peter Richmond, Thomas Mitchell, Donald Meek, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Tim Holt
Critic Reviews

"...[The story] feels nourishingly archetypal, especially John Wayne's turn as the outlaw Ringo Kid..."
Entertainment Weekly
"...This is myth-making writ large, full of Ford's enduring themes, daring stunt work, and peerless eye for composition..."
Premiere
"[T]he DVD breathes life into Ford's character study of sundry stagecoach passenger types..."
USA Today
"[Wayne] sauntered into stardom after a decade in movies as the Ringo Kid, a charming outlaw bend on revenge."
Uncut
"[A] thrilling western about a group of travelers whose Arizona stage ride lands them smack in the midst of an apache uprising..."
New York Times
"STAGECOACH gives fine shading to a simple story, making it look and feel like a forgotten American myth." -- Grade: A
A.V. Club
"Action-packed and jaw-droppingly epic, STAGECOACH is the perfect Western to show to people who don't like Westerns." -- Grade: A
Entertainment Weekly
"A classic as sharply defined and indelible as the sandstone buttes of Monument Valley, John Ford's 1939 Western is in every sense a landmark."
Sight and Sound
"[T]here's still a sophistication to STAGECOACH that goes well beyond its silent movie and stage melodrama roots....A small film but it casts a long shadow."
Empire