Getting the Bad Guys in Ford's Stagecoach (1939)

Villains & Disreputable Characters in a Landmark Western Film

Jun 26, 2009 Susan Z. Swan

The non-respectable characters in Ford's Stagecoach come in two forms: (1) the villains and (2) the merely disreputable ones who find the journey a quest for redemption.

John Ford delighted in Stagecoach’s introduction of a whole cast of disreputable characters, including Geronimo and Luke Plummer as the bad guys who force others into action. Hatfield, as a notorious gambler and gunman, and Doc Boone, as a perpetually drunk physician who “couldn’t doctor a horse,” are part of an ensemble of disreputable folk seeking redemption in one way or another (along with Dallas and the Ringo Kid).

Geronimo and Luke Plummer are among the most absent bad guys of any western film. Their impact on the plot is felt immediately, even though Geronimo appears in only a single closeup in Stagecoach and Plummer appears only in the last 15 minutes. Their personas as villains are sufficiently strong to drive the entire storyline.

Geronimo as Ultimate Bad Guy

Geronimo is an Apache warrior who has “jumped the reservation” and “gone on the warpath.” The real Geronimo spent years in the region and era of Stagecoach’s drama regularly escaping from reservations, attacking Mexicans and Anglos, and then being recaptured, according to History Today (February 2009).

To the Apache, Geronimo was a potent symbol of resistance—and much of his anger was directed toward those who had murdered his family and forced the fiercely independent Apache onto reservations. To the settlers, Geronimo was the most feared of Apache rebels. “Casting” him in Stagecoach took advantage of the legendary mythos attached to his name. His symbolic potency was so strong he could serve as an ultimate bad guy without ever appearing on screen.

Luke Plummer as Unredeemable Frontier Bully

Luke Plummer is the archetype of the frontier bully. He is disreputable in almost every way. He murdered Ringo’s father and brother and has a nasty habit of injuring or killing anyone who challenges him. His reputation for ruthlessness is such that the Marshall (George Bancroft) feels the best friendship he can offer Ringo is to put him back in jail, safely away from Plummer. And, when a local journalist stops the presses to await the outcome of the gunfight, he is ready, before a shot is fired, to declare Ringo dead.

There is nothing redeeming about Plummer. He is tolerated because he is feared, but when Ringo comes hunting him, everyone retreats, leaving him to stand on his own, backed only by his brothers (who shoot at innocent cats for fun) and a bar maid. He is a worthy bad guy because he is so wholly unworthy as a person.

The Seemingly Disreputable Characters in Stagecoach

With Geronimo and Luke Plummer established as the real bad guys, the door is open for more interesting handling of other “disreputable” characters. Hatfield and Doc Boone are part of Stagecoach’s “cast of losers,” but with “something of nobility and purpose” in them (Huston, p.8).

Josiah Boone was once a respected physician with the Union Army during the “War of the Rebellion” while Hatfield served in Lucy’s father ‘s Confederate Army regiment during the “War for the Southern Confederacy.” One wonders what agonies of that war and its aftermath drove Boone and Hatfield west to escape the “blessings of civilization,” driving one to drink and the other to the dangers of gambling and gunplay.

Hatfield Redeemed In Return to Southern Roots

Hatfield is described by Lucy’s friend as “hardly a gentleman,” yet he seems called back to a sense of Southern chivalry by the arrival of Lucy, showing inklings of the man he once was. Hatfield is elegantly played by character actor, John Carradine. Sadly, his manner toward Lucy is matched by his rudeness to Dallas, perhaps unconsciously as the Magdalene to Lucy's Madonna (Coyne, 2002, p. 9). His covering of the woman’s dead body at Lee’s Ferry and his willingness to shoot Lucy rather than have her fall into the hands of the Apache show unsuspected depths as does the revelation of his true identity in his final wish to let his father, Judge Greenfield, know his son died well.

Doc Boone Finds Redemption as a “Proud Dreg”

Thomas Mitchell’s Oscar-award winning portrayal of Doc is nuanced and humorous. He carries off the contradictions of Doc’s personality, making it entirely believable that a man who spends his time soused can wittily mis-quote lines from Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus (“Is this the face that wrecked a thousand ships/ And burnt the towerless tops of Ilium?”), meet the crisis of unexpected childbirth, and serve as a refuge to Dallas in her anguish over Ringo’s marriage proposal (“Gosh, child. Who am I to tell you what’s right or wrong? All right. Go ahead. Do it if you can. Good luck.” )

Boone is a sympathetic character who tries to avoid violence (“I can shoot?! I can shoot?!"), even though he is eventually goaded into punching out the annoying Gatewood so that he can aid the wounded Mr. Peacock. His surprising move to rid Plummer of the shotgun he intends to use to kill Ringo shows selfless bravery, which he quickly covers up by taking another drink.

The psychological journeys of Hatfield and Doc Boone contrast markedly with those of Geronimo and Luke Plummer, adding a dimension of redemption to the plot through which “their lives are brought back into purpose and integrity” (Hutson, p. 8). Such psycho-drama helps explain why Stagecoach is considered one of the best western movies ever made.

Note: Companion article provide an introduction to the study of character in Stagecoach as well as articles on the seemingly respectable characters, the seemingly disreputable Dallas and Ringo, and characters from the frontier middle class.

Stagecoach (1939)
Starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell, Louise Platt, George Bancroft, Donald Meek, Berton Churchill, Tim Holt, Tom Tyler
Written by Dudley Nichols, based on short story by Ernest Haycox
Directed by John Ford
Running time: 92 minutes

Sources

Coyne, M. (2003, July). [Review of book John Ford’s Stagecoach, Ed. B. K. Grant.] Film International, 1.4.

Hutson, R. (2002, June). Road as Allegory: John Ford's Stagecoach (1939). Paper presented, Mobility in American Culture conference, University of Bologna.

The copyright of the article Getting the Bad Guys in Ford's Stagecoach (1939) in Classic Films is owned by Susan Z. Swan. Permission to republish Getting the Bad Guys in Ford's Stagecoach (1939) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Title Frame, John Ford's Stagecoach (1939)	Geronimo, Apache Warrior (c.1886)	Frame, Tom Tyler as Luke Plummer in Stagecoach
Frame, Thomas Mitchell as Doc Boone in Stagecoach	Frame, John Carradine as Hatfield in Stagecoach