Character Study as Narrative in Stagecoach(1939)
John Ford & Dudley Nichols' Crafting of First Modern Western Movie
The primary framework for Stagecoach comes from Ernest Haycox’s 1937 short story, “Stage to Lordsburg.” Revised by Dudley Nichols and John Ford in their twelfth collaboration, the script for Stagecoach is marked by spare dialogue and psychological depth, colored with elements of American mythos—equality and the possibility of redemption.
Stagecoach More Than Just a Road Movie
On the surface, Stagecoach seems like a simple “road” movie, populated by an ensemble of characters traveling from Tonto to Lordsburg, says Richard Hutson in his 2002 essay, Road as Allegory: John Ford's Stagecoach. The characters, as Kalinak notes, are a “veritable who's who of Western stereotypes" (in Hutson, p. 7).
Instead of relying on formula and stereotype, though, Ford and Nichols crafted a “morality play” in which, according to Tim Dirks in his Filmsite critique of Stagecoach, “each of the characters are representative, archetypal character types, divided initially between respectable and disrespectable social outcasts” (p. 3). Trapped in the collective space of a small stagecoach and isolated against the vast landscape of Monument Valley, these archetypal characters must interact with one another to fulfill a literal and figurative quest for survival.
Passengers Juggle Individual, Group Needs Along Tonto to Lordsburg Road
The shifting affiliations of the characters offers opportunities for growth which may or may not be realized. Watching these opportunities play out takes the audience on its own journey of discovery, exploring the heart of each character. They each have more (or less) to them than might have been expected—the one constant is that no one is exactly as s/he first appears.
Hutson captures these possibilities effectively in his description of the characters as a "cast of losers. . .who may be ruins themselves but whose spirit has not been defeated. Something of nobility and purpose remains within them, so that the stagecoach ride takes on the aura of a deeply religious pilgrimage, in which, without their actually seeking or questing for it, most of the characters undergo redemption of sorts. Their lives are brought back into purpose and integrity” (p.8).
External Dangers Set Basic Plot of Stagecoach
There are two dominant sources of dramatic tension in Stagecoach that drive the plot. How characters respond to these external dangers moves the narrative along and draws the audience into the drama of the journey.
- The Apache Geronimo is on the attack, which threatens the safety of the passengers. A cavalry troop is available only for part of the journey as they are ordered elsewhere to protect others who may be in even greater danger.
- The Ringo Kid (John Wayne) has broken out of jail and is on his way to Lordsburg to kill Luke Plummer. Curley, the town marshal (George Bancroft), is riding shotgun for Buck, the driver (Andy Devine), so that he can find and arrest Ringo.
Personal Motives Set up Cast of Characters in Stagecoach
As the external crises set the overall plotline of Stagecoach as a movie, it is personal situations that actually provide passengers for the stage.
The personal crises of Dallas, Doc Boone, Lucy Mallory, and the Ringo Kid are the most important ones for providing a set of characters about whom one can care. Their psychological struggles create the primary tensions inside the coach.
- The local prostitute, Dallas (Claire Trevor), and the town drunk, Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell), have just been forced out of town by the straight-laced women of the Law and Order League.
- Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), the wife of a cavalry captain posted to Lordsburg, is making her way from Virginia to her husband’s side (and hiding her advanced pregnancy).
- Ringo, who had been framed and sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, has escaped and is headed to find and kill the Plummers for murdering his father and brother. His growing attachment to Dallas creates both hope and pain.
Secondary characters bring other problems, adding texture to the rich, compelling narrative.
- Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek) is a whiskey salesman whose only wish is to get back safely to Kansas City, Kansas where his dear wife Violet and five children await.
- Hatfield (John Carradine) is a notorious gambler with a secret past which includes having served in Lucy’s father’s Confederate Army regiment.
- Gatewood (Berton Churchill), the local banker, has robbed his own bank of a $50,000 payroll and is escaping on the stagecoach.
- A young lieutenant (Tim Holt) rides at the head of the cavalry escort and is determined to follow orders even if it makes him unpopular. His connection with Lucy adds warmth to his character and perhaps figures in the cavalry’s last-minute ride to the rescue.
- Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler, in a rare “bad guy” role) and his brothers are the bullies of the territory. They are physically present only at the end of the film, but drive much of the storyline.
In watching each character respond to individual anxieties in the face of shared external danger, one is drawn into Stagecoach and comes to care about what happens. And it is the realization of their literal and archetypal journeys that makes Stagecoach a film which has stood the test of time. It is as relevant today as it was during the post-Great Depression, pre-World War II era.
Note: Companion articles develop details of the major character types in Stagecoach: the respectable-seeming characters, the stalwart frontier characters, and the disreputable characters.
- 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
Dirks, Tim. 2009. Stagecoach (1939). [Review of the film]. NY: American Movie Classic Company. Retrieved 15 May 2009, www.filmsite.org/stagec.html
Hutson, R. (2002, June). Road as Allegory: John Ford's Stagecoach (1939). Paper presented, Mobility in American Culture conference, University of Bologna. Retrieved 1 April 2009, from www.brown.edu/Research/JNBC/presentations_papers/conf_bologna_2002.php
Original Movie Poster for John Ford's Stagecoach
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