1939 The Western John Ford The Stagecoach 1939 Definition Films set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West Often revolve around the stories of cowboy or gunfighter armed with a revolver and a rifle who rides a horse ID: 561216
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Slide1
The Stagecoach (1939)Slide2
The Western
John Ford,
The Stagecoach
(1939)Slide3
Definition
Films set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West.
Often revolve around the stories of cowboy or gunfighter armed with a revolver and a rifle who rides a horse.
Cowboys typically wear Stetson hats, bandanas, cowboy boots with spurs and buckskins.
Other characters who frequently appear include Native Americans, bandits, law enforcers, bounty hunters, outlaws,
cavalry, settlers,
ranchers
townsfolk like barmen and barmaidsSlide4
Gun men in
High Noon
(1952)Slide5
Sheriff in
High Noon
(1952)Slide6
Henry Brandon
as Scar in
Searchers
(1956) Slide7
Cavalry men in
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
(1949)Slide8
A Mexican bandit in
Yaqui Drums
(1956)Slide9
A s
aloon keeper in
Johnny Guitar
(1954) Slide10
Defitions
Settings:
T
he harsh wilderness of the West and actions take place in desolate landscape and mountains.
Ranches, small frontier towns, saloons, railways and cavalry camps and fortresses
Stock plots
Crime, pursuit of the criminals, rivalry, revenge, retribution, which end up with a shoot out or duel. Slide11
The wilderness – Monument Valley in
The Stagecoach
(1939)Slide12
Farm house in Wyoming
–
Shane
(1953) Slide13
Saloon in
My Darling Clementine
(1946)Slide14
Frontier town in
My Darling ClementineSlide15
Cattle and cowboys wading the river in
Red River
(1951)Slide16
The Western as a Genre
‘The origins of the Western’
Folk music; Indian captivity tales; James
Fenimore
Cooper’s fictions; 19th c. pulp romances (Schatz, 45)
The early Westerns (pre-talkie): many of them were historical dramas recording the westward advance. They gradually gave way to Westerns which looked at the past nostalgically. (Schatz, 46)
Many were B movies
The growing historical distance and technological development (post-silent) rejuvenated the genre Slide17
The Landscape of the West
The conflicts between civilized and savage forces
The landscape of the West was not agricultural but presented as space where civilization battled with savagery.
The Western covers the period between the years following the Civil War and the early part of the 20th century
(Schatz, 47-8)Slide18
The Stagecoach (1939)
Directed by John Ford George Bancroft as Marshall
Written by Dudley Nichols Donald Meek as Peacock
based on Ernest
Haycox’s
Berton
Churchill as Banker
novel Tom Tyler as Luke
Claire Trevor as Dallas Produced by John Ford
John Wayne as
Ringo
Kid Music by Gerard
Carbonara
Andy
D
evine as Driver Cinematography by Bert
John
Carradine
as Gambler
Glennon
Thomas Mitchell as Doc Edited by
Otho
Lovering
Louise Platt as Mrs. Mallory Dorothy SpencerSlide19
The Stagecoach (1939)
Art direction by Alexander Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Toluboff
Locations: Monument
Costume by Walter Plunkett Valley, Arizona
Makeup by Norbert A. Myles Santa Clarita, Cal
Stunt coordinator Yakima
Canutt
Walter
Wanger
Production
Distributed by United Artists
Runtime: 96
minsSlide20
The Stagecoach (1939)
The
opening sequence of the film ‘not only sets the thematic and visual tone’ but also ‘reflects the basic cultural and physical conflicts which have traditionally characterized the Western form.’ Slide21
The Stagecoach (1939)
The
opening sequence of the film ‘not only sets the thematic and visual tone’ but also ‘reflects the basic cultural and physical conflicts which have traditionally characterized the Western form.’ (Schatz, 49)
Vast wilderness and inhospitable landscape – Monument Valley in Arizona
Dotted with oases (civilization) – frontier town, cavalry posts, and fortress
Connected by the railroad, the stagecoach and telegraphSlide22
The inhospitable wildernessSlide23
Occasional oases – a Cavalry camp Slide24
Occasion oases – a frontier townSlide25
Oases are linked by the stagecoachSlide26
The Stagecoach (1939)
The Western community is threatened by external forces, hostile aborigines, as well as its own internal corrupt or violent members.
In
The Stagecoach,
‘Its passengers must contend with Indian attacks but also with the conflicts which divide the group itself.’ (Schatz, 49)
A righteous sheriff; a
na
ï
ve
driver; an alcoholic doctor; an arrogant, embezzling banker; a cowardly whisky salesman; a gold-hearted prostitute; a genteel gambler; an Eastern lady; the hero, an escaped convictSlide27
Frontier society with conflictsSlide28
The Stagecoach (1939)
What sets
The Stagecoach
apart apart from earlier Western films
The Western conventions were redefined by John Ford through the film.
It is no longer about a simplistic battle between
w
hite settlers and native Indians or between civilization and savagery, but contains moral ambiguity and ‘a range of social issues.’
Alcoholism, crime, prostitution, self-reliance
(Schatz, 50)