1. In class we discussed the 1939 Western Stagecoach directed by John Ford, and how from the year 1939-1941, It was the greatest period in American movie making; it was a time when serious and ambitious films took place, and the studio system was at its best, but for John Ford it was a little bit harder for him when it came to developing Stagecoach. At the time of Ford creating Stagecoach westerns were out of favor. Ford was told it would ruin his career, and for the casting of John Wayne to play Ringo Kid; producers objected it, Since John Wayne was only a B-roll actor they demanded a name actor, John Ford insisted on using Wayne and the end result was timeless. Westerns once being known as out of favor soon changed after the making of Stagecoach. Stagecoach was then quoted as “Elevated Western to A movie status “
The theme of Stagecoach represented different social classes in a small setting, putting all the stagecoach characters in one stagecoach and expecting them all to get along with each other, especially since everyone in the stagecoach had a reputation in there town for doing something. One of the themes Sexual and Social Prejudice was portrayed when Mrs. Mallory , the Banker and the Gambler all treated Dallas the prostitute differently because of her profession and up bringing, as well as no one calling Doc Boone Doctor until he delivered Mrs. Mallory's baby, he was only seen as the drunk that didn't know any better. Each character on the stagecoach played a part in all of the themes.
2.
My
article was a 2010 movie analysis on the stage coach written by Eric D. Snider,
Snider first starts with the statement “It would be hard to think of American
Cinema without thinking of westerns, and it would be hard to think of Westerns
without thinking of John Wayne” (Quoted by Eric D. Snider) .Snider continues by
saying that you can’t think of John Wayne without thinking of director John
Ford, and when u think of John Ford you have to think of 1939 Classic
Stagecoach. He ends the intro with a simple but why? .Throughout the rest of
the article he answers this question with other bolded introduction words. The
first bolded word he uses is The Praise
,where Snider gives the reader an insider of what other movies were released the
same year as the Stagecoach these movies included, Gone with the Wind, The
Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights, and Of Mice and
Men. Even though all those movies were released the same year. Stagecoach still
scored seven Oscar nominations ,and Won Awards for Best supporting actor and
musical score. As well as Director Orson Welles watched Stagecoach 40 times
while making the film Citizen Kane.
Sniders
next bolded text The Context, gave a
brief history on John Ford, and how he directed 60 movies from 1917-1928. How
before Stagecoach westerns were becoming out of style ,and it took a
director like John Ford to bring westerns back to life. Snider continues the
article by naming the cast ,and roles that they played in the movie; to the most
notable stunts in the movie. One being when one of the Native Americans drops
from a horse falls to the ground and is dragged under the stagecoach. This scene was later imitated in movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Maverick.
As well as Snider gives insight on the mysterious Mrs. Mallory pregnancy,
since this was 1939, and the laws for making movies were a lot different than
they are today. During almost the whole movie you would never know that Mrs.
Mallory is pregnant, until she is actually giving birth. The word of her being
pregnant or even looking pregnant was not allowed to be seen in the movie, and
even though Dallas is a prostitute no one in the movie speaks a word even close
to “prostitute. Snider
ends the article by stating that” Fords first talking western showed the genre’s
potential to be energetic and entertaining without sacrificing intelligence".
Stagecoach might have saved the Western from extinction. (Quoted by Snider)
3.
The article didn’t change the way I thought about
the film at all, it actually enlightened me more about the history of John Ford
and John Wayne, and how John Ford did set a high milestone for westerns after
making the stagecoach. As well as since the great depression was going on
around the time of the stagecoach; it did reflect on how people felt about the
economy at the time, and having a banker in the movie who was supposed to do well
for the town but ends up stealing for them, when he quotes “What’s good for the
banks is good for the country”. After reading the article and coming to terms
that the line that the banker said, would be something that president Herbert Hoover would say went straight past me as I was watching the movie. I had no idea that the
Great Depression was going on around the time of the stagecoach, and by reading
the article it did change my views on that particular scene that the banker
quoted that line on. As well as I was interested to find out that during the
making of Stagecoach, how certain words were not allowed to be mentioned, like
Dallas being a prostitute, not once did anyone in the movie say anything close
to the word prostitute, and the secret pregnancy of Mrs. Mallory, not only did
she not look a slight bit pregnant in the movie, the audience didn’t find out
she was pregnant until Doc was delivering her baby.
4. I never
thought I would watch a western especially since my grandfather is such a huge
fan of them, not once have I ever sat down and watched one with him. Since
watching stagecoach I defiantly have a new appreciation for westerns, and John
Ford did such an amazing job directing and casting the movie, and the themes especially
in the movie set such a good tone, and had the movie flowing so perfectly. Each
character played there part in the movie, and the themes that each character portrayed,
Dallas with sexual, social prejudice and redemption, Doc with Social prejudice,
and Alcoholism/Shame, the banker with greed, the gambler with greed and
redemption, and Ringo Kid and The Sheriff with redemption . I definitely would watch another John Ford Movie after Watching Stagecoach.
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