1. Stagecoach John Ford 1939

2. 1939-1941 Greatest Period in American Movie Making Serious & Ambitious films Studio System at its best Citizen Kane, Gone With The Wind,Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights, Grapes of Wrath

3. The American Western American Old West served as setting for tales of mythical heroism, classic tragedies, and legendary adventures gunslinger and the use of violence to solve problems Native Americans

4. Classic Westerns Stagecoach - 1939 - John Ford High Noon - 1952, Fred Zinneman The Searchers - 1956 - John Ford Rio Bravo - 1959 - Howard Hawks The Magnificent Seven - 1960 -John Sturges The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - 1966, Sergio Leone The Wild Bunch - 1969 - Sam Peckinpah

5. Background Setting in American West, Primarily late 1800s Popular in the Silent Era - 1910s and 1920s Seen as Hollywood “pulp” or B-Pictures by the 1930s Stagecoach - 1938 - Milestone Television Serials - 1940s and 1950s Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Lone Ranger etc.

6. Themes Conquest of wilderness, Subordination of nature, Man vs Nature Civilized vs Uncivilized Society Codes of honor and law Loyalty and Virtue Nomadic Wanderer (Outlaw)

7. Spaghetti Western Mid 1960s Sergio Leone - director, Ennio Morricone - composer Produced and directed by Italians Shot in Spain and Italy Dollars Trilogy - A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name

8. John Ford Four Best Director Oscars Informer (1935) Grapes of Wrath (1940) How Green was My Valley (1941) The Quiet Man (1952)

9. John Ford Westerns Social/Protest Dramas Military

10. John Ford Irish Catholic Ford’s Values Family, Home, Law, Decency, Religion, Democracy Put his faith in the people, not institutions (like banks) Used visual images, rather than a lot of talk Frontier is metaphor for the American spirit Evil: nature or people

11. Asked why, in the climactic chase scene, the Indians didn't simply shoot the horses to stop the stagecoach, director John Ford replied, "Because that would have been the end of the movie."

12. Notes Westerns were out of favor Ford told it would ruin his career Producers objected over John Wayne

13. John Wayne B-movie Actor/ Stagecoach made him famous and legitimate 24 times worked with John Ford Best Films The Searchers Red River The Quiet Man The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence True Grit (only Oscar)

14. Stagecoach revitalized The Western Elevated Western to “A” Movie Status "Its success singlehandedly revitalized the moribund genre, showing that Westerns could be "intelligent, artful, great entertainment—and profitable” Wikipedia

15. Stagecoach Set in 1880 Trip from Tonto to Lourdsburgh Geronimo Indian Attack Shot in Monument Valley

16. Stagecoach is a metaphor for society A society has to have law but there are people who carry a just law within themselves

17. Structure Four Scenes of Action Short prologue First Part of Trip Second Part of Trip Third part of Trip Four Scenes of Character Interaction Scene in Tonto Dry Fork Way Station Apache Wells Outpost Town of Lourdsburgh

18. Themes and Roles Different social classes in a small setting Sexual & Social Prejudice Greed Alcoholism/Shame Redemption Revenge Banker Sheriff Outlaw Prostitute Doctor Wife Salesman Gambler Stage Driver

19. Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Mitchell) - born in Elizabeth, NJ. Best Score Nominated for… Picture Director B&W Cinematography Interior Decoration Editing

20. Other interesting facts… Orson Welles is said to have watched Stagecoach forty times while he prepared to make Citizen Kane. It is one of the most admired and imitated of all Hollywood movies Spectacular stunt: the dangerous horse-jumping scene on the stagecoach during Indian attack