My Cultural Diet

John Ford’s classic western has been understandably criticized for its portrayal of Native Americans as violent savages. And yet, there are other parts that feel surprisingly progressive for a film that’s nearly 90 years old, like the way it treats a prostitute who’s been run out of town by self-righteous “family values” types. Or the fact that the film’s most villainous figure isn’t Geronimo and his warriors, or even a former Confederate officer, but rather, a greedy banker who rails against federal regulations and the national debt, wants to reduce taxes, and loudly asserts that the nation would be better off with a businessman as president. (Where have I heard that before?) Stagecoach is as much a thriller as it is a western, as its characters make their way across the American Southwest — stunningly captured by Ford and cinematographer Bert Glennon — in constant dread of the inevitable attack by Geronimo and his Apaches. When that attack comes, it features stunt work that still looks thrilling even after all these decades. (Due, no doubt, to the far more relaxed safety protocols of the time.) Unfortunately, Stagecoach also tries to shoehorn in a more typical shootout storyline, with John Wayne’s character itching for a gunfight with the men who killed his father and brother. After that long, breathtaking ride through the desert, Stagecoach’s final act feels like it’s from a different movie entirely.

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