Stagecoach

After seeing John Ford’s Stagecoach, I don’t think I could ever complain about modern day travel.  Being stuck between two overweight businessmen on an airplane is a luxury compared to the wilds of the open west, even when the flight attendant passes you up for peanuts.  In the days of stagecoach travel, Ford shows us that there are no roads, just the bumpy plains, and no rest stops between towns to pick up any provisions or supplies.  The coach itself is cramped, anymore than three across each of the two seats is uncomfortable, and if a seventh passenger is picked up along the way he just has to sit on the floor.  When the wind picks up, dirt and dust will just fly in.  And if you have to cross Apache territories, just hope Geronimo isn’t leading them on a war path.

Just the idea of traveling on a Stagecoach is dramatic in itself, add in some interesting characters and you have yourself a hell of a movie.  This particular coach’s travelers include a frequently drunk doctor (Thomas Mitchell), a fat-cat banker who has taken off with his client’s money (Berton Churchill), a whiskey salesman (Donald Meek) and a Southern gambler (John Carradine) who joins in at the last minute with an idea of protecting the two women.  Dallas (Claire Trevor) is an ex-prostitute just run out of town and Mrs. Mallory (Louise Platt) is traveling to be with her cavalry officer husband.  Loud-mouth Buck (Andy Devine) drives the stagecoach and keeps Marshall Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft) by his side for protection in case of any attacks by the Apache Indians.  Along the way, they find the Ringo Kid (John Wayne) who has just escaped from jail and on his way to Lordsburg to get revenge on the Plummer boys who killed his brother and father.  Being a Marshall and knowing Ringo’s intentions, Wilcox has to arrest him and take him along their journey.

Throughout the journey, this rag-tag band of strangers must set their differences aside and work together.  When an unexpected medical emergency arises, the doctor must sober up and remember his calling.  After that, everyone knows the dangers of resting for a while, but don’t want to risk the health of their weakest passengers.  As romance between Dallas and the Kid grows, so does the worry over what will happen to him in Lordsburg, whether he lives or not.

The greatest moment in this film is the scene where the Apaches chase and attack the stagecoach.  I honestly wasn’t expecting a chase scene so exciting to occur in the middle of the desert.  The dramatic music mixed with the constant beating of hooves and gunfire is perfect.  Some of the camera angles are quite daring, especially showing the stagecoach drive right over the camera with Apaches on horseback following behind.  Though some of the techniques to make some of the horses fall and appear shot were cruel, it was very effective from a visual standpoint.  Every moment of that scene is pure gold, and gets us to hold our breath up to the very peak of the climax.

There are so many reasons to see Stagecoach.  It was the film Orson Welles watched over and over again while filming Citizen Kane.  I believe you’ll find many great details that cross over into Kane.  Besides seeing how it inspired other great films, I think Stagecoach can be considered one of the first road-trip movies.  Thinking about how it compares to more modern odysseys is some interesting food for thought, perhaps another post for another day.

“If there’s anything I don’t like, it’s driving a stagecoach through Apache country.”

Around the World in 80 Days

There are two ways that people can travel.  Whether you’ve gone across the world or across town, you can probably distinguish the two.  There are those who will eat McDonalds wherever they can and listen to their all important iPod on a tour bus.  They will read or snooze while traveling through beautiful new lands, rather than enjoy the view and insist on keeping their daily schedule wherever they are.  But there is the other side of the coin, those who can turn any travel into a real journey.  These people willingly immerse themselves within the new lands.  They will dance with the natives, marvel at more than the regular tourist stops and try all the new flavors around them.  In Around the World in 80 Days which sort of traveler would you become?

The film based on the Jules Verne novel begins in England with Phileas Fogg (David Niven) in need of a new butler, one who can keep up with his eccentric requests like taking the temperature of toast.  Young Spanish Passepartout (Cantinflas) is willing to take the job, but his fist day of work isn’t as expected.  Fogg has just taken a bet, over a card game with his other well-to-do friends, that he can travel around the entire world in just eighty days.  So they pack up, load a carpet bag with cash and set out immediately only to learn that their original train plans have been slowed by an avalanche.  With some quick wits and helpful connections they’re soon soaring over Europe in a hot air balloon.

In Spain, Passepartout gains them a ride on a ship by showing off his bullfighting skills.  Through India, his daring wit saves a young princess from being burned alive with her dead husband.  And in America he’s a regular wild west cowboy trying to save the train as Indians attack.  All the while, Fogg is reading the newspaper, enjoying his usual tea time or trying to tell brave tales about his card games.

There is more than the physical obstacle of basic travel that hinders Fogg and Passepartout.  It seems that just before their departure, the bank of England was robbed.  Suddenly Fogg is a prime suspect and that trip around the world is a great way to avoid arrest.  Soon Mr. Fix (Robert Newton) is on their tail pretending to befriend and help them, but wants to make sure Fogg loses the bet as well as his freedom once he’s back in England.

One great thing this film did for cinema history is popularize the cameo appearance.  There are dozens of cameos throughout the film.  There’s Buster Keaton, Frank Sinatra, Andy Devine, Ronald Colman and Cesar Romero just to name a few.  My favorite (and one of the few I actually noticed) was Red Skelton as the drunk American in a saloon.

What more can you ask from a film than a fun filled adventure around the world?  We’re taken from stuffy old England (no offence to my Brit readers), to the lively dances of Spain, through the Indian jungle on an elephant’s back, to the mystical land of China and across wild west America.  All that, from one studio, in such a convincing way is amazing.  And the whole adventure is a great ride just from your couch.  Sure, it deviates from the book a little, but some of those first flights in the hot air balloon are fabulous.  Who wouldn’t want to snatch some snow from a mountain peak to chill some champagne?

In the end, I do believe this tale is about opening yourself up to new surroundings.  Poor Fogg went all around the world, but could hardly deviate from his tea time.  But Passepartout can now revel about his adventures and never feels the need to mention a card game.

“Mr. Fogg, why must you be so… so British?”

A Star is Born

Before inventions like reality tv and Youtube, Hollywood hopefuls would have to pack up and actually move to Hollywood to have any chance at stardom.  With the aid and well wishes from her grandmother, Esther Victoria Blogett (Janet Gaynor) ventures to Hollywood, convinced that she can become a great actress.  Things look pretty bleak when she’s told over and over again that there’s no work, not even as an extra.  With the help of an out of work director, Danny (Andy Devine), she gets a job as a waitress serving orderves at parties for celebrities.  She sees this as a chance to act in front of directors, a pretty funny scene.  When the famous actor, Norman Maine (Fredric March) gets drunk at the party, he takes an interest in Esther and whisks her away from her waitress job.  At first, it’s not quite clear whether Norman is looking for a new actress or a girlfriend, but he ends up with both.  He gets Esther her first leading role and she’s an instant star.  The problem is that she is getting all the limelight while Norman is slowly being forgotten.  After they marry, this problem only grows and eventually Norman turns back to the bottle.

Talk about your Hollywood drama, it’s all here.  Actors beat up photographers, marriages are performed in secret, there’s even an Academy Awards night gone horribly wrong.  In one scene, Esther’s managers figure out a new name for her: Vicki Lester.  It sounds much more cute and appealing than anything beginning with Esther.  It seems that much of the plot was taken right out of the private lives of movie stars, and it works quite well.

Both Janet Gaynor and Fredric March shine and were nominated in their respected lead acting categories.  Gaynor rises from a hopeful girl in North Dakota with such elegance and sincerity we believe every sweet smile on her face.  March is wonderful as a drunk who tries to shape up, we really believe he can clean up for Esther.  The love between the two characters is there, we never doubt their chemistry, we just feel sorry for Esther more as the film progresses.

My favorite scene is far from Hollywood, where the couple are driving around with a trailer in tow on their honeymoon.  Esther is in the trailer trying to fix a dinner, with everything bouncing around her and suddenly, something happens to the truck Norman is driving.  It’s when they’re broke down, dishes all over the trailer, Norman trying to fit into the tiny shower and Esther is wiping the dirt off a steak that they feel like real people.  The whole scene is comical, fun and very humanizing.

This is a great film for anyone aspiring to go into the movies, a whole lot has changed since the 30’s.  And for those of you who fear black and white movies, this is the very first film nominated for Best Picture to be in full color.  Celebrate!

“Some day you won’t laugh at me! I’m going out and have a real life! I’m gonna be somebody!”