Stagecoach (1966)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Ernest Haycox (story)
Dudley Nichols (1939 screenplay)

Release Date:

15 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

These Were The Ten Who Fought Indians, Outlaws And Each Other As They Rode To Greatness On The Stagecoach To Cheyenne!

Plot:

A group of unlikely traveling companions find themselves on the same stagecoach to Cheyenne. They include a drunken doctor...

Plot Keywords:

Stagecoach | Outlaw | Beautiful Woman | Native American

Cast

Ann-Margret	...	Dallas
Red Buttons	...	Peacock
Mike Connors	...	Hatfield (as Michael Connors)
Alex Cord	...	Ringo Kid
Bing Crosby	...	Doc Josiah Boone
Robert Cummings	...	Henry Gatewood (as Bob Cummings)
Van Heflin	...	Marshal Curly Wilcox
Slim Pickens	...	Buck, Stagecoach Driver
Stefanie Powers	...	Mrs. Lucy Mallory
Keenan Wynn	...	Luke Plummer
Brad Weston	...	Matt Plummer
Joseph Hoover	...	Lt. Blanchard
John Gabriel	...	Capt. Jim Mallory
Oliver McGowan	...	Mr. Haines
David Humphreys Miller	...	Billy Pickett

Runtime:

115 min | USA:110 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Arapaho Falls, Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Bing Crosby's last cinema movie.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the final chase scene, as Ringo mounts the leader horse of stagecoach team, he is obviously wearing sneakers instead of his cowboy boots.

Movie Connections:

Version of Stagecoach (1939)

Soundtrack:

Stagecoach Theme (I Will Follow)

For once a sequel worthy of the original

When I first saw this movie in 1966 I was vaguely aware it was a remake but I had never seen the original. The premise - a group of vivid characters traveling together across Indian territory - is a classic formula. The key to making this work is the casting, which in this case is as perfect as the original. The interplay between Bing Crosby, as the drunken doctor, and Red Buttons, a traveling liquor salesman, is particularly delightful. Bing Crosby had a comedic style that brought out the best in anyone cast as his foil (see Bob Hope) and his performance here is worth the two hours alone. Bob Cummings, the quintessential movie nice guy, is terrific as the nervous thief on the run. Van Heflin and Slim Pickens are exactly the kind of guys you'd want at the reins of a stagecoach making a run for your life. Ann-Margret, Stefanie Powers, Mike Connors and Alex Cord do what they can with parts that were perhaps too closely patterned on the originals. Although movies of this type can at times seem contrived - with events and action occurring at the most inconvenient moments - you have to give a little leeway for dramatic license. Who would want to see a movie where nothing happens? As for the action this movie delivers - the Indian attack and chase scenes through the mountains are every bit as compelling and edge-of-your-seat thrilling as the original. And the music, by Jerry Goldsmith, is a classic in western movie scores - I remember wearing out my soundtrack album of it back in the sixties. Overall, far from being a pale imitation of the original as some have suggested, this movie stands on it's own because of the performances and crackling good direction.