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I was surprised to find that Wayne wasn't the lead in Stagecoach, though. That honor goes to Trevor's Dallas - the prostitute with more integrity than nearly everyone else on the coach. I've never seen Trevor in anything else, so I didn't know what to expect from her, but she was excellent. There are a lot of little moments where she makes a subtle point with just a look or just her body language, but when she has to speak up and defend herself, Trevor is more than capable.

Wayne's character isn't introduced until about the 20 minute mark, but it's a fantastic introduction. Some terrific editing and a quick zoom add up to a shot that I'll remember for ages. Ford seemed to be saying, "Here's John Wayne. You don't know him, but you'll never forget him now."

The rest of the cast is in fine form, too, especially Mitchell, who has probably the showiest role as the habitually intoxicated Doc Boone. There are definite comedic moments at the expense of Boone's alcoholism, but Mitchell never plays it too far over the top, so there's always a human side in sight. Mitchell gets to shine in both funny and serious scenes and went on to win the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for the role. It was a well-earned award, no doubt.

I'd also like to highlight the work of Andy Devine as Buck. I've only recently discovered Devine (after watching The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance), but after seeing him in these two films, I'm excited to see more of his work. Devine has a very unusual voice, but it instantly lends pathos to his performances and helps him create interesting, uncommon characters. In Stagecoach, Buck is a bit of a coward, ready to turn and retreat at the first signs of trouble, but once the trouble arrives, he doesn't shrink away. Devine's folksy performance immediately pulled me in and I rooted for Buck during the entire film.

The lone performance that I think fell flat was Churchill as the scheming banker, Gatewood. He just comes across as a little too one dimensional and I didn't really care about him one way or the other, unlike the rest of the characters, who I was emotionally invested in. Gatewood seems like a stock character and nothing more. I think the blame for this can be spread in three different directions - Churchill, Ford, and the screenwriter Dudley Nichols. Churchill gives a mostly lifeless performance, but he wasn't aided by his director or writer. There are a couple of moments near the beginning of the film where Ford lingers on close-ups of Gatewood, hitting the audience over the head with the message "This guy's no good and can't be trusted!" Both shots really struck me as odd and hurt the film's flow and made Gatewood seem like a silly character. And Nichols just didn't seem to put much work into the character, unlike how he handled the other eight main roles and even most of the supporting roles.

That's a small blemish on an otherwise terrific film, which was Ford's first western with sound (he had made dozens of silent westerns previously) and his first filmed at the majestic Monument Valley, on the border between Arizona and Utah. The scenery is wonderful and has that perfect "Old West" feel to it - large expanses of desert with beautiful mountain peaks in the distance - and I understand why Ford would return again and again to this same spot to film many of his classic films.

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