BYU

Harold B. Lee Library

Stagecoach

Starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, Andy Devine, Donald Meek.

  • Time: 7:00 PM
  • Date: Friday, September 26, 2008
  • Place: HBLL Auditorium, 1st Floor; Admission is free; arrive early for seats.


About the Event
Under John Ford’s direction, John Wayne, as the Ringo Kid, became a star in this legendary western saga of a diverse group of outcasts traveling through Indian country to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Producer Merian C. Cooper (King Kong) and business partner Ford took the project to independent producer Walter Wanger when David O. Selznick insisted on more bankable stars. Stagecoach also heralded the mature, adult-themed westerns and more generous budgets than the then-current “B” western variety of Saturday matinees. The other major star to come out of this film was the awe-inspiring scenery of Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona border. Many years ago the original negative to Stagecoach was lost and subsequent copies, including those on video, were taken from John Wayne’s worn 35MM print. This copy was struck in the early 1940s for Merian C. Cooper from the original negative and is from the Cooper Papers in the L.Tom Perry Special Collections. Walter Wanger/United Artists, 1939. 97 mins. Director: John Ford.

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