The movie that established John Wayne as a Western hero has one of the coolest character introductions ever

The iconic West that made John Wayne A movie star introduced him with an all-time character. John Wayne fronted 80 Westerns throughout his career and became inextricably tied to the genre. This typecasting was perfectly fine with Wayne, who still managed everything from romantic comedies to war movies between his “oaters.” Wayne may have evolved into one of the biggest stars of his eraBut it took him a long time to reach that point. In fact, Wayne S The Great Trail Set his career back a decade, despite marking his first leading role.

The 1930 Western was an expensive bomb, and Wayne spent years making Western B-movies in its aftermath. It was his collaborations with John Ford and Howard Hawks that transformed his career, and there was a time when Wayne appeared in a film all but guaranteed his success. John Ford and John Wayne Westerns are considered some of the most important of the genrewith The searchers Often cited as the best western ever made.

Stagecoach proved that John Wayne was a Western hero and movie star

Wayne credits Stagecoach with launching his entire career

Another landmark was John Ford West StagecoachWhich follows a disparate group of people riding a stagecoach together and avoiding Apache attacks. The 1939 classic is technically an ensemble, but while the cast all do great work, there’s only one True Star. John Wayne plays the Ringo Kid in StagecoachA fugitive is arrested who entered the stagecoach while it was already on its way. The moment Wayne’s Ringo kid enters the story, he essentially takes it over From there.

Ford was the first director to capture what made Wayne such a star, and Stagecoach was the film that finally broke through to audiences after years of cheap westerns. He has such a natural, commanding screen presence that he outshines the very capable ensemble around him, with Ringo Kidd making a perfect anti-hero role.

John Wayne’s entrance into Stagecoach is an all-time great character introduction

The introduction of Ringo Kid practically announces John Wayne’s stardom

Wayne was an actor who understood the importance of a grand entrance, from his wordless intro Rio Bravo Right up to the arrival of the titular character in the 1971s Big Jake. Wayne never beat Ringo Kid’s introduction Stagecoachwhere he screams”Stop it!“While sliding his Winchester with one hand in the air, all while the camera zooms right into his face. It’s a mystical introduction and all but announces the arrival of the next big movie star. It helped, of course, that the rest of His performance is also pretty cool.

Wayne always emphasized the importance of the Ford film to his career, stating on The Phil Donahue Show In 1976 that “I love Stagecoach naturally because I stepped on that Stagecoach and it took me a long way.” Both Ringo Kidd and Wayne literally stop Stagecoach In his tracks so he can take the lead, which he has for the next 30 years of his career.

Key background

• Stagecoach was remade twice, with Alex Cord playing the Ringo Kid in the 1966 film version, while Kris Kristofferson inherited the role for a 1986 TV movie.

• John Wayne made his official film debut in Words and music (1929). So far, he has appeared in around 21 movies over three years, but his name was uncredited.

Source: The Phil Donahue Show/YouTube