stagecoach journal entry

5/28/2018 Stagecoach Journal Entry

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Stagecoach Journal Entry

1. Relate what we discussed in class or the text to the screening.In class we briefly talked about John Wayne. We discussed how this film made John

Wayne into a movie star. Prior to this film he was not considered famous and acted

mostly in B-movies. Another thing we discussed in class was Monument Valley where

John Ford shot many of his movies including Stagecoach. Before viewing the film we

also watched a segment of a documentary about Monument Valley.

2. Find a related article and summarize the content.

http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/24215

Alex Wainers article, 'Stagecoach': The Classic Western Rolls into Hollywood, is taken from a

series of articles that discussed the many films that were made in 1939. This particular article, as

the title suggests, discusses the film Stagecoach. The article gives a very small amount of

biographical on director John Ford, noting the various jobs he had before becoming a director.

Alex Wainer points out that this film is the first western to be made with sound. In addition, the

article reveals that it was somewhat difficult to find a studio that wanted to make the film.

Wainer writes, Ford, shopping around a script adapted from a short story, Stage to Lordsburg,

had struggled for a year to find a studio willing to finance the film, finally getting United Artists

to go with it. If United Artists had decided not to put money towards this film, it probably

would not have been made.

3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.

The United Artist film company must have had great faith in John Ford and his script to want to

fund this film after other studios turned it down. It possibly also gave audiences something to
http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/24215http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/24215http://thenostalgialeague.com/olmag/haycox.htmlhttp://thenostalgialeague.com/olmag/haycox.htmlhttp://thenostalgialeague.com/olmag/haycox.htmlhttp://thenostalgialeague.com/olmag/haycox.htmlhttp://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/articles/entry/12/24215


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look forward to because it was made with sound. Unlike in the previously made westerns, the

audience would be able to hear the horses, gun shots, etc. With the success of the film, westerns

were made popular again. Its not surprising that John Ford was able to make themovie a

success considering that most if not all of the movie he had directed have been westerns. He

made a career of it going on to direct many more westerns.

4. Write a critical analysis of the film.

It is a fairly decent film considering that I dontreally care for westerns. No disrespect to John

Wayne but I dont think hes that great of an actor. Overall, I feel that the film moved a little too

slowly. The few western films I have seen were filled with action. If anything, its the part I look

forward to the most. In this film the action was mostly towards the end and in my opinion the

most exciting part. Thomas Mitchells character, the drunk doctor is really the only reason I was

able to convince myself to pay any attention to this movie.


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CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly

explain that in the paper.

3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used

indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the

text of the paper.

5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I

cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research

and ideas used in my paper.

Name: ______________________________________ Date: ____________________________

stagecoach journal entry

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