A classic

I’m usually not a huge fan of such vintage Westerns but since this one has a really solid reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. This movie is mostly famous for finally launching John Wayne’s career. In fact, Wayne had been around for quite a while already (he was already in his 30’s) but it was only after this movie that he became a massive movie star. It was also the real start of his partnership with John Ford, even if he did play in some minor parts in other movies directed by Ford before. This movie was also apparently a major inspiration for Orson Welles before he made ‘Citizen Kane’. Well, even though this movie is usually considered as a perfect example of textbook filmmaking, to be honest, I actually really struggled with the beginning scenes. Indeed, at a quick tempo, all the 9 characters were introduced and, to be honest, I had a hard time to figure out who was who and what the hell they were doing on this damned coach. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the version I saw on YouTube had some poor subtitles and maybe I should check it out again at some point. Anyway, from all the characters involved, even though I have to admit that John Wayne was indeed quite charismatic, I enjoyed above all Doc Boone played by a pitch-perfect Thomas Mitchell. Indeed, not only he was the most entertaining of the bunch, he was probably the most complex character as well. The funny thing is that the usual major complaint regarding this movie, the way it handled the Native Americans, didn’t bother me at all. Indeed, they were not the focus at all in this movie and since you didn’t know the motivation behind their actions, I think this depiction was actually fairly neutral and therefore acceptable. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.