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The first of two westerns that would long ago have been raised to the pantheon had they not been directed by Henry King (the other being 'The Gunfighter'). Writing nearly fifty years ago on Nunnally Johnson in his book on Hollywood screenwriters, Richard Corliss declared "That his 'Jesse James' is ignored, while 'Stagecoach' is venerated, is a crime it may take a small revolution in film criticism to avenge."
While we wait we will have plenty of time to savour this immaculate Technicolor production shamelessly depicting history as it should have been rather than as it actually was. Darryl Zanuck at Fox was the first head of a major studio to invest heavily in Dr. Kalmus's new marvel; and over eighty years later (with a star who died before I was even born, and I'm in my sixties!) it continues to look pristine thanks to immaculate colour already capable of subtleties like the breathtakingly lovely verdant haze that serves as a backdrop to the tender scene between Jessie and Zee just before they elope together.
The only reason I'm not giving this gem ten stars is that in the hands of Fritz Lang I think the sequel was even better.
score 9/10
richardchatten 26 December 2020
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6404547/ |
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31-3-2021 00:06:15