Stagecoach (1986) Reviews

• Substandard script with substandard acting

  kfo94942016-07-10

  While watching this film, I was really wanting to enjoy the experience. All my favorite country singers were assembled into a cast that would make any fan of music quiver with anticipation. But soon into the film it was obvious that the quiver turned into shivers as most of the acting was low-quality. The idea for the story was actually a nice idea. But what was missing was someone that could write a teleplay that would bring the idea to life and make the story interesting. In this movie, nothing seemed to gel. The writing was weak and the words delivered by people that really were not actors. Johnny Cash, who is one of my all time favorite singers, was stiff as a board and seemed to be reading the lines with little, if any, emotion. Willie Nelson was nearly shameful playing Doc Holliday and having him deliver a baby was absolutely embarrassing and painful to watch. Throw in Waylon Jennings that seemed mortified to be on camera and you have a cast that brings nothing to the table. With the weak script and the poor acting- this movie never had a chance. I will credit Kris Kristofferson, John Schneider and Elizabeth Ashley with their acting ability as they are the bright spots in this dismal cast. Even Anthony Newley and Mary Crosby did a nice job with their character but it was not enough to help the unfortunate situation. It was a movie I so wanted to enjoy but felt uncomfortable the entire time. Not sure anything could have helped this troubled project.

• Sad. Very, very sad . . .

  BrianG2001-12-29

  Some movies just shouldn't be remade. Gone With the Wind, Casablanca . . . and Stagecoach. For some reason, though, Hollywood can't keep its hands off it. It was remade (badly) in 1966, and this one is even worse. It looks like a bunch of wannabe cowboys with some money decided they could make a western better than John Ford could (Willie Nelson was the executive producer of this), and they couldn't possibly have been more wrong. Everything, absolutely EVERYTHING, about this movie is pathetic. Ted Post is normally a first-rate director, especially of westerns (he did most of the "Rawhide" series with Clint Eastwood), but he either had a really bad day, or (what seems to be more likely) everyone in the cast simply ignored what he told them; there doesn't appear to be any discipline at all in this film. Everybody keeps trying to out-ham everyone else, or they're either so laid-back they're practically comatose. The photography isn't particularly good, the editing is horrendous, the scenery around Old Tucson (where this was shot) is completely wasted . . . and on and on. A really sad waste of time and money. Skip it.

• doesn't hold a candle to the John Ford/John Wayne original

  disdressed122009-03-19

  this is(a far as i can tell)the third version of the classic movie first directed in 1939 by John Ford and starring John Wayne.i haven't seen the second film(1966)so i can't comment on that one.this 1986 version though,i can comment on.in my mind,it doesn't come near to the original,which is a classic,and one of the best movies i have seen.this version has in many of the starring roles,Country and western singers of the era,including Willie Nelson,Waylon Jennings,Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson.also in the cast are John Schneider(TV's Dukes of Hazard),June Carter Cash,Jessi Colter(wife of Waylon Jennings),and Mary Crosby(TV's Dallas)the movie was an entertaining diversion,but the acting was underwhelming.The only decent performance of the bunch came from Kristofferson.most of the dialogue wasn't that great,either,including a lot of one or two word conversations.and what was up with Mary Crosby and those lips,which looked like she'd had an allergic reaction to peanuts or shellfish,or something.either way,it looked stupid.the movie was also slow,with not much happening of any consequence,and almost zero character development.when it was over,i was indifferent to it.it's nothing memorable and will probably have faded from my mind in a day or so.still,if you have nothing better to do,it passes about 90 minutes or so.for me Stagecoach(1986)is a 6/10

• If Ain't Broke...Don't Fix It!

  bsmith55522014-05-17

  Around the time this film was made, stars Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings were performing concerts as "The Highwaymen" and they were good. So, having success as a performing group Nelson thought..."Why not make a movie together." Well sir, the one Willie chose (as Executive Producer) was a re make of the classic John Ford film "Stagecoach". By now any movie goer worth his salt knows the story line of "Stagecoach"....a group of unlikely travelers taking the stage to Lordsburg through hostile Indian territory. Veteran TV director Ted Post follows the original story to a point. The major difference is in the casting of the "Doc" character. In the original, Doc was a boozy reprobate on the make for his next drink. Willie Nelson however chose to play the character as "Doc" Holliday...yes THAT Doc Holliday complete with a pair of six guns and a brazen attitude. That made the character of Peacock the whiskey salesman (Anthony Newley) totally irrelevant so he quickly exits the story. The rest of the characters stick to the original. Kris Kristofferson plays Ringo, Johnny Cash, Curly the Marshal, Waylon Jennings the gambler Hatfield and John Schneider, Buck the stagecoach driver. Others in the cast include Tony Franciosa as Gatewood the banker, Elizabeth Ashley as Dallas the saloon girl and Mary Crosby as a very pregnant Lucy Mallory. Director post keeps the story moving and the action flowing. The Indian attack is well staged although without veteran stunt man Yakima Canutt, the stagecoach stunt work suffers in comparison. The final showdown with Luke Plummer (Alex Kubils) is changed somewhat to include all of the Highwaymen. As actors, one could say that the four principals made great singers although they do carry off their respective parts as best they could. Others in the country music oriented cast include June Carter Cash and son John Carter Cash as proprietors of a relay station, David Allen Coe as one of the Plummers, Billy Swan as a bartender and Jennings' wife Jessi Colter in a minor role. And for the old timers among you, there's a brief appearance in the Plummer sequence by veteran cowboy hero Lash LaRue. Given that this was a TV movie and the violence toned down somewhat, the boys give us a pleasant if not entertaining old style western. But because it tries to re-make a classic, it suffers in comparison. It just shows to go ya that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

• Boring and unnecessary remake starred by four Country singers : Kristofferson , Cash , Jennins and Nelson

  ma-cortes2017-07-02

  A forgettable adaptation for TV in 1986 by Ted Post with Willie Nelson , Kris Kristofferson , Johnny Cash , Elizabeth Ashley , Mary Crosby , Tony Franciosa , and John Schneider . Inferior remake with interesting character studio , functional performances and glimmer cinematography from desert lands plenty of cactus . Unnecessary remake to the considered to be first adult Western , ¨Stagecoach¨ by John Ford that changed the course of the modern Western turning into intellectual Western and dealing with a motley crew of roles in a cross-country coach beset by Indians and thieves ; as on board are the followings : an outlaw , a doctor , a banker , a coward swank , a cavalry man's pregnant wife , a gambler , among others . The movie takes place in 1880 in a voyage throughout Arizona , in which a varied group of characters with nothing in common are stuck together inside a coach , they form a strange assortment of individuals , such as : a prostitute with a broken heart (Elizabeth Ashley in classic rendition interpreted by Claire Trevor) , the old John's Whiskey Salesman (Anthony Newley) , a crooked card-player (Waylon Jennings as Hatfield , the Gambler , previously performed by John Carradine) turned into protector to pregnant young wife (Mary Crosby) , a swindler banker (Tony Franciosa , previously by Barton Churchill) , a sympathetic coach driver (John Schneider) , the famous Doc Hollyday (Willie Nelson) , Ringo Kid (Kris Kristofferson , priorly by John Wayne) , an outlaw looking to revenge killings and a sheriff (Johnny Cash , formerly performed by George Bancroft) taking in his prisoner . The motley crew pull off a journey through Indian territory passing Apache Wells and towards Lordsburg . All of them riding to greatness across 2,000 miles of flaming frontier . At the beginning they're protected by a military detachment commanded by a brave lieutenant . The stagecoach is besieged by Apaches and several dangers..... The plot is plain and simple , as the story follows a stagecoach ride through Old West Apache territory , portraying in depth characters and brooding events with allegorical issues running beneath surface . This so-so and old-style TV western written/produced/played by Willie Nelson as well as score composer ; being redeemed by its decent main stars and supporting cast . As protagonists , the notorious Country singers : Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson recorded several albums as The Highwaymen . Based on the story 'Stage to Lordsburg' by Ernest Haycox and this one based on Guy De Mauspassant's novel . Acceptable main cast and secondary cast , passable edition , regular cinematography by Gary Craver and atmospheric musical score make it an average film , and very far from original . Shot on location in Sonoran Desert, Old Tucson and Sierrita Mountains , Arizona . The motion picture was middlingly directed by Ted Post , with no originality . Post gives a slow and some dull direction . He's a Western expert , in fact his best movie is still a Western called ¨The legend of Tom Rooley¨ . Besides , he directed Clint Eastwood many times , starting working on Eastwood's television Western series, ¨Rawhide¨. When Eastwood returned to America after his successful Sergio Leone movies , he called for Post who directed him in Western ¨Hang'Em high¨ and the second entry Dirty Harry pictures : ¨Magnum Force¨. Ted Post also directed notable Sci Fi : Beneath of the planet of apes , Harrard experiment and horror movies : The Baby , Dr Cook's garden . The original ¨Stagecoach¨ is a very superior rendition in 1939 by John Ford , being perfectly played by excellently assembled actors : Claire Trevor , George Bancroft , Louise Platt , Tom Tyler , Tim Holt and Thomas Mitchell who deservedly won Academy Award for secondary actor , and of course , John Wayne , who arose his career languishing in Poverty Row and being first pairing of Ford and Wayne . And stunningly shot by John Ford in the mythical Monumental Valley , capturing its particular air , a place that Ford was often to revisit and he befriended Indians tribes . Besides , ¨Stagecoach¨ (1966) by Gordon Douglas with Alex Cord , Anne Margret , Slim Pickens , Red Buttons and Bing Crosby , Mary Crosby's father .