One of the most studied films in Hollywood history is leaving HBO Max at the end of September. Stagecoach, the 1939 John Ford Western that helped make John Wayne a star, will no longer be available on the platform after this month.
The film follows a man who breaks out of prison to track down his father's killers. He joins a group that includes a doctor, a prostitute, and a salesperson, as they travel by stagecoach through hostile territory. The movie grossed more than one million dollars at the box office and became a landmark in American cinema.
According to Collider, Orson Welles claimed to have watched Stagecoach 40 times while preparing to direct Citizen Kane. In a conversation with fellow filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, Welles said that he watched the film "every night for about a month" after dinner. "It was like going to school."
Stagecoach marked a turning point for both Wayne and Ford. Wayne had spent years in supporting roles before the film established him as a leading man. Ford and Wayne would go on to collaborate on several more Westerns, including The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. But the 1939 film is widely regarded as the beginning of one of the most productive partnerships in Hollywood history.
The film's influence stretched well beyond its box office run. Its structure, its landscapes, and its handling of tension under pressure became reference points for generations of filmmakers, Welles being one of the most famous examples.
Stagecoach is currently streaming on HBO Max in the United States. Viewers who want to catch it before it leaves the platform have until the end of September.
