Stagecoach – Ombre Rosse

The story  of  Stagecoach (letteralmente, La diligenza –  Ombre Rosse il titolo italiano, 1939) by John Ford pivots around (ruota intorno) the passengers of a stagecoach ready to leave Tonto, New Mexico for a distant settlement in Lordsburg. They are various people from every social class, all determined to leave the place with different reasons: Dallas, a woman with a scandalous past is forced  (è obbligata) to leave the place by the prig (benpensanti) ladies of the community;  Lucy Mallory, the wife of a cavalry officer,  is going to reach (raggiungere) her husband; Hatfield is a talkative gambler (giocatore d’azzardo chiaccherone) who offers his “protection” to Lucy; Dr. Boone is a drunkard physician (medico ubriacone) whose licence has been removed (tolta);  Mr. Peacock is a nervous whiskey salesman – who reasonably  becomes Dr. Boone’s close friend;  Gatewood is a dishonest banker; Buck is the hayseed (zotico) stage driver, and Sheriff Wilcox has come to guard (proteggere) the group  from Ringo Kid  – John Wayne –  a well-known outlaw (famoso fuorilegge), just broken out (scappato) of prison. But as Ringo shows all his humanity during the journey, the real danger is  a group of Apaches, led by Geronimo, ready to attack the stagecoach at any time. The script (sceneggiatura) portrays with realism the different personalities of the people and offers action scenes with cowboys, Indians, shootouts (sparatorie), and chases (inseguimenti) shot on the background of the Monument Valley. The film also gave the chance to the cast to show its stuff (capacità):  John became a western star and Thomas Mitchell  (the comic Dr. Boone) won an Oscar for his relief role (ruolo che offre un momento di stacco dalla tensione dell’azione).