The MoFo Top 100 Westerns: Countdown

The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Numerous problems plagued the production. Filming was done on location in Morelos, Mexico. The problem was the Mexican censors demanded script changes so that Mexican farmers would only be seen in a positive way. They even demanded the farmer's clothes couldn't show dirt.

A young upstart actor, Steve McQueen, took every opportunity to upstage his fellow actors. If you watch McQueen carefully he's always fidgeting or adjusting his hat, etc. Yul Brynner was upset that many of his lines were given to the director's favorites in the movie: Steve McQueen and the German actor Horst Buchholz.

The first script writer was so upset about charges to his work that he demanded his name be removed from the movie. Yul Brynner went so far as to make mounds of dirt to stand on so he would appear taller than McQueen and he hired an assistant to count how many times McQueen touched his hat.

When it was finally finished it was a good western with big star names, but lacking in character development. Many of the big name stars have limited screen time. The Magnificent Seven marks the arrival of a new style of western movie, where the bad guys are the heroes and despite being cold blooded gunslingers they do have their own set of morals.

Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
I liked it! It's a tightly made movie with no extraneous moments. It's a lot of story packed into 96 minutes of action and characterization, all while being visually stunning.

This has action...with a very mixed group of people all packed like sardines into the stagecoach, evading the threat of Indian attack, and from Geronimo no less. It's very cool that they used Native American actors for the Indian close up shots.

I was impressed by the stuntman who jumped onto the lead horse on the stagecoach, and was 'shot', and then hit the ground, actually sliding under the horses hooves and the stagecoach! That was done without edits, that was real folks! And the most dangerous stunt I've ever seen performed in a movie!

Audiences at the time must have loved seeing Monument Valley. And of course John Ford's amazing camera shots, makes the film look great.

Stagecoach is one of the great early westerns. It might not compare to more modern westerns and that's what most of us are use to, but in it's day it was a damn fine film.