Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

The setting of Stagecoach plays as much of a role in the film as the characters. Engel states that “Ford
often fashions his plot and characters around a series of contrasts, effectively dramatized through imagery of
space and openness on the one hand, and confinement and enclosure on the other” (175). Stagecoach
perfectly emphasizes this dichotomy of space. The cities and the stagecoach itself in the film are
representative of society and civilization, while Monument Valley is the epitome of wide open space,
beautiful and free as it is wild. By contrasting both the wide open shots of the valley and the enclosed spaces
in the town, Ford establishes the contrasts and oppositions he will follow throughout the narrative.
Most people would assume the wilderness in all its openness would be the more dangerous and
frightening, while the town would represent all that is civilized and good. This is not the case in Stagecoach.
Ford is not presenting civilization as perfect, or even admirable. This film is in favor of the “natural man”
hearkening back to the individual Adam in Eden, free from the constraints of society. He purposely filmed
the interiors of the town with ceilings. This was a new development in films which deviated from
conventional practice, making the scenes claustrophobic and tight. (Engel 177) This was exactly the
impression that Ford sought. He wanted the rooms to look oppressive as if they were closing in on the
characters. This claustrophobia of the interiors suggests the stifling nature of society. Meanwhile, the coach
is an extension of civilization making its way out into the unknown. As the coach leaves Tonto and heads for
the town of Lordsburg “we see the vehicle from a long angle shot, and it is tiny- virtually swallowed up by
space and the monoliths.” (Engel 177) This is representative of the early Western frontier. Society and
civilization was just a small speck on the overall landscape of America. Americans were still creating and
forging a society out West, just as in 1939 Americans were still struggling with creating a national identity.
The next shot is of the enclosed stage “focusing on the characters, and they are not tiny at all but
have a largeness and individuality and reveal a human community inside the stage, balanced against the force
of nature outside, which we are constantly reminded of through the windows.” (Engel 177) The inside of
the coach is warm and cramped. The passengers are tightly packed, and there isn’t even enough room on
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