Stagecoach

Often when watching older films, we find ourselves spoiled by the fact that whatever is about to happen on the screen, we've seen it before.  Everything that was once shocking and innovative, is now de rigeur, and we know, often down to the subtlest of character moments, how "this" is all going to play out.  Naturally, I went in to this 80 year old movie expecting to see where characters and scenes of which we've since seen a thousand versions were born.  I was not disappointed on that count.

But in a strange way, I was reverse surprised--unspoiled?--by the movies I had seen before.  Specifically Tarantino's Hateful Eight, which is based on what seems to be just the first ten minutes of Stagecoach, but also every other "eight strangers in a box" movie, had conditioned me to expect certain things: a hidden past, a sudden betrayal, a secret identity, some such "twist" is absolutely necessary in these movies.  So I waited until the last scene, still expecting Mr. Peacock to be a German spy, or Mr. Hatfield to be the child's actual father, etc..  But there was no such gimmick forthcoming.  As with anything that goes on for more than a few seasons, cinema's continued popularity is dependent on its ability to surprise us, and to that end is inventing ever more shocking spectacles and grand reversals.  But there was a time when all that was necessary was a solid script, nuanced performances, and an eye for scenery.