A tale of two movies

Lovers of the American Western don’t want to miss the upcoming screening of the Academy Award-winning 1939 black-and-white film, “Stagecoach!” It’s the story of a group of strangers traveling through dangerous Apache territory despite the threat of an attack by Geronimo.

Directed by John Ford, this classic is an adaptation of a 1937 short story, “The Stage of Lordsburg,” by Ernest Haycox, acknowledged as one of the 20th century’s best writers of Western fiction. The film stars Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, John Carradine, Andy Devine and John Wayne in the role that made him a star.

“Stagecoach” has been remade at least twice since the original was released. The first redo in 1966 was the first version filmed in color. Its all-star cast includes Ann-Margret, Red Buttons, Mike Connors, Alex Cord, Bing Crosby, Bob Cummings, Van Heflin, Slim Pickens, Stefanie Powers, Keenan Wynn and, in a small role, illustrator Norman Rockwell, who was hired to be on the set to paint portraits of the stars.

The next release of “Stagecoach” was a 1986 made-for-television action-drama starring Willie Nelson (also an executive producer), Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, John Schneider, Elizabeth Ashley, Anthony Newley, Anthony Franciosa, Merritt Butrick, Mary Crosby (Bing’s daughter), June Carter Cash and Kris Kristofferson in the role originally played by John Wayne.

Most critics consider the 1939 black-and-white classic to be the best of the three releases. Leonard Maltin, in his movie guide’s 2014 edition, described the first remake as a “colorful, star-studded Western ... but (it) can’t hold a candle to the 1939 masterpiece.” (I totally agree, especially after watching all three films last weekend!) And although the 1986 release won several Western Heritage awards, it isn’t even as good as its 1966 predecessor.

Want to catch a screening of “Stagecoach?” You can see the original — and the best — at the Grand Opera House at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

For Modern Film Lovers

The Macon Film Guild is screening “The Salesman,” a recently released Iranian drama, on Sunday.

The critically-acclaimed film — about a married couple who are performing in Arthur Miller’s play, “Death of a Salesman,” when the wife is assaulted — premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards: Best Screenplay and Best Actor for its lead, Shahab Hosseini.

“The Salesman” also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and it holds an incredible 97 percent “fresh” critics’ rating on the review aggregating website, Rotten Tomatoes.

You have three chances to see “The Salesman” at the historic Douglass Theatre at 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 7:04 AM with the headline "A tale of two movies."