In the fight between the stagecoach's passengers and the Indians, we see the same image of one Indian, with a lance in his hand, falling with his horse two times. One time shot by Marshal Curly and another time shot by Hatfield.
When the coach is being chased by the Indians, two arrows stick in the side of the passenger area at a 90 degree angle. The wide shots show all the pursuers still well behind the coach, making those piercings premature.
When the whiskey drummer Peacock is shot in the chest with an arrow, it must have been a magic arrow. In the position he was seated in the stagecoach, there is no possible trajectory for an arrow to enter a stagecoach side window and hit a man square in the chest as shown. Perhaps Peacock had been turned in his seat, facing the door/window.
The stagecoach and passengers didn't get too far on the first three legs of their journey. In each shot of their 'next' leg of the journey, they still hadn't left Monument Valley.
Director John Ford was particularly fond of Monument Valley after he saw it. This was the first of many films he filmed in Monument Valley, Arizona. Others were: My Darling Clementine (1946); Fort Apache (1948); She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949); Wagon Master (1950); Rio Grande (1950); The Searchers (1956); Sergeant Rutledge (1960); and his last western, Cheyenne Autumn (1964). From Trivia.
Director John Ford was particularly fond of Monument Valley after he saw it. This was the first of many films he filmed in Monument Valley, Arizona. Others were: My Darling Clementine (1946); Fort Apache (1948); She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949); Wagon Master (1950); Rio Grande (1950); The Searchers (1956); Sergeant Rutledge (1960); and his last western, Cheyenne Autumn (1964). From Trivia.
While the stage is at the ferry, Curly tells Buck to drive the stage into the river. The next shot shows Curly tying down one of the floats on the river bank.
Just before Ringo hands his rifle to Curley, he ejects the cartridge in the chamber, but, unless there was only one in the magazine, he chambers another cartridge as he closes the lever action, which also has also cocked the hammer.
Ringo tells Dallas to go and live on his ranch, but earlier he has told her that the cabin there is "half-built."
Dallas is a Western woman and is perfectly capable of being comfortable in a half-finished cabin.
Dallas is a Western woman and is perfectly capable of being comfortable in a half-finished cabin.
In the beginning sequence when the stage is coming into town you can see that the buildings are stage facades as the camera shot is at an angle and it is clear there is no structure behind the false front.
After arriving at the second stop on the journey the sheriff refers to the army, calling them "calvary" instead of "cavalry". This is not only a common mistake by uneducated actors, but it is the most often repeated mispronunciation in the history of movie westerns.
When a bullet strikes the inside of the coach next to Dallas there is the sound of a ricochet, which only happens when a bullet bounces off a hard surface such as a rock.
Buck uses eight different names to call the six horses in his team: Bessie, Blackie, Brownie, Belle, Queenie, Sweetheart, Bridesmaid, and Honey Child.
Neither Doc Boone, Hatfield or Gatewood pay for a ticket when they board the stage last minute.
When Plummer's poker hand (aces and eights, the dead man's hand) is shown in close-up, the ace of spades shows that the deck is a Bee brand deck of cards, first produced in 1892 by the U.S. Playing Card Co. (Hence the "92" on the ace.) The movie takes place in approximately 1880, so these cards would not yet be available.
In Henry Gatewood's rant he mentions taxes: "...we pay taxes to the government and what do we get? Not even protection from the army!" At the time of the story (1880), there was no income tax. The United States enacted the first income tax to support the Civil War effort in 1862, and this tax was eliminated in 1872. The income tax was not re-enacted until 1894, and was repealed the following year. But the federal government did collect tariffs on imports, and other excise taxes.
John Wayne's famous rifle is a Winchester Model 1892, not introduced until 12 years after the movie is set.
As Dallas announces "It's a little girl", her lips don't move.
It is perfectly possible to say "It's a little girl" without lip movement while hugely smiling, as Dallas was. Matter of fact - it is difficult to make obvious lip movement while saying "It's a little girl". Try it.
It is perfectly possible to say "It's a little girl" without lip movement while hugely smiling, as Dallas was. Matter of fact - it is difficult to make obvious lip movement while saying "It's a little girl". Try it.
As the stagecoach crosses the river at the burnt-out ferry, the shadow of a camera is clearly visible on the driver's back.
In the film, the stagecoach travels from Tonto, Arizona Territory (central Arizona), to Lordsburg, New Mexico. This is a distance of about 180 miles due southeast. But at one point they cross the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry (about nine miles south of the Utah-Arizona border). This crossing is about 200 miles north of their starting point. Tonto is already east of the Colorado River so there would be no need to cross it and certainly no need to travel 200 miles out of their way to do it.
Before Ringo hands his Winchester rifle to Curley after finding him stranded outdoors on the stagecoach trail, he ejects a chambered round, which after flying behind his head, can be heard as a knock as if hitting the soundstage floor. Also, it would have been unrealistic to waste a live round of ammunition with hostile Indians in the area, especially after telling Curley that he (Curley) may need his Winchester.
Buck should have driven the stage into the river as Curly told him. Maneuvering those huge logs would have been much easier if they were floating.
Curley made Ringo sacrifice his suspenders to tie the leaders as they prepare to cross the river. Then Buck tosses Ringo's saddle off the top of the coach with the large coiled lasso attached.