Nine strangers thrown together on a stagecoach for a perilous ride across Apache territory. This movie, an early John Ford/John Wayne collaboration, lives up to its reputation. The characters are all well drawn from the beginning, Wayne is learning his iconic status. Claire Trevor is excellent as the prostitute reluctant to fall in love. Thomas Mitchell (Gone With The Wind, It's A Wonderful Life, Mr Smith Goes To Washington) earned his Oscar as the alcoholic doctor. The action sequences are very good for 1939, especially the big race across Monument Valley. The Apache are the antagonists, but thankfully they are not characterized in any depth, so they are mostly only seen as a violent threat. So racist and problematic, but not disgusting. That's something? The duel at the end is sharply staged and very dramatic.