Everyone on screen seems to be having such a good time, it’s a shame that viewers of this clunky effort weren’t afforded the same degree of entertainment.

Worthy color remake of the classic Western with Ann-Margret, Van Heflin and Alex Cord This 1966 version of "Stagecoach" is a color remake of the classic B&W Western from 1939. There would be another remake in 1986 featuring country stars of the era. The story revolves around nine characters circa 1880 that travel on a stagecoach through a mountainous area where a group of Indians are on the warpath. The people include a somewhat goofy driver (Slim Pickens) and his shotgun, a marshal (Van Heflin); inside the coach are an outcast prostitute (Ann-Margret), an escaped prisoner named the Ringo Kid (Alex Cord), a pregnant woman traveling to meet up with her officer husband (Stefanie Powers), a suave Southern gambler who knew the lady's father during the Civil War (Mike "Mannix" Connors), an alcoholic doctor (Bing Crosby), a crooked banker (Bob Cummings) and a meek whiskey salesman (Red Buttons). The first two-thirds of the film is mostly character development as the group travels on the stagecoach in the high country and spends the night here and there. The last third involves an action-packed Indian attack and the Ringo Kid settling scores. The story has been opened out and enlarged in comparison to the 1939 version; there's more action and Native attack is thrilling, showcasing some wild stunt work. What was a short climatic showdown in the 1939 version is a bigger shootout acco…

"Curly, you ain't got the sense that God gave a goose" There isn't much point in comparing this with John Ford's 1939 version, so if you can sort of forget that and take this at face value, it isn't an half bad western. Initially, I was sceptical about Bing Crosby being fired at by Crazy Horse and his warriors, but once we have waded throught the unneccesarily long characterisation phase, and piled this disparate group onto the stagecoch, then this actually hots up ok. The not so sharp "Curly" (Van Heflin) is the marshal escorting "Buck" (Slim Pickens) as he drives the dipso "Doc" (Crosby); his new best pal - the impressionable whisky salesman "Peacock" (Red Buttons) then there's the down on her luck good time gal "Dallas" (Ann-Margret); the duplicitous gambler "Hatfield" (Mike Connors); "Gatewood" (Robert Cummings) - who is in one hell of an hurry to reach Denver; pregnant army wife "Mrs. Mallory" (Stefanie Powers) and finally, their late arrival, the "Ringo Kid" (Alex Cord) who is swiftly put under arrest and handcuffed. Pretty quickly, they realise that the Sioux are on the warpath, and with dead soldiers strewn along their route, their journey is likely to be fraught with dangers. Even at the staging posts, nobody feels very safe and things are further complicated when "Mrs. Mallory" starts to have her baby! What are the chances that they can make it to the safety of Cheyen…

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