why did they all shun Dallas?
I missed part of th e beginning, why was Dallas shunned?
shareShe was run out of town for being a prostitute, along with Doc because he was the town drunk. In fact, the opening scene shows Doc, with mock fanfare, escorting Dallas into the stage coach as the town dowagers heckle them.
"I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes"!
In "Independence Day", when the seriously-injured First Lady (Mary McDonnell) is rescued by Jasmine (Viveca Fox), she asks "What do you do?" Jasmine tells her that she's a dancer.
The First Lady says something like "Oh, I love the dance -- ballet, modern, jazz -- what do you do?" And reacts silently but noticeably when Jasmine responds that she's an exotic dancer.
There are a number of occupations that also connote inferior status -- prostitute, pimp, porn actor/actress, drug dealer or addict, homeless person, ex-con, gang banger.
I'm being picky, but I think the First Lady reacts and tells Jasmine that she's sorry. Jasmine assures her that it's good money and that her son is worth it. I could be wrong about this, but I've seen this movie so many times that mind mind is total Swiss cheese if I am. Anyway, just pointing out that Dallas is a prostitute and Jasmine is just a stripper. The difference doesn't actually mean much other than clarification.
The film was based on the short story "Boule de Suif" by Guy de Maupassant. Set during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it has basically the same plot - a group of strangers thrown together on a stagecoach, one of whom is a woman whom they ostracise for being a whore. No redskins or Ringo Kid, though! :~)
Mike
^
Well, maybe the short story was based on "Boule de Suif", but Stagecoach was based on "Stage to Lordsburg."
IMO, it is very unclear in the short story that Dallas (in the story - Henriette) was a prostitute.
For the same reason that during the 1939 eras, they could not depict Mrs. Lucy Mallory as pregnant. They weren't allowed to show her with a belly large with child. (I Love Lucy had all sorts of fun trying to show the pregnancy much later...)
They could not out and out SAY Dallas was a prostitute because "Standards and Practices" would not allow it to be rated for 'family' viewing if anyone said that. They had to imply everything. Back then if you didn't get a rating for family viewing, the film just didn't get screened ANYWHERE...
This didn't change for a long time.
Just saw this and I would like to add that at the near end, she and Ringo are walking I guess to her "home." They pass progressively bad areas of town showing smoking, drinking, and women. So they are able to suggest what she does by association as well.
And yeah, I knew Mrs. Mallory was pregant but I had no idea she was even past a few months. That threw me for a loop. lol
Mobiles give you cancer!
You're probably right about why they couldn't actually say Dallas was a prostitute and show Mallory pregnant, but personally I love how subtle and implied everything is in this movie. The baby was a nice surprise, and you basically knew "everything you wanted to know" about Dallas just from the associations. Nothing was spelled out. This movie required thinking.
shareThey could not out and out SAY Dallas was a prostitute because "Standards and Practices" would not allow it to be rated for 'family' viewing if anyone said that.
The real issue is that once clearly identified as a prostitute she could not have survived the picture. The ambiguity is there to make happy ending possible. share
Stagecoach may have been "inspired" by Boule de Suif, but was not directly based on it as the story plays out very differently. In the story, the group is captured by a Prussian officer who demands sex from the prostitue in exchange for their release. She resists but then finally agrees. The others continue to shun her even though she has saved their lives.
sharePretty sure that Haycox himself relied upon Guy de Maupassant's story.
shareI wasn't aware that being an addict, homeless or gang banger could be an "occupation."
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