MovieChat Forums > Stagecoach (1939) Discussion > Andy Devine

Andy Devine

posted 9 years ago by Partnerfrankreich
2 replies | jump to latest

Although I love Andy Devine (that voice of his was fantastic; as a young child I used to watch his kids' show "Andy's Gang" and loved it!), I am always bewildered by the statement made in many places (including, I think, on IMDb), that he was chosen for the role over Ward Bond, who was initially considered for it, because unlike Bond, Devine actually knew how to drive a six-horse coach.

Unless I am seriously mistaken, in every scene where Mr. Devine can actually be identified as driving the coach (i.e., where you can actually see his face, unlike the most vigorous action scenes, which are shot from afar and in which I presume that a stuntman was doing the actual driving), he is obviously not actually "driving" the coach -- he is either stationary against a moving background or he is simply agitating the reins but you don't see the horses or the background.

Am I missing something?

[–] bari2525 9 years ago

At the time of the filming, Ward Bond was currently appearing in EVERY film being filmed in 1938, and MOST of those in 1939 (this is only a slight exaggeration), but there IS merit to this story, as Andy HAD to drive it at certain times, and Ward couldn't...

The MAIN crux of the story is though, Ward Bond simply wasn't available, as he was too busy...

I don't act...I react. John Wayne

[–] moonpuppy_ver1-1 9 years ago

Notice how he's holding the reigns. Threaded through the fingers. He could control each horse with a roll of a finger when the reigns are rigged right, and in his case, they were right.

Another thing about Andy. Thinking about "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence", did he always have a Mexican wife? I know he made mention of it in both this and TMHSLV.