User Reviews

From 1939 to 1948, two major Westerns done with taste and skill and with an eye to beauty could be mentioned: John Ford's "Stagecoach," and Howard Hawks' "Red River."

"Red River" is a great adventure Western considered as the very best among all Westerns... But could we compared it to Ford's splendidly filmed "Wagon Master"? John Ford maintains his shooting eye at a certain distance while Howard Hawks keeps it nearby... But both are skilled directors of a bunch of great movies…

Ford is closer to Western movies, and Hawks to other genre... Ford treats his Western characters as people behave... Hawks displays it in vivid adventure... In "Red River," "Rio Bravo," and "The Big Sky" Howard Hawks is far from the magnitude of Ford's "The Searchers." Under Ford's instruction, John Wayne is fluent and moderate, refined in conduct and manners as in "The Quiet Man." With Hawks, Wayne's character prevails differential tendency toward passion and fury...

It is soon evident that the cattle boss is tough to the point of obsession… It could be argued that only men of this spirit could have handled and survived the first pioneering cattle drives… One of the drovers (John Ireland) wants to make for Abilene but gets no change out of Wayne… When the cattle stampede Wayne goes to 'gun-whip' one of the hands, Clift intervenes… It was then evident that Wayne was going to drive his men just as hard as he intends to drive the cattle…

"Red River" is a Western just as much concerned with human relationships and their tensions as with spectacle and action—a hallmark of Hawks' films and this element is introduced when the pair meet up with a boy leading a cow… The boy confirms the wagon-train massacre, and the boy and the cow from then on are included in the partnership… This is not only a key-point of the narrative but also a highly symbolic moment…

For some years Garfield was the only screen rebel... But in Clift's appearance in "Red River," another rebel was born… In "Red River," Clift plays the adopted son who opposes his father's domineering attitudes and behavior towards himself and also towards the cowhands who work for them on the drive to market… The struggle between father and adopted son, compels delighted interest... Dunson's unfeeling hardhearted style remembers us Captain Bligh in "Mutiny on the Bounty." In the beginning of the film we had admiration for Wayne's persona... We concluded finding him unfriendly, unconscious, unacceptable and faulty... Clift wins our sympathy!

Clift was the withdrawn, introverted man who quietly maintains his integrity as he resists all pressures… These qualities were summed up in the words of Private Prewitt in "From Here to Eternity" probably Clift's finest rebel role!

"Red River" will remain a film with a unique flavor… It has, and will continue to have, its own special niche among honored Westerns…

With two Academy Award Nomination for Writing, splendid music score by Dmitri Tomkin and excellent acting including the supporting cast, the film had all the concepts of Howard Hawks' quality: vigor in action, reality as opposed to emotions and a faculty of scale...

I really enjoyed this the first time I saw it but it got a little slow on the second viewing. Nevertheless, it's a pretty solid classic-era western that has a deep cast. By deep I mean John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Harry Carey Sr., Noah Beery Jr., John Ireland, Joanne Dru, Coleen Gray, etc. This is more of a man's movie as those last two ladies listed both have small roles.

In addition to the western action, you get some nice black-and-white cinematography. The cattle driving scenes are magnificently filmed.

Wayne plays a "Captain Bligh" type of tyrant for most of the film, although he shows a few soft touches. Brennan has a great knack of making all his characters interesting, and this movie is no exception. Clift usually was pretty interesting, too.

My only complaint is the length of the film. This could have been much better with a tighter script and about 15-20 minutes chopped off it. It's still a compelling story.

Red River(1948) is a film that gets better with age. This was the first of five Howard Hawks/John Wayne features. Red River(1948) was Howard Hawks third straight gem right after To Have & Have Not(1944) and The Big Sleep(1946). John Wayne had come a long way from his low budget Lone Star film days.

The film is considered a Western take on The Mutiny on the Bounty. The relationship between Tom Dunson and Matt Garth is deeply complex. Although they're prepared to kill each other, deep down they still respect for one another. This relationship is based on control, idealism, respect, and trust.

It takes a fascinating look at the cattle drive during the Wild West. The film shows the responsbility that went with driving cattle across country and the different road blocks that many riders were faced with. Red River(1948) shows that the cattle drives were a cowboy's main source of work. City Slickers(1991) would do a wonderful homage to this Howard Hawks classic.

Tom Dunson, Ringo Kid, and Ethan Edwards to name a few are some of the best characters played by the duke. He exhibits here that he was a great actor as well as a great Hollywood star. Its a shame that his best performances were overlooked by by many people during his lifetime(he's definitely a superior actor compared to the likes of Stallone, Arnold, and Willis combined). It was actually filmed during 1946 but was shelved for two year due to a legal battle with Howard Hughes.

Montgomery Clift stands out on his own as Matt Garth in acting next to John Wayne. Walter Brennan is excellent in the role of Tom Dunson's sidekick. Red River(1948) was one of the best film to come out of 1948. Red River(1948) contains a trademark flirtious man-woman relationship between Matt Garth and Tess that also evident in some of the director's other works...I.E., His Girl Friday(Walter & Hildy), Ball of Fire(Potts & O'Shea), To Have & Have Not(Harry & Slim), The Big Sleep(Phillip Marlowe & Vivian Sternwood), and Rio Bravo(John T. Chance & Feathers).

In the pantheon of great performances by John Wayne, Red River ranks as one of the great ones, probably in the top five of his films. It's what the publicity folks mean when they talk about epic westerns.

John Wayne is a driven man, he's got to get that gigantic herd of cattle to market in Missouri or face ruin. He's not going to be selling them in Texas at carpetbagger prices so he's putting together the biggest, longest cattle drive on record to get to the railroad terminus in Missouri. He does it with the able assistance of his stepson Montgomery Clift newly returned from the Civil War.

A prologue to the main film shows what happened to Wayne years before. He left a wagon train going to California with good friend Walter Brennan and later that train is massacred with Wayne's fiancé Coleen Gray along with it. On the way to Texas, Wayne and Brennan pick up Mickey Kuhn who is playing a younger version of Monty Clift. They settle in Texas and Wayne puts together the biggest cattle ranch in the state which is where the main film starts.

Wayne and Clift play beautifully off against each other. Father and surrogate son, first working together and then having a big difference of opinion on the cattle drive. Clift started a film career in Red River playing sensitive people who you can only trod on just so long before they take action. You can see the inner workings of such later Clift roles as Robert E. Lee Prewitt and Noah Ackerman. Monty made a grand screen debut. And it was his debut, Red River was filmed first, but held up in release and Clift's The Search was released first to the public.

John Wayne had one of the best faces for movie closeups ever. In his best performances, top directors like John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Bill Wellman realized this. He has a few in this film and they tell the audience more about what's going on inside this man than ten pages of dialog.

With Joanne Dru, Howard Hawks tries to repeat the magic he had with Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not. Joanne is no Bacall, but she's good and had a pretty good career on her own. Her scenes with both Wayne and Clift have some of the same bite that Bacall's do with Bogey.

Dimitri Tiomkin's score deserves star billing right up there with the human cast. It is one of the great movie scores of all time period. let alone in the western genre. For me I've always noticed the similarity with the cattle drive beginning with the great use of Tiomkin's music and what Cecil B. DeMille did in the sound version of Ten Commandments as Charlton Heston tells the Hebrew children, he's takin' 'em to Canaan with Elmer Bernstein's score in the background as DeMille's cast of thousands moves out. I've often wondered whether DeMille copied Hawks, or Hawks was influenced by DeMille's silent Ten Commandments.

Red River is a must, for John Wayne fans, for Monty Clift fans, for fans of both and of great movie music like I am.

Dimitri Tiomkin's thunderous score sets the tone for this rousing story of cowboy ranchers in nineteenth century Texas headed north, with a thunderous herd of cattle in tow. It's the archetypal story of the American West, with its strong, ethical male leader, Thomas Dunson (John Wayne), and his pursuit of a big dream, set in an era when men were men, times were tough, hardships were inevitable, guns ruled, and Native Americans were the bad guys. What a saga ...

What makes "Red River" such a grand adventure is its high quality. Its story is simple, direct, exciting, and well told, with complex characters, interesting and sympathetic because they show weakness as well as strength. Dunson is a good man, but he's stubborn and headstrong. His semi-adopted son, Matt (Montgomery Clift), is good with a gun but a little softhearted. Dunson's chief sidekick is Groot (Walter Brennan), a cantankerous old buzzard who has problems with his teeth.

It's the relationship between these three men that is the heart and soul of "Red River". Trouble ensues along the way, you can be sure. And how that trouble unfolds and plays out presents viewers with engaging human drama, and humor, centered on these three main characters. The lonesome High Plains, with all its inherent risks, adds grandeur to the epic story.

At strategic points in the film, the page of a book appears on screen with text that briefly summarizes upcoming events. It's like we, the viewers, are reading a book about some long ago trailblazers. It's a technique that could have been intrusive. But here, it is handled with such finesse that it actually helps the narrative, by functioning as a transition from one sequence to the next.

The acting is fine. John Wayne is more than convincing as Dunson. Walter Brennan is characteristically funny. And Montgomery Clift is terrific. Had he maintained his looks, and if real-life circumstances not intervened, Monty could have been one of the truly top actors through at least the 50s and 60s.

If the film has a weakness, it might be the cinematography. Not often, but at times, the actors appear to be standing in front of a canvas, an effect that renders a shallow depth of field. Maybe this was the result of technical limitations of photography at the time the film was made.

There are few film westerns that can compare in quality with "Red River". And I don't know of any other cinematic cattle drives that are this good. So, the next time you herd your cattle to market, this is the film to watch. Even if you have no cattle, "Red River" is still a wonderfully entertaining cinematic experience.

Although I have never been a huge fan of Westerns nor of John Wayne, this movie was truly excellent. My father is a true-to-life cowboy from that era and could vouch for how accurate this movie portrayed the life of a cowboy in those days. What really makes this movie is the stellar performance of Montgomery Clift as Matt Garth, brilliant though forgotten actor of the late 40's thru the mid 60's. The depth of John Wayne's acting in this movie was very refreshing. In short, this movie deserves a viewing by even the most avid loathers of Westerns.

Some people think this is the greatest western ever made and they aren't far off the mark. It is certainly among the most expansive. Borden Chase adapted his own Saturday Evening Post story "The Chisholm Trail" but it was Howard Hawks who fleshed it out. There are some who see the relationship between Tom Dunson, (John Wayne), and his surrogate son Matthew Garth, (Montgomery Clift), as mirroring that of Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian and again that isn't too far off the mark either. Then there is the teasingly suggestive homo-erotic by-play that exists between Clift and gunslinger John Ireland, with a lot of emphasis on the affection each shares for the other's gun. But pat psychology aside the film is chiefly enjoyable for its sheer physicality. Indian attacks, gunfights, cattle stampedes and a great climatic confrontation between Wayne and Clift, it has them all.

Clift, a relative newcomer when the film came out, (it was only his second picture), is excellent. The camera loves him and he knows it. This is Clift at his most likable and laconic. But it is Wayne's tyrannical Tom Dunson who dominates every scene. It's a great piece of acting, the equal of his work in "The Quiet Man" and "The Searchers", maybe better. Those who say he was the same in every picture were surely blinkered. Given a great part like Dunson or Ethan Edwards he clearly understood the psychology of the role and what made the character tick. And for once, Dimitri Tiomkin's great score adds to, rather than detracts from, the film. Trivia time; in Peter Bogdanovitch's "The Last Picture Show" it was Hawk's "Red River" that was the last picture show.

Red River (1948)

A Western with a huge cattle drive at its core. John Wayne plays the head rancher, and among his workers and upstarts are a son-like youngster (Montgomery Clift) and a old-timer best friend (Walter Brennan). There are rivalries, Indians, opposing ranchers, and a woman or two who each intrude or help out Wayne in various ways.

A Howard Hawks Western is about as close as you can get to a John Ford Western. Ford is the one who re-discovered a languishing John Wayne in 1939, and Hawks was a parallel director, about the same age, specializing in male-dominated adventure dramas. But Hawks also directed some amazing other kinds of films, including a few classic screwball comedies, the terrific "Only Angels Have Wings," and some film noirs including his film before this one, "The Big Sleep."

So I expected something really special here and in fact this is well done all around. But it falls into so many of the already established stereotypes of the genre, I was surprised and had to keep my disappointment in check. Wayne is terrific as the kind of John Wayne you'd expect, and Brennan is the earthy, witty, likable type he always plays. It is probably Montgomery Clift who shines best, here in his first year in Hollywood, just before "The Heiress" and a string of other great films. This is apparently his first major acting role, as the film was shot in 1946, though another movie, "The Search" (which is very good), was released first.

It's interesting to see co-directing status for Arthur Rosson (the photographer's brother), partly because Hawks would not seem to need a second hand. But then that points to some of the really complex scenes here--mostly shot on location and with easily hundreds if not a thousand or more actual cattle. You realize as you watch this long trek through the low dry hills that the actors on horses are having to really move the cattle through this country for the filming. I'm sure they have help, and all those extras must have been good hired hands. It's still pretty neat to watch that aspect, going for example through a wide river.

In a way you can get fully invested in the movie based on the action and the acting and the characters. Directly. They are strong, believable, and their lines are well written. It's the plot that will seem to fall into familiarity too often for many of you.

Howard Hawks and Arthur Rosson's adaptation of Borden Chase's tale of cattle driving across America at first glance (in other words the first twenty minutes or so) seems almost like it won't have much to it, except to glorify the old Cowboys and Indians approach to a western, and to have the lead as a one sided viewpoint over the story. But what soon becomes clear about Red River is that the supporting characters (such as Montgomery Clift as Wayne's son, Walter Brennan as one of the fellow Cattle drivers, Joanne Dru as the lady of the bunch, and Harry Carey as a cattle buyer) bring out a greater sense of humanity to the film, and there are scenes captured by Hawks and his cameraman Russell Harlan that are, for lack of a better word, glorious. Whatever minor flaws come up from the characters is made up by the storytelling qualities of the final product. I'd have to see it again (it was months ago I first viewed it) to know for certain if it's one of the all time best westerns- as some might say- yet from what I saw it is an impressively executed tale. Grade: A

John Wayne stars as Thomas Dunson, a Cattle Baron taking his herd on a big drive from Texas to Missouri. With him is his adopted son Mathew Garth(played by Montgomery Clift) and other veteran western actors like Walter Brennan, Harry Carey Sr. and John Ireland. Joanne Dru and Colleen Gray play love interests. Things go wrong when Matt learns that they could get a better deal in Kansas, and Tom stubbornly refuses to alter his plans. This causes division, resulting in Matt taking the herd away from his adopted father, incurring the wrath from a vengeful Tom Dunson...

Reasonably entertaining film doesn't really have anyone in particular to root for, since both men had valid points, and the showdown at the end is anti-climatic. Still, Howard Hawks does a fine job directing, and a the cast is also fine, which help overcome story flaws.

There was a time that I ranked "The Searchers" the best Western ever made, with "Red River" occupying the runner-up slot. But the older I have become, the more I have come to believe that the ranking of the two movies must be reversed: "Red River" is the best Western ever made. What could be more American than the portrait of the West as frontier, as possibility? The frontier has always been a significant feature of American history. And so it is here: "Just over the next hill, and into the valley beyond, and we'll find that land we always have yearned for." What could be more American than the portrait of the young man-becoming-adult, taking on a task against enormous odds and succeeding? What was it that Mr. Melville, the character played by Harry Carey, Sr., said? "There's three times in a man's life when he has a right to yell at the moon: when he marries, when his children come, and... and when he finishes a job he had to be crazy to start." Yes, "Red River" presents the quintessential portrait of the American West.

I was the "first kid on the block" to purchase a VCR, way back in the late 60's...the RCA VBT200...no timer, no remote, no nothing! Paid $1200.00 for it (Canadian funds!)and ALL my friends told me I was nuts. I TRIED to tell them that, eventually, everybody would own a VCR but was shouted down. In any case, Red River was the first movie I taped and, deleting commercial breaks, I was ecstatic to have a Hollywood movie on hand to watch whenever the urge arose. And WHAT A MOVIE!!! I agree with earlier comments re John Wayne...who usually just played John Wayne. In THIS one, and "The Searchers", however, the director got one helluva performance out of the Duke. Also, the second movie performance by the tragical Montgomery Clift...so "pretty" in the Mohammed Ali sense that I virtually fell in love with him myself, even though I was a "straight" teenaged boy. From the opening credits, with that almost Wagnerian music by Dmitri Tiomkin, this movie (shot in 1946 and held 'til 1948 for release...I forget why)should be compulsory viewing for the brain-dead Hollywood moguls of today. Actually, there are no "moguls" left...they're all bottom-line money men who wouldn't know a good movie if they saw one..."Let's check the demographics, guys, and fill those multiple screen outlets with brain-dead teens (not really their fault as products of our so called progressive p.c. education system)and make a TON of money!" My age is showing...back to the movie. If you haven't seen it, be prepared for a LONG sojourn. This isn't brain candy...it's an allegorical treatise on the impetuousness of youth vs. the inflexible values of pioneer stock. In the end, BOTH are told to cut themselves some slack, by the "gun-totin" Joanne Dru. In summary, a Great Western, and to get back to the Duke, an amazing performance by a 39 year old made up to look like a 60 year old...and he pulled it off! The respect/fear combo of his hired trailhands is almost Shakespearian, and a tribute to the screenwriter/s and director Howard Hawks. If you've never seen it...do yourself a big favour and rent this little classic!

This is one of the dozen best John Wayne films there are. It is part of a viewing marathon that I do not plan to end until I have seen at least 18 movies - my 100th birthday celebration.

He plays a Texas cattle Baron who has to drive his herd 1000 miles to Missouri because beef is not selling in Texas after the war because there is no money. They make the first drive up the Chisolm Trail.

This film has an outstanding cast to support Wayne. Young Montgomery Clift as his partner, Walter Brennan for comic relief, and Joanne Dru as the woman that settles the feud.

One of the funniest parts is the dance between the two young colts, Montgomery Clift and John Ireland as they feel each other out to see who is top dog.

It is just a great film that no one should miss.

Tom Dunson is a self made cattle baron, he will do what ever it takes to protect the life he has made for himself. The constant fall in the value of livestock means that Tom, and his adopted son Matthew, must drive the gathered herd through the perilous Chisholm Trail, and then hope to get good value for the beef. With their assembled group of hands they head off North, but many problems will come their way, not least, a fallout due to Dunson's tyrannical ways, meaning there could well be mutiny on the range.

Without a shadow of doubt, Red River is one of the greatest Westerns ever made, boasting incredible performances from the cast, directed with sumptuous skill by Howard Hawks and photographed as good as any film in the genre. Based on the novel The Chisholm Trail written by Borden Chase (also co writing duties for the film), Red River is a sweeping spectacle that doesn't have a frame that's wasted. Hawks (this his first Western) frames his wonderfully vivid characters in lush expansive landscapes, fleshing them out amongst the constant stream of drama and action. Though Chase would be annoyed at the changes Hawks made to the story, he surely would have marvelled at the finished product, with Harlan's photography in and around the Arizona's locales capturing a cowboys terrain expertly, while Dimitri Tiomkin's score stirs the blood and pumps the viewer with Cowboy adrenaline.

If anyone doubts John Wayne as an actor of note then they need look no further than his performance here as Dunson. Tough and durable in essence the character is for sure, but Wayne manages to fuse those traits with a believable earthy determination that layers the character perfectly. With Wayne all the way, matching him stride for stride is Montgomery Clift as Matthew Garth, sensitive without being overly so, it's the perfect foil to Wayne's machismo barnstorming. Walter Brennan and John Ireland also shine bright in support, while a special mention has to go to a wonderful turn from Joanne Dru as Tess Millay, for Howard Hawks' CV shows a ream of strong female characters, and here Dru firmly puts herself in amongst the best of them - check out her first appearance alongside Clift, it's precious.

Red River made a fortune upon its release, it was revered by the critics back then, and it's still being revered today. Rightly so, because it is quite simply magic cinema, a case where everything comes together perfectly, it's in short, a film that even none Western fans should be able to marvel at as entertainment. Or? at the very least give credit to the Tech accomplishments on offer. 10/10

A truly great western about a beleaguered cattle drive from Texas to Missouri in the days immediately following the American Civil War.

I only like John Wayne when he's playing dark and disturbed, not something he played very often, but something he does very well in this film. His men stage a mutiny when they tire of his inhuman treatment of them and pledge their allegiance instead to Wayne's right-hand man (Montgomery Clift, in a terrific performance), an orphan who Wayne has brought up as a son. Father/son relationship be damned; Wayne makes it his single purpose in life to follow the drive, track down Clift and kill him for his betrayal.

The film is immensely exciting, helped in no small part by Dmitri Tiomkin's rousing score. The finale begins as a nail biter and ends on what almost amounts to a practical joke played on the audience. Had I been in a different mood I might have chosen to be irritated by it; as it was, I found it nearly perfect.

Grade: A

Westerns have always been taken too lightly, whether as pure entertainment with no substance, or hard-hitting violence that does nothing for sophisticated audiences. However, with John Ford and Howard Hawks making these kind of pictures, it is no wonder that the Western genre is still a much-loved style. Perhaps Ford was the better of the two directors in relaying the Western themes to the screen, but Hawks was the better storyteller and he shows his steady hand all throughout Red River, more than just about a cattle drive from Texas to Missouri, but also about the relationship between a man and his adopted son and what it would mean to each of them to see this accomplished.

Who would have thought that the young, handsome actor supporting and perhaps upending the great Western actor John Wayne would become that which he did? Montgomery Clift, in his screen debut, shines as the loyal but firm-headed Matt Garth, determined to see this mission through. Wayne is great as usual in this role that is somewhat of a prequel to his Ethan Edwards in Ford's The Searchers.

However, this is not really about a Western story. It is the American dream, shown in such a blissful and beautiful way that you cannot help but admire it. The widescreen photography suits the scenery just fine, complementing the beauty of the landscape despite the lack of color. The supporting cast provides most of that, especially Hawks favorite Walter Brennan as the cook Groot, always ready with a sly or smart remark.

Considered today one of the great American westerns, it is certainly one of Hawks' finest achievements; capturing an era long-gone but never too far that we cannot visit again and learn that times were tough back then but the ambition and determination that drove men to do what they did is still alive in us as Americans today.

Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) and trail hand Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan) leave the wagon train and turn south into Texas. Soon after the wagon train is attack and they find boy survivor Matthew Garth (later played by Montgomery Clift). Dunson cross the Red River, kill a man, steal a vast tract of land and start his Red River D ranch. Fourteen years later, the war has devastated the south and there is no market for his beef. Dunson has no money but thousands of heads of cattle. He's a hard man all too willing to put his brand on other people's cattle. Matthew has a mind of his own returning after the war. They clash as the dictatorial Dunson drive the herd on the long trek to Missouri.

This is old fashion with some twists from Howard Hawks's first western. John Wayne is full of machismo and a hard American frontiersman. In other westerns, he is the heroic protagonist. It's not quite so simple here although many would still root for him. Montgomery Clift gets the perfect role for him opposite Wayne. Howard Hawks brings the majestic west down to a personal relationship between the two leads.

The 1940s were the decade when the Western came of age. After years languishing in the B-movie doldrums during the 1930s, the genre had made a triumphal comeback with pictures of increasing stature and importance. Many of these 40s Westerns explored and restated the popular clichés of the cowboy movie. More importantly, they recognised, for the first time since the early 30s, that the old west could be a setting for stirring and powerful stories.

Red River proves this point, using the plains and cattle drives as a backdrop for a tale of loyalty, love and the trials of life, with a scope as vast as the West itself. The screenplay is by Borden Chase, who wrote many classic Westerns, and Charles Schnee, a dramatic writer who would win an Oscar for The Bad and the Beautiful, and their two divergent strands blend beautifully. The story has a deep impact because it is a masterwork in build-up and pay-off. Take for example the character played by Harry Carey Jr., who exists in the plot purely to be the human victim of a stampede. We first see him in the scene where the men sign up for the drive, when he stands up just after another man has made his excuses for not coming along. We think he is also wanting to stay behind, and John Wayne says as much, but Carey is in fact expressing his willingness. This moment makes us remember him, and perhaps the thought will cross our minds that he's a bit of a young lad to be going out on the drive. It makes his death later in the picture really mean something. On a wider scale a similar thing is done with Wayne's character. The loss of his woman is described in a brief handful of scenes at the beginning. He is never seen referring to this again, but if affects the way we see the character and seems to feed into everything he does.

These aspects of the story are brought out with great depth by director Howard Hawks. Those crucial opening moments are played out in a series of iconic images which, in spite of their brevity, linger in the mind for the duration of the picture – Wayne and Colleen Gray in a wild embrace, the tiny wagon upon the landscape, the Indians rushing towards us. Throughout, Hawks is constantly telling the story, or at least delineating the characters through visual means. In the scene where Wayne argues with another man over the quality of the coffee and says they won't turn back, Montgomery Clift is placed between them, and while the two men speak it's his reactions we see. When Joanne Dru first appears it looks as if she is just an extra, but she is in fact centre screen and a light is on her face, so we take note of her before she becomes a character. Few directors were as good as Hawks at emphasising the actions over the words. Notice how those handwritten title cards begin to fade out before you've had a chance to read them entirely – that's because the words don't really matter.

The two leading stars of Red River at first seem an unlikely pairing. On the one hand we have John Wayne, already intrinsically associated with the genre before this era, having starred in numerous B-westerns in the 30s. On the other we have a complete newcomer in Montgomery Clift, handsome rather than rugged, with a background in theatre. And yet they complement each other brilliantly. Wayne seems hewn out of very rock of the mountains, which makes it all the more poignant when he shows a bit of sensitivity, in what is the first of his truly great acting performances. Clift by comparison is so lithe and innocent-looking, that he has all the more impact when he eventually stands up for himself and fights. Somewhere these two very different actors meet each other halfway, and this is what makes their rocky father-son relationship work.

With all this bright storytelling and powerful acting, not to mention the rousing and evocative Dmitri Tiomkin score, Red River adds up to more than the sum of its parts. It is not merely a great Western, it is a part of Western mythology. Unlike many of the pictures from its time, it features few of the clichés with which the genre is saturated, but is nevertheless rich in the Western's familiar imagery. This is the West of Russell and Remington, the world that all those elegiac Westerns a decade or so later would be mourning the loss of. It is pictures like this that elevate the Western from a mere historical setting to a genre in its own right.

In Texas 1851, Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) is bringing his cattle to Red River, when his adopted son Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift) turns against him.

Director John Ford was the undisputed master of the western, and the man who launched John Wayne to stardom in "Stagecoach" (1939). That being said, it is no surprise that when Howard Hawks made "Red River", his first western, he consciously used Ford as his marker. This paid off. While relatively few of Hawks' overall output was westerns, he may be best remembered for this film and "Rio Bravo".

Both Ford and Hawks are now considered the best in the western genre, though the edge is still Ford's. While Ford was the first to admit that Hawks got the best performance of Wayne's career (up to this point) out of "Red River", Ford still has the more iconic western films overall. And Hawks probably did his best work in other genres, or through no specific genre at all. Geoffrey O'Brien wrote that Hawks was "inclined more toward unsentimental comedy than soul-searching melodrama." (With regards to Wayne's acting, his acting is indeed melodramatic at times, but less so here than in other roles.)

Allegedly, there was some concern that John Wayne and Montgomery Clift would not get along due to political reasons and Clift's known homosexuality. In some ways, this background is more interesting than the film itself. Imagine an openly gay man co-starring alongside Wayne and Walter Brennan. Wayne actively tried to get Clift thrown off the set, rumors started that he was having an affair with John Ireland... and when Clift was offered a role in "Rio Bravo", he turned the part down to avoid Wayne.

The homosexuality may even have been written in as a subtext. There is the scene between Ireland and Clift, where they compare guns and take each other's measure by "walking" a can across the ground with their pistol shots, which is now a film classic. The odd thing is that Ireland may not have been gay, so how the rumor has spread is unclear. (Further confusing the matter is that if this was Clift's first acting gig, how were his politics and sexuality known quantities to the other stars?)

Walter Brennan's distinctive voice is good for some subtle humor, and Montgomery Clift looks like Tom Cruise in his prime when he wears a hat. Clift is better as a priest ("I Confess") than a cowboy, though. Clift was apparently directed by Hawks to play down his acting around Wayne, even to hide behind a coffee cup so as not to steal a scene, so we have to give him a little credit, even if this is not his best work.

Interesting, when John Wayne was asked about what film he considered his best, this did not immediately come to mind. Instead, after listing several others, he said this film has the best cattle drive of his films. That says very little, though it does call to mind the brilliance of the 360-degree shot that Hawks used to give the impression of thousands of cattle when they only had hundreds. Look for the cuts and you likely will not find them.

If editor Christian Nyby is to be believed, and there is no reason to doubt him, much of the film's success actually falls on him. At one point, Hawks was over budget and was shooting too much material, while his two editors were not bringing forth a decent film from all this. Nyby was called in by Hawks as a favor (after convincing Jack Warner to loan him out) and worked on "Red River" at night while editing Raoul Walsh's "Fighter Squadron" (1948) during the day. He received a much-deserved Oscar nomination for this.

The Criterion Collection released the film in 2014, and gave it the royal treatment: two versions of the film, the picture cleaned up to the best it has ever looked, a great interview with Peter Bogdanovich. On top of this, a nice booklet and even the original story the film is based on. Definitely a must-own for fans.