Red River

1948  NR  WESTERN  2h 7min

CAST— John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Noah Beery, Jr., Paul Fix, Coleen Gray, Harry Carey, Jr., Harry Carey, Sr., Chief Yowlachie, Hank Worden

MUSIC— Dimitri Tiomkin  DIRECTOR— Howard Hawks  BASED ON— Blazing Guns on the Chisholm Trail (story), by Borden Chase

     Another superior western starring the Duke; but not as the square-jawed do-gooder the audience is acquainted with. Here he plays a bitter loner on his way to Texas who takes in a wandering youth and teaches him how to raise beef. Years later (after the boy has grown into Montgomery Clift) the Civil War is over, the South is poor and Wayne is broke, with a myriad of cattle on his hands. He and Clift decide to round up every last one and tackle the most risky cattle drive ever attempted. No way will it be easy. They must conquer the elements, survive stampedes and contend with each other. Here’s where the real dynamic lies; Wayne and Clift, once a father/son duo of sorts, now turn against one another. As Wayne increasingly becomes the tyrannical slave driver for this little field trip, Clift begins to hear the voice of reason and see how desperate their situation truly is. Both of the stars are in fine form, as are the supporting cast, in this grand scale adventure. Deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry.

OUR RATING— ***