Western

Red River

Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.

Release Date : 1948-08-26

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : United ArtistsMonterey ProductionsCharles K. Feldman Group

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Thomas Dunson

Original Name : John Wayne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Matthew Garth

Original Name : Montgomery Clift

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tess Millay

Original Name : Joanne Dru

Gender : Female

Character Name : 'Groot' Nadine

Original Name : Walter Brennan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fen

Original Name : Coleen Gray

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Melville

Original Name : Harry Carey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cherry Valance

Original Name : John Ireland

Gender : Male

Character Name : Buster McGee

Original Name : Noah Beery Jr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dan Latimer

Original Name : Harry Carey, Jr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Quo

Original Name : Chief Yowlachie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teeler Yacey

Original Name : Paul Fix

Gender : Male

Character Name : Simms Reeves

Original Name : Hank Worden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Matt, as a boy

Original Name : Mickey Kuhn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Walt Jergens

Original Name : Ray Hyke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Leather

Original Name : Hal Taliaferro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dance Hall Girl in Wagon Train (uncredited)

Original Name : Shelley Winters

Gender : Female

Character Name : Colonel (uncredited)

Original Name : Lane Chandler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Meeker (uncredited)

Original Name : Davison Clark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gambler (uncredited)

Original Name : Harry Cording

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dunston Rider (uncredited)

Original Name : Richard Farnsworth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fernandez (uncredited)

Original Name : Paul Fierro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rider with Melville (uncredited)

Original Name : George Lloyd

Gender : Male

Character Name : Colonel's Trail Boss (uncredited)

Original Name : Pierce Lyden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Train Engineer (uncredited)

Original Name : Frank Meredith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Settler (uncredited) (uncredited)

Original Name : John Merton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drover at Meeting (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Montgomery

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bunk Kenneally (uncredited)

Original Name : Ivan Parry

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gambler (uncredited)

Original Name : Lee Phelps

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drover at Meeting (uncredited)

Original Name : John Rice

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sutter (uncredited)

Original Name : William Self

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cowhand (uncredited)

Original Name : Carl Sepulveda

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wagon Train Member (uncredited)

Original Name : Ray Spiker

Gender : Male

Character Name : Naylor (uncredited)

Original Name : Glenn Strange

Gender : Male

Character Name : Quitter (uncredited)

Original Name : Tom Tyler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Laredo (uncredited)

Original Name : Dan White

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pete (uncredited)

Original Name : Guy Wilkerson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wagon Train Member (uncredited)

Original Name : Shelley Winters

Gender : Female

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Bury those quitters! 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

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-07-09

Perhaps not a film you'd expect to work given the stars, but John Wayne and Monty Clift do manage to convey a sense of a repectful, but loving relationship - something I don't recall ever seeing before (or since) in a Wayne film towards another man. Hawks takes us on a dirty, unrelenting cattle drive and we can almost feel the strains and tension build as the younger man rails against the almost brutal control of his father-figure. Walter Brennan, as ever, is superb but in this has a little more nuanced a role treading a fine line between his old friend and their younger protégé. The photography really does demonstrate just how tough the whole enterprise would have been for the real cattle drivers and the denouement is superbly staged. A truly epic example of the Western genre that is as good as it gets.