Red River Reviews and Ratings


  • ElCochran90
    September 18, 2009
    ElCochran90
    A visual-spectacle western for the senses, and an amazing John Wayne.

    83/100
  • sanjurosamurai
    August 21, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    a near perfect western and one of the best films of the 1940's. clift was perfect in his debut, wayne gives one of the best performances of his career, and the characters developed for the film were engaging and well suited for the story. as westerns go, this film is far more e...( read more)pic than most as we expirience a well crafted cattle drive over the course of 1,000 miles. great action, high emotion, and an excellent story place this film up there as yet another great film from the masterful howard hawks. the only thing holding this film back from really being my favorite western of all time is the late infusion of tess's character into the story. she felt forced, which might have been a script issue but was more than likely the weakness of joanne dru's performance. aside from this one misstep red river is one of the greatest westerns ever made.
  • SummonMorphling
    July 28, 2009
    SummonMorphling
    Why do Indians always want to be burnin' up good wagons?




    I've watched a lot of movies, but gasp, I haven?t seen one with John Wayne until now. I expected him in full hero mode, but in "Red River," he?s a man of complexity. He plays Thomas Dunson, a ...( read more)very driven man who raises a herd of cattle near the northern Texas border. When he has produced enough hundreds of cows, he intends on moving the herd all the way to Missouri to be sold. Joined by his adopted son Matt (Montgomery Clift) and dozen or so cowboys, Dunson leads a trek through the heartland with an iron fist. He is harsh, commanding, and narrow-minded. The men become uneasy under his command and Matt, sensing Dunson getting out of control, has to gather some nerve to stand up to him. Let's look up what Merriam-Webster has to say about "mutiny," shall we?

    "Red River? is an impressive achievement for a 1948 film. I even wondered how the whole thing was filmed. Shot mostly outdoors, the film crew must have been at the mercy of rough terrains, sweltering heat, and an amateur cast of bovines. But it sure looks worth it. There?s something thrilling about a massive herd moving across the screen. And there?s something special in knowing that not one cow is digitally done. Indeed, there is a sense of authenticity, enhanced by John Wayne?s precise portrayal. Wayne is not a showy actor, but he doesn?t need to be to command the screen. By his stare, stance, and language, he?s darn compelling. Clift has a less challenging role, but the man looks game in his first film. Going toe to toe with John Wayne ? not a bad start for a movie gig.

    I did have one colossal problem with ?Red River.? The movie begins with a brooding Shakespearean premise but it ends like a neat romantic comedy. Director Howard Hawks builds up incredible tension for the final duel/fight and yet the outcome seems like a joke. I hope somebody dig up the film archives and find an alternate ending. It should have ended on a more realistic and tragic note. The movie should have not aimed for a neat ending, and as a result, it missed greatness by a long shot.

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  • shchase2000
    July 25, 2009
    shchase2000
    Saw it before and really love his movies
  • kenstachnik
    July 24, 2009
    kenstachnik
    So good it makes me giggle. One of the best westerns of all time.
  • Ghw12158
    June 14, 2009
    Ghw12158
    amazing western with benefits
  • FangsFirst
    April 10, 2009
    FangsFirst
    "Take 'em to Missouri, Matt."

    I've heard and read that quote a few times now--first I read it in Garth Ennis' Preacher, one of the John Wayne quotes Jesse Custer's father had him repeat as he tried to raise him with an appreciation for the Duke, and later in The Last P...( read more)icture Show where the scene containing the line was shown in the theatre. Of course, I was quite miffed, believing I'd just seen the ending scene (something suggested to me this was the ending, mostly the energy of it, but possibly some dialogue) and now knew how the film ended. Whoops. If you're reading this, I imagine you've seen Red River before (as I know few people who would willingly keep reading after "John Wayne" unless they already liked his work), so you know that it's nothing of the kind. It's even fairly early, for that matter. Still, I tried to push it from my mind--forget who said it, whether perhaps it was Montgomery Clift repeating it in "tribute" to Wayne at the end to commemorate his death or something. No, it was that scene from early in the film, and there was no repetition of his lines to commemorate his character of Dunson (who may or may not die--you'll have to watch, sorry).

    Thomas Dunson (Wayne) and "Groot" Nadine (Walter Brennan) split from a wagon train to take up land in Texas where Dunson plans to start a ranch. He refuses to take along Fen (Coleen Gray), suggesting the road he's on will be too tough for a woman. She tries to prove in an embrace that she's not so weak as he think, but he is immovable, and off the two of them set. As Dunson makes camp some miles off, they notice that there is smoke in the distance behind them. The Comanche have destroyed the wagon train, and Dunson and Groot lie in wait for them to reach their own, lone wagon. They arrive in small groups, enough for Groot and Dunson to take down, but one is wearing a bracelet of Fen's, and Dunson realizes that she is lost for his decision to keep her back. Out of the distance finally wanders a small boy, Matthew Garth (Mickey Kuhn), leading a cow. He's in shock, but Dunson brings him out of it. They make their way out toward the Rio Grande and Dunson lays claim to the land north of it, killing representatives of Don Diego, who maintains ownership of enormous stretches of land north and south of the river. Dunson plans for his ranch, and creates his brand for the two cattle they have so far, and we come forward fourteen years to see a herd of cattle that numbers in the thousands. Matt has returned older (now played by Clift), and they prepare to drive the cattle to Missouri to bring some worth to fourteen years' work. Gathering gunslinger Cherry Valance (John Ireland) and many restless inhabitants of the dying town, they begin the thousand mile drive. They deal with ranchers whose cattle have wandered into Dunson's herd and a stampede caused by an innocent vice, all of which slowly build into the increased drinking and sleeplessness of the increasingly cruel and strict Dunson, until Matt decides he must take over the drive and leave Dunson's methods behind.

    I think I was expecting something entirely different from this, which is something I know I say a lot--but this was indeed the movie my father kept suggesting when I said I was starting to watch John Wayne movies. I think I forgot why over the course of time, and that John Ford said of him after seeing the movie that he "never knew the big son-of-a-bitch could act." The opening scenes in particular led me to low expectations, with some stilted acting, both physically and vocally, from most of the early cast (who left the film after it flashed forward, barring Wayne). I thought I was in for a pretty standard western, with dialogue (based on Borden Chase's newspaper-published story and scripted by Chase and Charles Schnee, whose name simply made me titter as I thought "Snow?" and said "Schnee" aloud for fun) that borders on an intensity of melodrama I really can't quite stomach--"Those two are going to come to a conflict, and it will be something to see," sorts of things, just terribly obvious "foreshadowing" (almost more like in-movie spoilers, really). Oddly, the film seems to wander out of this territory about a third of the way through as Dunson begins to overreact and decide he is judge, jury and executioner, doling out severe punishments for mistakes and offenses that, while possibly horrendous in end result, do not exactly deserve such a response.

    Suddenly Dunson is effectively the villain and I'm left wondering why this is a role that fit into the context it was used in by Garth Ennis. This is not a positive role for Wayne as a character, though it is indeed an excellent one for him as an actor. He's stubborn and impulsive, but not in that irascible (but lovable!) way he is in, say, Mark Rydell's The Cowboys some decades later. He's a colossal jerk, and none of the other characters (especially Matt) are unwilling to tell him this. Perhaps this may have some relevance to Wayne's homophobic distaste for Clift, I can't be sure, but it feels authentic and right, and not as if the other characters are misleading us away from Dunson. The film itself condones their condemnation of his actions, and I was quite surprised by this--though of course it was not at the height of Wayne's career, but far enough along that I'm sure he had an existing fanbase. There's a certain level of Ethan Edwards at play here, but more openly and obviously condemned than that role, where I think I expected something more like Rooster Cogburn, Wil Andersen or John T. Chance (as this was, of course, also a Howard Hawks/Wayne collaboration). It was a pleasant surprise really, in, I suppose, the same way it was for Ford himself.

    I've talked about the three primary approaches to stuntwork before, at least in action films, but I neglected to mention earlier ones, which tend to bear a resemblance to the approach of 70s film but seem even more ludicrously unsafe. It's as if they turn on the camera and cross their fingers as they set an actor or stuntman out to do something. The stampede is magnificent--brilliantly set up with a tense discussion of how likely a stampede will be, and how scary their results can be--but some of the fear from it is a little knotting of the stomach over wondering what on earth possessed some of these stuntmen to take part in the scene. There's no easy way to control a herd of thousands of cattle (apparently Herefords disguised as the then-near extinct Texas longhorns by putting a handful of longhorns in front of scenes where the herd appears) while making them appear to (hopefully not actually) stampede that I can imagine, but there they are, expert riders or not. There's always that moment of "all-too-visible" danger that looks not even remotely dangerous as they relied on editing (perhaps double exposure) to make it appear that someone falls into the herd, made effective by good editing this time (though not always effective in other instances).

    Dmitri Tiomkin puts in an excellent score, too, which is very brassy in that classic western way, but gives itself its own identity at the same time, making this in general an unusual western that seems to nest politely in genre confines like many an animal, circling and rearranging the padding of the box it's choosing to place itself in, but not disturbing the outer boundaries too terribly much. This is probably the movie to show anyone who doubts Wayne's ability, or suggests he always plays the same character. This isn't to say it's without flaws, as I was left a little bewildered by a few dangling threads (what happened to Cherry at the end, exactly? what about Meeker's payment?) and felt that there had clearly been some fat excised from the film, but felt some of it was a little clumsy in its removal, with lead-ins for plots (the claim that Cherry and Matt will come to blows or shots, for instance) that go nowhere, not even with anticlimactic resolution. Still, the film around these odd patches is excellent and holds to itself very well, despite its rocky beginning and becomes thoroughly engaging and interesting.
  • emeraldstar5201
    April 5, 2009
    emeraldstar5201
    One of my all time favorite JW movies
  • Soundsofmadness
    March 28, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • jonnycrumley
    March 22, 2009
    jonnycrumley
    Great western. Red River tells the story of a 1000 mile cattle drive across the old west. Similar story to A Mutiny on the Bounty, as The Duke and Montgomery Clift square off against each other. I thought for a while Wayne would finally get to be a villain, but spoil sport Joanne...( read more) Dru puts a stop to that. Although Red River was epic in length, legendary director Howard Hawks keep the story engaging, with plenty of drama, humor, and great cinematography.
  • ima365ryder
    March 11, 2009
    ima365ryder
    Outstanding movie John Wayne is my family favorite actor
  • grnled1620
    March 5, 2009
    grnled1620
    ok but not one of his best
  • donaldwhite1
    January 31, 2009
    donaldwhite1
    Red River is a classic western. It is the movie were John Wayne transitioned from playing a young handsome lending man to playing the crusty middle age John Wayne character he played in most of the rest of his movies. It's the story (however fictional) of the first cattle drive o...( read more)n the Chisholm Trial. Although they used short horn cattle and a few long horns (the real cattle drives were all longhorns) they captured the look and feel of a real cattle drive. The black and white helps convey the grittiness of a cattle drive. The story starts out in 1851 when John Wayne leaves a wagon train in Oklahoma that is on it's way to California. The problem is that the real wagon trains to the California gold fields in 1851 went through Nebraska on the Oregon Trail. After he leaves his girl friend with the wagon trail John Wayne and Walter Brennan go to Texas with a long horn bull. The wagon train is ambushed by Indians and only a young boy survives with a long horn cow. He joins up with John Wayne after John Wayne fights off the Indians. Of course the the guns he used were the type used in the Civil War ten years later, but that is typical of westerns in the 1940's through 1960's to use historically inaccurate props. Later in the movie when it's supposed to be 1865 the cowboys all have guns that were invented in the 1870's. In order to get his land John Wayne has to shoot a Mexican who says he works for a landlord that lives south of the Rio Grande. I suppose this is suppose to represent the Mexican War and John Wayne represents the U.S.A. Then the story jumps to 1865 and the young boy has grown into Montgomery Clift and the bull and cow to a herd of thousands of cattle. But then the Texas longhorns really were brought to Texas by the Spanish 200 years earlier and ran wild throughout Texas in the 1860's. All the men in Texas have just returned from the Civil War and are broke and in desperate need of money. John Wayne decides to organize a cattle drive to Missouri up the old Texas Road that runs from present day Dallas to present day Joplin. The movie tries to make it sound dangerous with outlaw bands waiting in Missouri to steal all the cattle and kill the cowboys. The truth was that the Texas Road went through the mountains and forests of eastern Oklahoma. The first cattle drives that took that route lost 20 to 30 percent of their herds in the thick blackjack forests. The Chisholm Trail went through the open plains of western Oklahoma with no trees. The cowboys could see their cattle for miles and lost very few and if they went at the right pace the cattle actually gained weight in the lush grasslands. When John Wayne hears about the new Chisholm Trail he doesn't believe there is a railroad in Kansas and wants to push ahead to Missouri. After a stampede some of his men desert and when they are caught he wants to hang them. Montgomery Clift stops him and takes his herd away from him and goes up the Chisholm Trail. In the movie they have already crossed the Red River into Oklahoma; however, the real Chisholm Trial starts in central Texas somewhere south of Dallas. Anyway they make their way to Abilene, meets a wagon train with dance hall girls on the way. Montgomery Clift falls in love with one of the women in the wagon train. John Wayne collects a posse and follows them to Abilene were there is the final confrontation. The End.
  • stopitgoaway
    January 10, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    Fourteen years ago Thomas Dunson entered Texas across Red River with two head of cattle, his trail hand, and a young boy, Matt Garth, who survived an Indian attack on a wagon train that killed Dunson's sweetheart. After years of development he is now head of a ranch and is prepar...( read more)ing to drive his head of thousands of cattle up to Missouri for sale, despite the perils. However Dunson's brutal leadership style bucks up against the more peaceful Matt, leading to a rebellion and a splitting of the ways between Dunson and his adopted son.

    With an early scene establishing both Dunson's methods (taking land by force) and the source of much of his future bitterness and rage, this film sets itself out to be a real good character piece and pretty much manages to do it. The plot sweeps across 14 years but doesn't suffer for it. The main plot device is the cattle drive, which is depicted with affection here, however the main story is the conflict between Dunson and Matt's methods and views on man management. This aspect is not given quite as much time as I had hoped and tends to be over shadowed by the scale of the cattle drive itself ? however this is still good.

    The weakest point here is the romance which feels tacked on at the end. Not only does it feel unnecessary but it doesn't really work very well either. To make matters worse ? when the conflict between Dunson and Matt manifests itself physically, it is devalued by the involvement of Tess somewhat. Wayne's leading man is strong and is a good performance considering how unpopular he is as a character. Clift gives a balanced performance and stands up well alongside the Duke. The support cast is full of western favourites and does well to fill the story out with colour, comic relief from Brennan's chuck wagon driver is great fun.

    Overall this is a good western that I felt didn't quite reach it's full potential as a film. It could have gone further with the battle of wills between the characters but instead the cattle drive takes the lion's share of screen time. Having said that, there is still plenty to enjoy with both the character clashes and the perils of the cattle drive itself.
  • deano
    January 1, 2009
    deano
    After seeing this Western, John Ford remarked, "I didn't know the big lug could act." The "big lug" he was referring to was the star, John Wayne, whom Ford had brought to stardom in 1939's Stagecoach. This shoot-'em-up adaption of Mutiny on the Bounty features Wayne...( read more) at his best in the role of a tough rancher making a historic cattle drive.
  • estelar
    November 30, 2008
    estelar
    Rio Vermelho: Um dos melhores faroestes já feitos, esta 'monumental, arrebatadora e vigorosa' obra-prima (Variety) destaca-se por suas interpretações intensas, formidável fotografia e aventura em grande escala. Estrelando John Wayne, Montgomery Clift (em sua estréia no cinema), W...( read more)alter Brennan, Harry Carey, Sr. e Sra. Noah Beery, Jr., Rio Vermelho é uma Intensa aventura repleta de ação que captura a grandiosidade, imponência - e perigo - do selvagem oeste americano. Wayne nos presenteia com 'uma das melhores performances de sua carreira' (Cinebooks) como Tom Dunson, um homem que tornou-se rei do gado e fará qualquer coisa para proteger seu meio de vida. Então, quando o valor do gado despenca, obrigando-o a conduzir seu rebanho através da traiçoeira Trilha Chisholm, Tom prova que está disposto a arriscar tudo para alcançar seu destino... bem como sua própria sanidade.
  • PvtCaboose91
    November 5, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "You should have let 'em kill me, 'cause I'm gonna kill you. I'll catch up with ya. I don't know when, but I'll catch up. Every time you turn around, expect to see me, 'cause one time you'll turn around and I'll be there. I'm gonna kill ya, Matt."


    Howard Hawks' Re

    ...( read more)d River is fundamentally a Western appropriation of Mutiny on the Bounty. This superlative 1948 Western united director Hawks and star John Wayne for the first time (in the ensuing decades they collaborated on such films as Rio Bravo, El Dorado and Rio Lobo), and it's extensively considered the finest product of the Hawks/Wayne partnership.

    Red River is a monumental, sweeping, and powerful masterpiece infused with top-notch performances, stunning cinematography and adventure on a grand scale. John "The Duke" Wayne turns in one of the greatest performances of his entire career. For a majority of his acting career, The Duke generally appeared on autopilot (he did star in over 100 Westerns). Red River is a rare exception...John Wayne is passionate and convincing, with an authoritative screen persona that's difficult to overlook. Director John Ford (who directed The Duke for numerous Westerns like Stagecoach, The Searchers and Rio Grande) reportedly saw Red River and said "I didn't know the big lug could act". This is a truly stand-out addition to the Western genre: it's a majestic, exquisite adventure that captures the grandeur, splendour and danger of the wild American West. It's a grand epic about earning respect, loyalty, love and money.

    Similar to most cinematic Westerns, the plot is deceptively simple. Tom Dunson (Wayne) has turned the barren Texas land across the Red River into thriving cattle territory. The story begins years earlier as Tom acquires this land...shooting a few rivals in the process. Tom also meets a young teenage orphan named Matthew who was the only survivor of a wagon train massacre. Fast forward fourteen years, and Matthew (Clift, in his film debut) is returning from his military duties. Due to economic changes brought about by the Civil War, the bottom falls out of beef market in the Southern States. Unfortunately, this renders Tom's cattle quite worthless. But the self-made cattle baron owns about 9,000 cows and is utterly poor. With little option, he decides to organise a cattle drive to Missouri. This will be a long, dangerous trek. As Tom drives his herd and employees through the treacherous Chisholm Trail, he proves that he'll risk anything to reach his destination...even his own sanity. As the days pass by, Tom turns into more of a tyrant and the men begin to turn against him.

    Red River is a glorious, leisurely-paced adaptation of the story The Chisholm Trail. Director Howard Hawks should be familiar to anyone who loves classic movies. He's a man capable of staging slick action and interesting dialogue. Hawks infuses this film with striking, expressive, exciting sequences of stampeding, rough weather, general cowboy-ing and Indian skirmishes. Red River is a Western of epic proportions. Thousands of cows and hundreds of horses were used for the film's production. The river crossing is particularly breathtaking. Horses, wagons, cowboys and cattle cross rushing waters in real time from every angle, conveying the danger of such a feat and therefore the valour of the American cowboy. The film even emulates the custom of employing title cards to distinguish the various chapters of the tale.

    The splendid locations are marvellously photographed by Russell Harlan. There are rugged landscapes clouded by diminutive dust bowls kicked up by the cattle. There's also a 360° panorama comprised of three individual shots, and an atmospheric sequence illuminated by a swinging lantern. Red River depicts American West ideals - self-interest, eccentricity and capitalism - in action. Earning and spending money is virtually celebrated, from an Indian seeking maximum value to a stuttering young cowboy who aims to buy a gift for his wife.

    Bordon Chase (author of the original story) and Charles Schnee's script (the uncredited Howard Hawks also made contributions) contains intriguing characters and underlying messages, moving at a careful pace as the story steadily unfolds. The script is hampered by a few problems, however. For a start the Indians are once again shown as people who endlessly slaughter for the sake of killing. The screenwriters also have a tendency to write speeches where conversations or physical behaviour would be more appropriate. Being a 40s movie, there's a desperate attempt to evade prostitution references when the men encounter a wagon of women who are obviously prostitutes. It derails the drama of the first scene shared by Montgomery Clift and Joanna Dru. There are occasional lapses into self-conscious artiness throughout the film as well. In addition to this, the drama builds to an atrocious ending that belies the emotion of the rest of the picture. The climax seems overly rushed and too "feel good". It also weakens the characters. On the plus side, production values are a wonder to behold. There are authentic costumes and props to replicate the period. Traditional wagons and horses are utilised as well. Then there's Dmitri Tiomkin's stirring score, adding another layer of pure heroism to the portrayal of the American cowboy.

    A sterling John Wayne is at a high standard in this picture. As quoted before, The Duke's frequent collaborator John Ford has been quoted as saying he never knew the guy could act. This is definitely one of Wayne's absolute best performances. His fits the character of Dunson like a pair of gloves. Seeing John Wayne put in such a performance as a tortured man with two sides to him is mesmerising. His character also functions as a hero and a villain.
    Montgomery Clift makes his stunning feature film debut in this film. Even with a screen legend beside him, Clift more than holds his own; tempering Wayne's swagger with a quieter nature of confidence and allegiance. He acts as a counterbalance to the screen presence of Wayne.
    Walter Brennan offers one of his greatest screen performances to date.
    John Ireland is the cocky, overeager young gunslinger who accompanies the crew for their cattle drive. The remaining supporting cast carry out their duties admirably.

    Red River abides by the quintessential Western conventions: lots of cows, a bit of shooting, murderous Indians, extensive landscapes, big heroic men, lots of yahooing and little women. It's ultimately a tad clichéd, but as an early Western it was made when the clichés were still being established. Red River is reportedly an accurate portrayal about the life of a cattle herder during the post-Civil War days.

    This film is a sheer delight that succeeds on multiple levels. Firstly: it's an examination of John Wayne's heroic likeness, here shown as unnecessarily authoritarian and stubborn as he comes into conflict with his more liberal surrogate son. Wayne's Tom Dunson progressively receives further criticism from the garrulous Groot (Brennan) for his habitual execution of deserters. Secondly: this performs as an additional variation on director Hawks' perennial trepidation with the theme of self-respect and professionalism. And finally, Red River is an intimate epic commemorating the passion of the institution of civilisation in the rough American West, with Matthew's common refusal to resort to the gun that is viewed as essential by the trigger-happy Wayne. If you're looking for an orientation into the John Wayne craze, this is a recommended title to do so (also recommended is the later Hawks/Wayne collaboration Rio Bravo).


    "We brought nothing into this world and it's certain we can carry nothing out."
  • HuskersNC949597
    October 28, 2008
    HuskersNC949597
    Sincerely classic westerner with interesting character development and even John Wayne manages not to sound like a complete dork reading his lines.
  • smith44
    October 6, 2008
    smith44
    One of the best westerns ever, and after the Seachers John Wayne's best performance. He sure can play it mean. A Western adaptation of Muntiny On The Bounty, which makes for a ripping drama. Favourite quote: "There are only two things more beautiful than a good gun -- a Swiss wat...( read more)ch and a woman from anywhere. Have you ever had a good Swiss watch?" What could he possibly mean...?
  • thrusz
    October 4, 2008
    thrusz
    I actually feel bad reviewing this one. Usually, when I review a movie, it is at least a week or two fresh. I think I watched this movie six weeks ago. I have been negligent to my movie watching duties (but wildly responsible to the rest of my real world duties.) I guess you ...( read more)have to weigh those scales and see what is more important. To the filmmakers of Red River, I apologize for the lack of detail that I will be providing with this movie.

    I went on another Western kick when I watched Red River. I had just finished High Plains Drifter and was wildly crazy about it. I knew I was in for another treat (albeit of a drastically different nature) when I sat down to Red River. Again, while I respect and like a lot of John Wayne's movies, he does very little for me as an actor. The treat that I was really in for was the appearance of Montgomery Clift. I haven't seen a lot of Montgomery Clift movies, but was absolutely floored by him in I Confess. While not exactly one of Hitchcock's super famous films like Psycho or Vertigo, it does offer the most amount of human conflict out of all of his films (much to Hitchcock's disappointment I hear. Clift added so much angst that Hitch just wanted to finish the movie.) From there, I have really been waiting to see him in something else. Let's just say that Red River does not disappoint.

    I really like when Westerns are just about the West. I always liked the Wild West as a backdrop, but I have always been more interested in the character drama and conflict more than the shootouts and the like. This movie starts to look like it could just be praise for the Old West, but there is a lot more going for this movie than the superficial attachment to a bygone era. But there is some real stuff going on here and that is absolutely fantastic. I can't completely discount John Wayne's performance, but I don't think the recipe for success can be found in his approach the character. Mostly, this success comes from both a very well written script and, again, the great Montgomery Clift.

    First to approach the script aspect. The script is this very subtle, real approach to an impossible situation. There is no way that this movie would have just been working if it had been man against the elements. I already watched James Stewart do it in Bend of the River, and he can hold that kind of film together. Rather, we see the buildup of a very good man. Wayne's character is self-sacrificing and strong. He takes care of those around him and stands for justice. But he pours too much of himself out for the sake of a dream and that, slowly-but-surely, bites him in the butt. It's that very slow approach to the movie that makes it work. I won't say that the movie is paced badly. Heck, I think it is interesting all the way through, but it isn't a lightswich (new Star Wars trilogy take note) from him turning from a very heroic character into an evil despot. I mentioned earlier that Wayne's performance is adequate. I usually am a fan of the darker character's acting than I am of the hero's. It makes me think what this movie would have been like if this role had been recast.

    Next, Montgomery Clift is just absolutely stunning in this part. When you give the man something to work with, he will work it as much as he can. He's the kind of guy who completely strips the meat off the bone and finds that core to suck on for a while. There are these conflicted moments that people go through that Clift explores that are marvelous. You know the man did the right thing for the good of everyone, but there's also the guilt that comes with betraying a father figure. His conflict makes you consider that maybe he didn't do the right thing. Down to the end, you still question his decisions and that is a marvelous thing to observe as a moviegoer.

    The one thing that I really didn't dig is the overly happy ending. I don't believe that after all that, bygones could just be bygones. While we as the audience are aware of the two men's prides, the characters shouldn't accept that kind of insight. Yes, the girl could see it, but a few words weren't going to fix that problem. Part of the issue, I think, is that the story built up this huge conflict and there was very little that was going to settle it without one or both of them getting shot by someone. The movie didn't really want that kind of gloominess, but I think that it might have needed it to really sell the idea as a whole.

    But outside of that one weaker moment, the story is really very great and is pretty fantastic. Clift with this script is just extraordrinarily well mixed and I have to appreciate Howard Hawks for seeing talent in this kid.
  • NIGHTRIDER111
    October 1, 2008
    NIGHTRIDER111
    GOOD MOVIE WORTH WATCHING.
  • bluebuffalo3
    September 8, 2008
    bluebuffalo3
    very good like it lots
  • ryanbg
    July 16, 2008
    ryanbg
    Another great John Wayne western, and this one has Montgomery Clift to help out. Watch John Wayne go totally nutso - it's great!!!
  • lucasaq
    July 11, 2008
    lucasaq
    One of the ultimate in westerns from John Wayne is once again a film where he is not all that likable throughout. He is not as harsh as in the Searchers when you wonder if he will indeed, but here he is rough and tumble as he bulls through people to get to he?s adopted son whom h...( read more)e is determined will be great. Montgomery Clift plays that son who is originally picked up by Wayne and his side kick the great Walter Brennan who find him after and Indian attacks wipes out his family. He then comes with them and is raised a cattle herder with a quick draw as Wayne?s character Thomas Dunson. But getting money from raising cattle is hard business as the drive takes the stuffing out of any group. It?s a tale of coming of age as much as character analysis with some great wit from Howard Hawks as usual, but also with a great cinematic touch of the west with the great cattle drive, shooting, and fighting / brawling. The greatest asset this western holds though is the way it builds up to the climatic brawl at the end, which is the films best scene as well. It is also a great ensemble work among other things.
  • jmillerdp
    July 6, 2008
    jmillerdp
    My favorite Western of all time! Perfect casting of John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. Howard Hawks does another great job, along with the excellent cinematography and film score. Gets a little melodramatic, but works out okay!
  • tsigur
    May 31, 2008
    tsigur
    You can see how this could be the standard for most, if not all, westerns. I have never seen a more affective John Wayne performance (although I admit I haven't seen a lot of John Wayne stuff), but I was amazed at Montgomery Clift who really was ahead of his time as far as acting.
  • keystar1970
    May 29, 2008
    keystar1970
    This is a rare glimpse at John Wayne as the antagonist rather than the hero. In my opinion its the best "move 'em cattle" movie to ever come out of Hollywood. I have to snack on a big slab of jerky every time I watch it.
  • GJDWriter
    May 24, 2008
    GJDWriter
    Good Western about what could happen on a Cattle Drive.
  • iancarr28
    April 24, 2008
    iancarr28
    what another good performance by john wayne
  • organgrinder136
    February 24, 2008
    organgrinder136
    not bad.. not great. goes on about half an hour too long for my liking. apart from the runtime it's got some drama in it which keeps things running smoothly along. obviously the duke acted really well in it. i thought montgomery clift did okay too..... joanne dru was just a blabb...( read more)ermouth all the way through. i found myself wishing someone would gag her and shut her up!
  • sc027
    February 11, 2008
    sc027
    One of my favourite westerns. Handsomely mounted, beautifully played, and some damn roaring action orchestrated by one of the best - Howard Hawks.
  • gumnerf
    February 9, 2008
    gumnerf
    Just watched iy agan...yup, it's a very good film.
  • spielbrat
    January 19, 2008
    spielbrat
    Too long, but still quality. Monty is great opposition for the Duke. It's too bad the happy ending was just slapped on, even though I like it.
  • futsin
    January 3, 2008
    futsin
    A far better western than I was expecting. The strength is really in the script (as definitely, John Wayne was a wooden "meh" actor), aside from the very final bit of the ending which is utter cheese. It's packed with great moments, some good action, some exilerating atmosphere a...( read more)nd cow-herding stuff, and some of the best B&W exterior photography ever. Truly a classic. :)
  • rubystevens
    December 29, 2007
    rubystevens
    ok i'm not a big fan of westerns. i watched this for monty clift in his film debut and he was damn good for a city slicker. he even gets to punch the duke. overall pretty entertaining. john wayne plays a sonuvabitch which is fine by me, i've never liked him anyway!
  • manly500usa
    December 18, 2007
    manly500usa
    An excellent Wayne film. He deserved an Oscar for this role.
  • sourlakemike
    November 18, 2007
    sourlakemike
    Would be 5 stars if JoAnn Dru wasn't in the film and the very weak ending.
  • rebcal75
    November 12, 2007
    rebcal75
    It's a good one. Even if Monty wasn't in it. You can't even tell John Wayne hated him and wouldn't speak to him at all during filming.
  • wherescaty
    October 26, 2007
    wherescaty
    montgomery clift MADE this movie
  • fluturash
    September 24, 2007
    fluturash
    just because of john wayne
  • bgeggo
    September 9, 2007
    bgeggo
    John Wayne doing his thing, only a little darker. Monty Clift's debut is a sign that nobody acts like that anymore.
  • Dave818
    September 9, 2007
    Dave818
    the plot could be a little slow, but montgomery and waynes talent isnt negosiable.
  • montegirl215
    September 8, 2007
    montegirl215
    I LOVE THIS! I USE TO OWN IT BUT ?????
  • BeatlesRockFan
    September 2, 2007
    BeatlesRockFan
    I LOVED this movie. John Wayne, and Montgomery Clift- two of my favourite actors, in the same movie! And boy do they do well together! I loved performances from both of them- and the plot is GREAT. A must see!
  • brooklynspo
    September 1, 2007
    brooklynspo
    Supreme Western

    John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. That's a whole lotta beef, partner!
  • peteywest
    August 30, 2007
    peteywest
    John Wayne is an obsessive psycho. Unbelievably intense.
  • AgentLexi2132
    August 17, 2007
    AgentLexi2132
    Looks interesting will try to find and watch!

Summary

Red River Summary