Red River (1948)

Dunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.

Directors:

Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson (co-director)

Writers:

Borden Chase (screenplay), Charles Schnee (screenplay)

Stars:

John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	Thomas Dunson
Montgomery Clift	...	Matt Garth
Joanne Dru	...	Tess Millay
Walter Brennan	...	Nadine Groot
Coleen Gray	...	Fen (as Colleen Gray)
Harry Carey	...	Mr. Melville (as Harry Carey Sr.)
John Ireland	...	Cherry Valance
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Buster McGee
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Dan Latimer
Chief Yowlachie	...	Quo (as Chief Yowlatchie)
Paul Fix	...	Teeler Yacey
Hank Worden	...	Simms Reeves
Mickey Kuhn	...	Matt - as a Boy
Ray Hyke	...	Walt Jergens
Hal Taliaferro	...	Old Leather (as Hal Talliaferro)

Storyline

Fourteen years after starting his cattle ranch in Texas, Tom Dunston is finally ready to drive his 10,000 head of cattle to market. Back then Dunston, his sidekick Nadine Groot and a teen-aged boy, Matt Garth -who was the only survivor of an Indian attack on a wagon train - started off with only two head of cattle. The nearest market however is in Missouri, a 1000 miles away. Dunston is a hard task master demanding a great deal from the men who have signed up for the drive. Matt is a grown man now and fought in the Civil War. He has his own mind as well and he soon runs up against the stubborn Dunston who won't listen to advice from anyone. Soon, the men on the drive are taking sides and Matt ends up in charge with Dunston vowing to kill him.

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Plot Keywords:

cattle drive | cowboy | cattle | betrayal | orphan | 

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Taglines:

Drama that surges with the most spectacular scenes ever filmed!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 September 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

The River Is Red

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$5,500,000, 31 December 1948

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,012,000, 31 December 1948

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monterey Productions, Charles K. Feldman Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min 126 min (original theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the start of filming, John Wayne had serious doubts if Montgomery Clift would be manly enough to play a character that stood up to him. His first few scenes with Clift almost immediately changed his mind.

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Goofs

In long shot as the herd is driven across the river, Walter Brennan in the wagon distant from the camera is noticeably clutching the seat with the reins passing under him to a concealed driver as the vehicle descends steeply into the water.

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Quotes

Matthew Garth: Buster, where's Cherry?
Buster McGee: Cherry? Well he figured there was no need two of us coming. One was...
Matthew Garth: Is she pretty?
Buster McGee: Oh, Matt, do you remember that little filly I used to own?
Matthew Garth: That's what I thought.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: Among the annals of the great state of Texas may be found the story of the first drive on the famous Chisholm Trail. A story of one of the great cattle herds of the world, of a man and a boy--Thomas Dunson and Matthew Garth, the story of the Red River D.

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Alternate Versions

The director's cut restores 8 minutes of footage normally cut from the tv version of the film (back to the original 133 minutes).

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Connections

Featured in The Last Picture Show (1971)

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Soundtracks

Oh, Susanna
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster

User Reviews

Classic Western

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).