Review of Red River (2011) by Ricardo O — 19 Mar 2010

Howard Hawks' classic western Red River stars John Wayne as a frontiersman by the name of Thomas Dunson who, along with his longtime partner Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan), abandons a westbound wagon train in 1851 to make his future as a rancher in Texas. Doing so forces him to abandon his fiancee Fen and when she is killed in a raid by Indians, it taints Dunson and all the good that was left inside of him. The day after the raid they encounter with a boy named Matthew Garth who because of the incident has become an orphan. Matt, who is unusually handy with a gun for his age and already knows how to channel his grief and horror as much as Dunson does, is informally adopted by Dunson as his son and over the next 14 years he builds up one of the biggest ranches in all of Texas. Unfortunately the ranch isn't worth a damn thing as a result of the economic ruin from the Civil. With Matthew (Montgomery Clift in his first film) back from fighting in the war Dunson, who is darker and sterner than ever, decides to move his large herd of cattle to Missouri, where there is a large market for beef, over 1000 miles away through territory controlled by border gangs who have stopped every cattle drive through there and Indians who have picked off what the gangs missed. Dunson drives his men relentlessley until some of his best hands break under the strain. As long as Matthew backs him up he is able to hold the men in line but as he starts to get exhausted and worn down by a lack of sleep, he finally goes too far. Backed by a smirking gunman by the name of Cherry Valance, played by John Ireland, Matthew steps in and takes the herd from Dunson. Leaving his father behind, he heads the herd north toward Kansas, where there is a new railroad. On the way there he meets Tess Millay, played by Joanne Dru, a card dealer who falls in love with Matt. But rather than staying around he leaves her behind, a lot like how Dunson left Fen. They eventually make it to Kansas where when Dunson finally meets up with Matt and the whole gang so he can kill him. What ensues is one of the most satisfying endings in film.

The writer for the film, Borden Chase, admitted that Red River was very much Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) with saddles and stirrups. Like his later film The Searchers, John Wayne takes on a role that is against what was the typical western hero and delivers one of his best performances. Monty Clift's first role is also great. You don't get the sense that it was his first film. The cinematography which evokes a lot of the great visuals that made John Ford's greatest works classics is fantastic. The oscar nominated editing is also very top notch. While you can see many of the things that made a John Ford film a John Ford film it is very much a Howard Hawks film and definitely one of his top 5 best films. 10/10.