John Wayne is Tom Dunson, a man who dreams of starting a cattle ranch in Texas and joins a wagon train bound for California.
Leaving the girl he loves behind, he splits from the wagon train only to learn she’s been killed by Indians.
The sole survivor is a teen named Matt Garth, who was off searching for his cow when the Indians attacked.
Well, Dunson and partner Groot Nadine (Walter Brennan) take the young boy under their wings.
And with Dunson’s bull, Matt’s cow and the courage to hold onto a large chunk of land north of the Red River, they spend 14 years building a cattle empire only to learn their vast herd is worth nothing in cash-poor, post-Civil-War Texas.
With Matt (Montgomery Clift) back from the war, Dunson decides to risk everything he owns on a desperate cattle drive 1,000 miles to Missouri, through dry country and Indian territory, knowing bandits await at the Missouri border.
But the hardships of the trail take a toll on his men. So do stories of the difficulty of reaching Missouri. And the lure of a rumored closer railroad stop in Abilene, Kansas.
Determined to complete his mission, Dunson just pushes them harder, to the point of mutiny.
Matt stands up to Dunson, takes the herd and heads off toward Abilene. But not before Dunson has issued a stern warning: that he’ll catch up, and that he’ll kill Matt when he does.
En route to Abilene, Matt and his men ride to the rescue of a wagon train under attack. There he finds the welcoming arms of Tess Millay (Joanne Dru). Mirroring a decision Dunson made years earlier, Matt refuses to let Tess accompany him on the drive.
Soon Dunson encounters the same wagon train. Tess tries to convince him to end his quest for vengeance. He won’t be deterred, but he does agree to take Tess with him.
Meanwhile, Matt, Groot, Cherry and the herd have reached their destination. But all three know this saga isn’t over. There’s a showdown with Dunson that’s simply inevitable.
John Wayne as Tom Dunson, determined to reclaim his herd from the young man he raised in Red River (1948)
Montgomery Clift as Matt Garth, back from the Civil War and ready to help Tom Dunson lead a cattle drive in Red River (1948)
Review:
One of the classic Westerns and a film which reportedly prompted director John Ford to proclaim of Wayne: “I didn’t know that son-of-a-bitch could act” — or something of the sort.
Wayne turns in a sterling performance, but it isn’t a one-man show and Hawks deserves plenty of credit too, especially for the lead-up to the final showdown in which Wayne strides purposefully toward Matt Garth with cattle separating around him like he was Moses parting the Red Sea.
Then there are well-handled little touches that help make the film special, like Brennan’s character losing his false teeth during a card game, though the new owner allows him to borrow them back, but only at meal time.
In addition to Brennan and Ireland, that supporting cast includes Harry Carey and Harry Carey Jr. — appearing in their only film together though they aren’t in any of the same scenes — and Noah Berry Jr., Paul Fix and Hank Worden. Coleen Gray has a small role early in the film as the gal Tom Dunson leaves behind.
As for leading lady Joanne Dru, she doesn’t show up until well into the film and her introduction comes in one of its weaker scenes, with her trading verbal jabs with the freshly arrived Matt Garth while an Indian attack rages all around.
Dru would wind up marrying co-star Ireland; Hawks was reportedly also in love with the actress. As for Clift, this actually marked his first film, though “The Search” was released to theaters first. That performance earned Clift an Academy Award nomination for best actor.
Joanne Dru as Tess Millay, wounded during the Indian attack in Red River (1948)
Walter Brennan as Groot Nadine, expressing his displeasure with Tom Dunson (John Wayne) in Red River (1948)
Directed by:
Howard Hawks
and Arthur Rosson
Cast:
John Wayne … Tom Dunson
Montgomery Clift … Matt Garth
Joanne Dru … Tess Millay
Walter Brennan … Groot Nadine
Coleen Gray … Fen
John Ireland … Cherry Valance
Noah Beery Jr. … Buster McGee
Chief Yowlachie … Quo
Harry Carey … Mr. Melville
Harry Carey Jr. … Dan Latimer
Paul Fix … Teeler Yacey
Hank Worden … Simms Reeves
Mickey Kuhn … Matt (as a boy)
Ray Hyke … Walt Jergens
Hal Taliaferro … Old Leather
Runtime: 133 min.
Harry Carey Jr. as Dan Latimer, one of Tom Dunson’s young cowboys in Red River (1948)
Harry Carey as Mr. Melville, eager to buy cattle from Matt Garth in Red River (1948)
Memorable lines:
Grott Nadine, when Dunson announces plans to leave the wagon train: “If I was you colonel, I’d ponder on lettin’ him be. He’s a mighty set man when his mind’s made up. Even you can’t change it. Now he’ll be headin’ south. Mind he don’t stomp on you on the way out.”
Tom Dunson, after belting young Matt to the ground: “Don’t ever trust anybody til you know ’em.”
Young Matt: “I won’t, after this.”
Tom Dunson: “I not goin’ to take it hunch-backed like the rest around here. If there’s no market for them in Texas …”
Groot Nadine: “And there ain’t.”
Dunson: “Then I’ll take them to where there is a market, if it means drivin’ them a thousand miles.”
Nadine Groot: “Never liked seeing strangers. Maybe it’s because no stranger ever good newsed me.”
John Ireland as Cherry Valance, eager to show off his gun skills to Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift) in Red River (1948)
Chief Yowlachie as Quo, demanding Groot Nadine (Walter Brennan) pay off a bet in Red River (1948)
Matt Garth, when Dunson insists on branding every steer he finds with his brand: “You’re going to wind up branding every rump in the state of Texas except mine.”
Cherry Valance to Matt Garth: “There are only two things more beautiful than a good gun: a Swiss watch or a woman from anywhere. Ever had a good… Swiss watch?”
Tom Dunson, as the cattle drive begins: “There they are, Matt — 14 years of hard work. And they say we can’t make the drive.”
Matt Garth: “They might be wrong.”
Dunson: “They’d better be.”
Thomas Dunston, after helping gun down three of his own men: “I don’t like quitters, especially when they’re not good enough to finish what they start. … There’s quitters to be buried. I’ll read over them in the morning.”
Mickey Kuhn as young Matt, the lone survivor of the Indian attack, meeting Tom Dunson (John Wayne) in Red River (1948)
Coleen Gray as Fen, the girl Tom Dunson leaves behind and never sees again in Red River (1948)
Tom Dunston to Matt Garth: “I’ll catch up with you. 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 you, Matt.”
Cowhand, when the drive comes upon a steer killed by Indians: “We goin’ on?”
Matt Garth: “What would you rather have? What’s behind? Or what might be ahead?”
Tess Millay, after kissing Matt: “Did you like that?”
Matt Garth, wanting another: “I’ve always been slow in making up my mind.”
Mr. Melville to Matt, after buying the herd of cattle: “There’s three times in a man’s life when he has a right to yell at the moon: when he marries, when his children come, and… and when he finishes a job he had to be crazy to start.”
John Wayne as Tom Dunson, watching signs that Indians attacked the wagon train in Red River (1948)
Noah Berry Jr. as Buster McGree and Montgomery Clift as Matt Garth in a disagreement with Dunson in Red River (1948)
Walter Brennan as Groot Nadine and Joanne Dru as Tess Millay, watching a brawl in Red River (1948)
John Wayne as Tom Dunson and Montgomery Clift as Matt Garth, settling their differences with fists in Red River (1948)
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Is Red River (1948) the best cattle drive movie ever made? I’m sure a case can be made for several other films, but Red River is certainly a very strong candidate.
The plot is compelling. Thomas Dunson (John Wayne), Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan) and Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift) build a ranching empire from scratch in pre-Civil War southwest Texas but come a cropper when Texas’ economy goes south–so to speak–in early Reconstruction. The beef market no longer exists in Texas, so Dunson decides to drive his vast herd all the way to Missouri where there is a market. This feat has been tried before, but without success.
Dunson, by force of will, manages to drive the herd most of the way, but in doing so becomes tyrannical and psychotic. When he threatens to hang three deserters and refuses to detour the herd to the more proximate Abilene, Kansas, Garth leads a mutiny, commandeers the herd, leaves Dunson behind, and heads for Abilene. The enraged Dunson vows to hunt Garth down and kill him.
The cattle drive reaches Abilene, the herd is sold for a huge profit, and it looks as though all has ended well. However, Dunson arrives and begins beating Garth up. The latter combattant recovers from the thrashing, however, and begins giving as good as he gets. Just as it appears Dunson and Garth are about to kill one another, shots ring out and the inevitable love interest, Tess Millay (Joanne Dru) compels a cessation of the pugilism with her short gun. Dunson and Garth reconcile and Dunson adds Matt’s “M” to the ranch’s brand, telling him that he has earned it. Finis.
The best feature of the story is Dunson’s deterioration from hardnosed but reasonable cattle baron to glowering and unhinged tyrant. Presumably, the pressure of trying to hold the cattle drive together under extremely adverse conditions caused Dunson to crack. That phenomenon is not rare in people burdened with tremendous responsibility and possessing vast power. Regardless, Wayne gives a bravura performance. In his rendering, Dunson becomes a truly frightening figure.
Far less successful is the film’s romantic element. When Garth and his cowboys detour to rescue a wagon train beset by orbiting Comanches, meeting Millay in the process, the quality of Red River plummets. The character of Millay is farcical. Enduring the Comanche attack, she demonstrates a sang froid that would be improbable in a man and absurd in a woman. Millay absorbs a Comanche arrow in the shoulder and doesn’t even flinch. And through it all she babbles on to Garth incomprehensibly about this thing or that. She also goes head-over-heels for Garth in an instant.
Millay also damages the film in the concluding sequence with her six-gun and her logorrhea. I’m not sure how Red River should have been resolved, but I do know this was the wrong way. A shame really, because the insertion of this ridiculous character severely undermines an otherwise tremendous film
The acting, incidentally–and with the noteworthy exception of Dru–is outstanding. Improbably enough, Clift manages to hold his own against the towering Wayne. John Ireland is great as slightly menacing gunslinger, Cherry Valance. There are also notable turns by Noah Beery, Jr. as cowpuncher Buster and Harry Carey as cattle buyer Melville.