Red River

Released Sep 30, 1948

2 hr. 13 min.

Western

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100%

34 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Headstrong Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) starts a thriving Texas cattle ranch with the help of his faithful trail hand, Groot (Walter Brennan), and his protégé, Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift), an orphan Dunson took under his wing when Matt was a boy. In need of money following the Civil War, Dunson and Matt lead a cattle drive to Missouri, where they will get a better price than locally, but the crotchety older man and his willful young partner begin to butt heads on the exhausting journey.

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Alec B

Easily one of the greatest westerns ever made. Unlike a lot of these films from the era, it never really engages in sentimental mythmaking about "The West" as it is often brutally honest about how violence is exercised to assert dominance. Also, the barely coy homoerotic tension between Clift and Ireland is truly something to behold.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Luke S

OMG!!! This movie is such a classic. I rate it a 5 out of 5

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/06/23

Full Review

Matthew B

Red River was one of the most influential westerns ever made, and elements of the movie were to be used and reused over and over again throughout the 1950s and beyond. Red River is also one of those rare westerns that explore the darker side of John Wayne's screen persona. Like other movies of this kind (The Searchers or The Shootist), it ultimately comes out in his favour, but we get a glimpse of the uglier aspects of his characters – the dangerous mixture of lawlessness and authoritarianism that becomes a threat to others. In all fairness, Wayne rose well to the challenge of playing a more complex version of his usual role. The three films mentioned showcase some of his best acting. After seeing Red River, John Ford famously remarked, "I didn't know the big son of a bitch could act." Howard Hawks however always believed in Wayne's abilities, and this encouragement may have helped. For this movie, the third highest grossing movie of 1948, Howard Hawks aimed for an epic style. The cinematography is remarkable, especially the many scenes that lovingly capture the river of cattle travelling along the plains. 9,000 steers were used in the film. Studio sets were barely used at all, and most of the film takes place outside. It is perhaps surprising that so ambitious a movie should be made in black-and-white, but this was quite common with 1940s westerns. Sometimes it adds to the movie's ambience, as in the scene where nervous men standing in the fog watching for an enemy that they know is trailing them. This ending strikes a false note. Perhaps the problem is that Hawks was too much of a conservative to fully deconstruct the John Wayne mystique. John Ford and Don Siegel did not go all the way either, but their politics were ambivalent enough for them to produce more convincing endings to The Searchers and The Shootist that supported the John Wayne myth whilst still managing to critique it. Still the ending does not spoil Red River. We have had well over two hours of exciting story, effective character development and stunning cinematography to feast our eyes on. Hawks was too great a director to ruin a film with as much promise as Red River. In later years, Hawks would produce weaker westerns by continuing to re-tread the path that he had used earlier with diminishing results, but at this stage Hawks was fresh to the genre, and Red River is as exciting today as it was then. I wrote a longer appreciation (with spoilers) of Red River on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2019/05/25/red-river-1948/

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

Full Review

Andy F

A majestic, epic western. Wayne and Clift are superb in this beautifully shot movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/15/23

Full Review

Babak H

One of the greatest Western of all time! John Wayne and Montgomery Cliff at the height of their careers.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/07/23

Full Review

paul d

Everything you would want in a western.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Howard Hawks

Director

John Wayne

Thomas Dunson

Montgomery Clift

Matt Garth

Walter Brennan

Groot Nadine

Joanne Dru

Tess Millay

Coleen Gray

Fen

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Red River: Official Clip - Comparing Guns

1:53

Red River: Official Clip - Indian Raid

3:05

Red River: Official Clip - A Costly Stampede

3:02

Red River: Official Clip - Every Time You Turn Around

1:29

Red River: Official Clip - Showdown

3:51

Red River: Official Clip - Don't Ever Trust Anybody

2:01

Red River: Official Clip - Don Diego's Land

2:46

Red River: Official Clip - Who'll Stop Me?

2:54

Red River: Official Clip - Punishment by Whip

2:25

Red River: Official Clip - Mumbling Groot

1:16

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Bob Thomas

Associated Press

Red River contains everything a western should have and throws in a few things more.

Jun 20, 2019

Full Review

James Agee

TIME Magazine

It is a rattling good outdoor adventure movie.

Feb 27, 2018

Full Review

Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

Hawks directs the film with his typical assurance and seeming lack of fuss, letting scenes play out in long takes, and framing the action against vistas that often dwarf the actors.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 2, 2014

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Hawks and Chase invented or perfected most of the tropes of cattle drive tales with this classic film.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 17, 2023

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

The opposition of acting styles is electric: laconic elder statesman [John] Wayne wearing his character like buckskin, dominating the screen as upstart method actor [Montgomery] Clift’s intensity burns a star right next to him.

Feb 4, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

“Red River” stakes its claim as a true classic of the Western genre.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 24, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Headstrong Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) starts a thriving Texas cattle ranch with the help of his faithful trail hand, Groot (Walter Brennan), and his protégé, Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift), an orphan Dunson took under his wing when Matt was a boy. In need of money following the Civil War, Dunson and Matt lead a cattle drive to Missouri, where they will get a better price than locally, but the crotchety older man and his willful young partner begin to butt heads on the exhausting journey.

Director: Howard Hawks
Executive Producer: Charles K. Feldman
Screenwriter: Borden Chase, Charles Schnee
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists
Production Co: Monterey Productions
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 1948, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 11, 2010
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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