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John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, Coleen Gray ... see more see more... , John Ireland , Noah Beery Jr. , Harry Carey , Harry Carey Jr. , Paul Fix , Mickey Kuhn , Chief Yowlachie , Ivan Parry , Ray Hyke , Hank Worden , Dan White , Bill Self , Hal Taliaferro , Lane Chandler , Paul Fierro , George Lloyd , Lee Phelps , Glenn Strange , Tom Tyler , Wally Wales , Shelley Winters

John Wayne -- showing off a darker side to his screen persona than we'd previously seen -- portrays Thomas Dunson, a frontiersman who, with his longtime partner Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan), abandons... read more read more... a westbound wagon train in 1851 to make his future as a rancher in Texas. Doing so forces him to abandon Fen (Colleen Gray), his fiancee -- and when she is killed in an Indian raid a short time later, it taints any good that Dunson might find in the future he carves out for himself, destroying any joy he might derive from life. The sole survivor of the raid is Matthew Garth (Mickey Kuhn), a young orphan who is unusually handy with a gun for one his age -- and already knows how to channel his grief and horror at what he's seen, as much as Dunson does. Dunson informally adopts Matt as his son, and over the next 14 years he builds up one of the largest ranches in the entire state of Texas. And all of it is worth nothing, a result of the economic ruin wrought on the state in the aftermath of the Civil War. Matthew (Montgomery Clift), now back from the war and doing some of his own adventuring, finds a darker, more taciturn Dunson than he's ever known -- as Groot tells it, he's afraid because he just doesn't know how to fight the threats he now faces. With Matthew now returned, Dunson decides to move his herd, nearly 10,000 head of cattle, to Missouri, where there is a market for beef, over 1000 miles away through territory controlled by border gangs hundreds of men strong that have stopped every cattle drive up to now, and Indians who have picked off what the gangs missed. Dunson drives his men as hard as he does himself, relentlessly, till even some of his best hands break under the strain -- and he's not above killing anyone who challenges his authority on the drive. He's able to hold them in line as long as Matthew backs him up, and he does until Dunson, exhausted and worn down by lack of sleep, finally goes too far. Matthew steps in, backed by laconic, smirking gunman Cherry Valance (John Ireland) and most of the rest of the men and takes the herd from Dunson. Leaving his father and mentor behind, he heads the herd toward Kansas, where -- so the men are told -- there's a new railroad. Along the way, he meets Tess Millay (Joanne Dru), a card-dealer who falls in love with the young man. But he has to finish the drive and leaves her behind, much as Dunson left Fen. And they all know that Dunson is coming after Matthew to kill him. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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7,720 ratings

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19 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 13 min.

Directed by: Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson

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DVD Release Date: May 15, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (469)

  • brooklynspo
    September 1, 2007
    brooklynspo
    Supreme Western

    John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. That's a whole lotta beef, partner!
  • bottcorecords1
    March 29, 2012
    bottcorecords1
    John Wayne stars as Dunson, a self-made cattleman on his way to Texas with his friend Groot (Walter Brennan) and an abandoned boy named Matt (Montgomery Clift). After ten years in Texas, and a herd that's grown to 10,000 head of steer, Dunson must face the fact that he's broke, ... read morethere's simply no money left in the south after the war. Desperate, he decides to drive his herd of north to Missouri, where they pay top dollar for beef. There at his side is Matt, who's just come home from the war after being gone so long. Matt seems a lot cooler as an adult than he was as a kid, reluctant to fight unless provoked (he is however, just as deadly and efficient with a gun as Dunson). They begin their long journey north, and events unfold along the way that may drive a permanent wedge between the two, perhaps even leading to their doom.

    John Wayne's Dunson isn't a terribly heroic figure: he steals the land he settles, out-muscling and out-gunning anyone who comes to challenge his claim of ownership. His drive north goes from a cooperative, employee/employer relationship with his men to one of dictatorship, where anyone who speaks out of line is given the whip. Much like Captain Bligh, Dunson inspires only fear in his men, not respect. Montgomery Clift's portrayal of Matt is understated and somewhat soft spoken, it's the kind of subtle performance that changes the feel of both the character and the movie as a whole. Director Howard Hawks takes all the explosive elements at work here and renders them to their fullest conclusions. Add to that the logistics of filming the herding of 9000 head of real cattle (no computer effects back then, folks) and you have quite a mammoth undertaking. The story is top notch western drama and deservedly one of the top westerns of all time.
  • dwt5411
    January 29, 2011
    dwt5411
    Red River is about as good as the classic Hollywood western gets. Rancher Tom Dunson (John Wayne) and his surrogate son Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift) lead a near-suicidal cattle drive from the heart of cattle country Texas to the burgeoning beef market of Missouri. They have 10... read more00 miles to go with 9000 steer and a cadre of ruffian farmhands, marauders, and gunslingers along for the ride. Brilliant and versatile director Howard Hawks guides this lot the whole way with excellent spatial perception and an exquisite mastery of the excitement brought on by comanche attacks, stampedes, and the looming dark heart of tough men brought to the brink by hunger, exhaustion and fear. This long drive never drags its feet for even a moment. Red River is arguably the greatest flick Wayne or Hawks ever made.
  • ythelastman89
    July 6, 2010
    ythelastman89
    John Wayne/Howard Hawks doing a wonderful job at bringing the western genre to a different area than usual. Instead of Gunslingers and Outlaws, this covers the cattle herding aspect of the west. Great performances and characters that come hand in hand with Howard Hawks, the visio... read moren is as determined as it possibly can be. The story is so powerful and epic, it's hard not to feel an attachment to everything. What really makes it so captivating is the suspense you have for the second half of the movie, whether or not Dunson is going to kill his adopted son Matthew leading to a beautiful finale.
  • 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 morepic 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.
  • kenstachnik
    July 24, 2009
    kenstachnik
    So good it makes me giggle. One of the best westerns of all time.
  • matertenebraum
    January 10, 2009
    matertenebraum
    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 moreing 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.
  • 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 morech and a woman from anywhere. Have you ever had a good Swiss watch?" What could he possibly mean...?
  • kiriyamakazou
    June 21, 2008
    kiriyamakazou
    A wonderful western that actually details the day to day lives of cowboys actually doing their jobs. Wayne and Clift are brilliant as best buddies almost father and son relationship. The vast landscapes are beautifully captured on screen and the inability to compare this to other... read more westerns with confidence is an absolute bonus. The film fails severely in the endings lack of consistent tone or character development. Wayne turns mad and his insanity is slowly built up to the point of murder. He then becomes an unscene force for a good 20 minutes, off screen causing a lot of fear and tension. The ending however is a "and they all lived happily ever after" catastrophe which really does undermine the entire film.

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Critic Reviews

May 13, 2008
Variety

The staging of physical conflict is deadly, equalling anything yet seen on the screen. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Even despite a big let-down, which fortunately comes near the end, it stands sixteen hands above the level of routine horse opera these days. So strap on your trusty six-shooters and race to the wind-... Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It's a sign of the movie's complexity that John Wayne, often typecast, is given a tortured, conflicted character to play. Full Review

Cole Smithey
July 27, 2011
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

[VIDEO ESSAY] The homosexual subtext in Howard Hawkes's 1948 western is a widely overlooked, yet unmistakable element, to one of the most popular examples of the genre. Full Review

May 13, 2008
Empire Magazine

Howard Hawks stages the definitive cow opera with beautiful, lyrical, exciting sequences of stampeding, rough weather, cowboying and Indian skirmishes. Full Review

May 13, 2008
Film4

Of the may big names involved in the making of Red River, few made greater films. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
July 15, 2007
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

A grand, sprawling tale of the civilizing of the west. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
December 22, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

This brilliant Hawks Western, one of the decade's best, has been interpreted in different ways, but at its core is the contrast between John Wayne's and Montgomery Clift's leadership style and percept... Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 6, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

Hawks never did anything self-consciously. You always realize how great his films are after you're through enjoying yourself. Full Review

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Immaculately shot by Russell Harlan, perfectly performed by a host of Hawks regulars, and shot through with dark comedy, it's probably the finest Western of the '40s. Full Review

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    • Cherry Valance: There are only two things more beautiful than a good gun -- a Swiss watch and a woman from anywhere.
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