DIRECTOR: Howard Hawks
BOTTOM LINE: In one of the greatest Westerns ever made, director Howard Hawks takes us along the infamous Chisholm Trail and the first cattle drive from Texas to Kansas. In one of his most emblematic roles, John Wayne is Thomas Dunson, the rancher who initiates the affair, while Montgomery Clift is Garth, his adopted adult son. Of course, they clash at every opportunity in the excellent script by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee. The year was 1948, and Clift was breaking out all over. In “Red River,” he more than held his own in his dramatic confrontations with Wayne. Meanwhile, he was equally impressive as the American soldier in Fred Zinnemann’s “The Search” and as the unfortunate gentleman caller in William Wyler’s “The Heiress.”
“River” was his film debut, and it’s kudos all the way, particularly when you realize that he was diving in at the deep end by doing some major flirting with John Ireland’s gunslinger Cheery Valance. The two become inseparable, and, in one classic scene, Valance asks to see Garth’s gun. They compare sizes and have a shootout! It’s one of the incredible gay moments on film.
Also, with Walter Brennan, Noah Beery Jr., Joanne Dru, and Coleen Gray – Both Dru and Gray are superb, and “Red River” impresses as one of the few Westerns with not just one but two very memorable female characters. The stunning cinematography (black and white) is by Hawks’ favorite cameraman Russell Harlan. The rousing score is by Dimitri Tiomkin.
Adapted from the 1946 story “The Chisholm Trail” in The Saturday Evening Post by Borden Chase.
STREAMING: Amazon Prime and Apple TV+
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