Red River (film)

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For other uses of this name, see Red River.

Red River
Red River DVD cover
Directed by	Howard Hawks Arthur Rosson
Produced by	Howard Hawks
Written by	Borden Chase Charles Schnee
Starring	John Wayne Montgomery Clift
Music by	Dimitri Tiomkin
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	September 30, 1948 (USA)
Running time	133 min.
Language	English Spanish
IMDb profile

Red River is a 1948 Western film which tells the story of the first cattle drive along the Chisholm Trail in the fictional framework of a cattle man who feuds with his surrogate son over ownership of their cattle in the middle of a drive. It stars John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, Coleen Gray, Harry Carey, John Ireland, Noah Beery Jr. and Harry Carey, Jr..

The movie was written by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee from Chase's story The Chisholm Trail. It was directed by Howard Hawks and Arthur Rosson.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) is a stubborn man who wants nothing more than to start up a successful cattle ranch in Texas. Shortly after he begins his journey to Texas with his trail hand, Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan), Dunson learns that his love interest, who he had told to stay behind with the wagon train and that he would send for her later, was killed in an Indian attack. Despite this tragedy, Dunson and his trail hand press on and soon come across a young orphaned boy by the name of Matthew Garth (played as an adult by Montgomery Clift), who Dunson takes in under his wing. Together, with only a couple head of cattle, they enter Texas across the Red River (Mississippi watershed) and Dunson proudly proclaims all the land that they see as his own; however, two Mexican men appear on horseback to tell them the land already belongs to their boss. Dunson rejects this information and ends up killing one of the men and telling the other to go back to his boss to let him know that Dunson now owns the land. He calls his new spread the Red River D, the name which he uses to brand the first cattle of his herd, promising to add Matt to the brand once he has earned it.

Fourteen years pass and Dunson now has a fully operational cattle ranch. With the help of Matt and Groot, he has managed to raise an impressive herd of well over a thousand cattle, but unfortunately he is broke in the aftermath of being on the losing side of the American Civil War. With the price of cattle in Texas not to his liking, Dunson decides to drive the massive herd hundreds of miles north to Missouri, where he knows he can fetch a much better price. He hires some extra men to help out with the drive and soon enough they all set off on their perilous journey northward. Along the way, the men run into many troubles, including a stampede caused by one of their own men who was trying to steal sugar and attacks from the surrounding Indians. During one of these encounters, the men save a wagon train from the onslaught of the Indians. One of the women they save is Tess Millay (Joanne Dru), who both Dunson and Matt begin to fall for.

John Wayne and Montgomery Clift

Deeper problems arise when the tyrannical leadership style of Dunson begins to affect the rest of the men, especially Matt, at which point Matt takes control of Dunson's herd in an attempt to lead the herd and the men to a closer destination in Abilene, Kansas, leaving Dunson behind. Naturally, this infuriates Dunson, who vows to track down Matt and murder him. Matt succeeds in delivering the cattle to Abilene, a town that has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of such a herd, where he receives an excellent offer and willingly accepts it. Little does he know it, Matt has just completed the first cattle drive along what would become the Chisholm Trail. Meanwhile, Dunson acquires a posse and arrives in town shortly after. He attempts to follow through with his promise to kill Matt, in which the two men engage in a fight to the death, but Tess interrupts the battle, drawing a gun on them and forcing the two to realize the love that they share for one another. Dunson and Matt realize their errors and make peace with each other. When they get back to their ranch in Texas, Dunson follows through with his promise and finally incorporates Matt into the brand.