Red River (1948)

My Review

“Red River” is a Western drama where John Wayne portrays a cattle rancher who finds he cannot sell his herd in the cash-poor, Civil War South. So he simply decides to take them on a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas, in this fictional account of the first cattle drive. Director Howard Hawks (“The Big Sleep” 1946) put together an exciting horse opera with great production values, memorable performances, and good writing. The tremendous screenplay was written by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee.

The cast includes John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, Coleen Gray, Harry Carey, John Ireland, Noah Berry Jr., Harry Carey Jr., Paul Fix, Shelley Winters, William Self, and Richard Farnsworth. “Red River” was the second highest grossing film of 1948 for producer Howard Hawks and United Artists. It received two Oscar nods for Best Story (Chase) and Best Film Editing. It was filmed in Arizona with studio work in Hollywood.