"Red River" (1948)

In Red River there are only two named female characters and one of them dies within the first few minutes, but this makes sense for the film’s story. The world of Red River is a man’s world, defined by strong, stoic men suffering the harshness of the untamed West. This is a deeply masculine film based around male friendship and bonding, roughing it, and keeping and codifying an honor code. At its center it is a film about father-son relationships that buries the hatchet of its two main characters Tom Dunson (John Wayne) and his surrogate son Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift, in his first role) through a bruising fistfight. But in an environment only just witnessing the advancement of civilization, Red River argues that this aggressive testosterone can-do spirit is necessary to survive and tame the land. Dunson buys a piece of land and raises some cattle over more than a decade, but when the value of his livestock begins to diminish he sets out to sell them. The film’s story pivots around a long, exhausting cattle drive, the first drive along the Chisholm Trail. As Dunson and his hired hands become mired in setbacks, including a cattle stampede that kills one of their own, Dunston starts losing his head and his demand for total control threatens to tear apart the drive. Howard Hawks' direction and Russell Harlan’s cinematography take advantage of beautiful, sweeping vistas and continually reminds us of how daunted by the natural environment the men are. As the environment thwarts them at every possible opportunity, Matt and Dunson’s differing views on how the journey should be handled helps unravel their long simmering relationship. Wayne gives in one of his best performances. There's a subtle transformation at work where Dunson's wounded pride and years of hardship gradually, ruthlessly harden and wreck him. 

Grade: A-