Dunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.Dunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.Dunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
Coleen Gray
- Fen
- (as Colleen Gray)
Harry Carey
- Mr. Melville
- (as Harry Carey Sr.)
Chief Yowlachie
- Quo
- (as Chief Yowlatchie)
Hal Taliaferro
- Old Leather
- (as Hal Talliaferro)
John Bose
- Dunston Rider
- (uncredited)
Buck Bucko
- Cowhand
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHoward Hawks shot the beginning of the cattle drive in close-ups of each of the principal cowhands because he felt tight shots would be needed to help the audience keep all the characters straight in their minds. To that end, he also gave them all different kinds of hats, including a derby. Montgomery Clift used Hawks' own hat, which was given to him by Gary Cooper. Cooper had imparted a weather-beaten look to the hat by watering it every night. "Spiders built nests in it," Hawks said. "It looked great."
- GoofsThe film gives 14 August 1865 as the completion of the first cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail. However, the first cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail started and finished in 1867, two years later.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: Among the annals of the great state of Texas may be found the story of the first drive on the famous Chisholm Trail. A story of one of the great cattle herds of the world, of a man and a boy--Thomas Dunson and Matthew Garth, the story of the Red River D.
- Alternate versionsAccording to Peter Bogdanovich, the shorter version is in fact the Director's Cut. Howard Hawks was unhappy with the pacing of the longer, 133 minute cut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Screen Writer (1950)
- SoundtracksSettle Down
(1947)
by Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyric by Frederick Herbert (uncredited)
Played during the opening credits
Featured review
I was the "first kid on the block" to purchase a VCR, way back in the late 60's...the RCA VBT200...no timer, no remote, no nothing! Paid $1200.00 for it (Canadian funds!)and ALL my friends told me I was nuts. I TRIED to tell them that, eventually, everybody would own a VCR but was shouted down. In any case, Red River was the first movie I taped and, deleting commercial breaks, I was ecstatic to have a Hollywood movie on hand to watch whenever the urge arose. And WHAT A MOVIE!!! I agree with earlier comments re John Wayne...who usually just played John Wayne. In THIS one, and "The Searchers", however, the director got one helluva performance out of the Duke. Also, the second movie performance by the tragical Montgomery Clift...so "pretty" in the Mohammed Ali sense that I virtually fell in love with him myself, even though I was a "straight" teenaged boy. From the opening credits, with that almost Wagnerian music by Dmitri Tiomkin, this movie (shot in 1946 and held 'til 1948 for release...I forget why)should be compulsory viewing for the brain-dead Hollywood moguls of today. Actually, there are no "moguls" left...they're all bottom-line money men who wouldn't know a good movie if they saw one..."Let's check the demographics, guys, and fill those multiple screen outlets with brain-dead teens (not really their fault as products of our so called progressive p.c. education system)and make a TON of money!" My age is showing...back to the movie. If you haven't seen it, be prepared for a LONG sojourn. This isn't brain candy...it's an allegorical treatise on the impetuousness of youth vs. the inflexible values of pioneer stock. In the end, BOTH are told to cut themselves some slack, by the "gun-totin" Joanne Dru. In summary, a Great Western, and to get back to the Duke, an amazing performance by a 39 year old made up to look like a 60 year old...and he pulled it off! The respect/fear combo of his hired trailhands is almost Shakespearian, and a tribute to the screenwriter/s and director Howard Hawks. If you've never seen it...do yourself a big favour and rent this little classic!
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $14,462
- Runtime2 hours 13 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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