Red River

After directing comedies and action films, Howard Hawks turned his attention to the Western, and crafted this 1948 classic that is regarded as one of the 10 best ever made. John Wayne delivers a sterling performance as Tom Dunson, a less than pure cattleman who begins by carving out a vast Texan cattle empire along the Red River. With his quiet foster son, Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift), Dunson prospers—at least until a cash flow problem leads him to mount a huge cattle drive to Missouri. The exodus is beset by a myriad of problems, and the men begin to revolt, especially after Dunson assumes the role of a tyrant and begins meting out justice—often in the form of bullets—as he sees fit ("Bury 'em—and I'll read over 'em later" becomes his mantra). When Garth rises against his father—insisting that the cattle be taken on a shorter route to Kansas—Dunson vows that he will catch him and kill him. Eventually, even the faithful short-order cook, Groot Nadine (wonderfully played by Walter Brennan), refuses to side with Dunson. Hawks masterfully plays the final encounter between the two principals right up to death's door, before pulling back and altering the ending of Borden Chase's Saturday Evening Post-serialized novel Blazing Guns on the Chisholm Trail (included as a bonus paperback here). Compiling both the original theatrical release and a longer pre-release version in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, extras include new and archival interviews, a 1949 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation (featuring Wayne and Brennan), and a booklet. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)