Top 10 best western movies of all time?! Nope. In my opinion, just an average movie. After Hawks' "Bringing Up Baby", "His Girl Friday", "Scarface", "The Big Sleep"... this comes pretty much as disappointment. :(6/10

Released in 1948 and directed by Howard Hawks (with Arthur Rosson), "Red River" stars John Wayne as a tough ranch mogul who heads a cattle drive from Texas to Missouri, the culmination of over 14 years of work. But his authoritarian abuse along the way causes his men to revolt, led by his adopted son (Montgomery Clift). Walter Brennan in on hand as the rancher's sidekick while John Ireland plays the son's friend/rival. The plot is essentially Mutiny on the Bounty in the Old West on a cattle drive. For that reason alone the story's compelling, yet it isn't anywhere near as good as Brando's or Gibson's versions of the infamous mutiny ('62 and '84 respectively). Nevertheless, it's great seeing Wayne when he was lean & mean at 40; and the tensions that slowly build leading to the gripping confrontation are well done. Moreover, Clift and Ireland are interesting, the former a precursor to the pensive style of Marlon Brando and James Dean. Speaking of Clift and Ireland, people confused about their sexuality tend to be obsessed with reading a "homosexual subtext" into their relationship, but it doesn't exist. Yes, the characters talk about each other's guns, but that's because they're young gunslingers. It's purely shop talk. Cherry (Ireland) is clearly interested in some past babe he met in a town and Matt becomes romantically enamored by Tess (Joanne Dru). Only pathetic SJWs who believe the drivel of their doofus libertine professors would read a "gay subtext" into the movie. The fact that Clift later fell into homosexuality and the corresponding guilt is irrelevant. While the movie's certainly worthwhile, it's held back by the B&W photography, dated score and a couple other old-fashioned elements. The dramatic scene between Clift and Dru during the Native attack on the wagon trail is eye-rolling and unbelievable. Moreover, the Arizona locations are disingenuous seeing as how Arizona looks nothing like the geography of the actual Chisholm Trail in Central/East Texas and the plains of Central Oklahoma & Kansas. The film runs 133 minutes and was shot in Arizona with studio work done in West Hollywood. The screenplay was written by Borden Chase & Charles Schnee based on Chase' story. ADDITIONAL CAST: Coleen Gray, Noah Beery Jr., Harry Carey Jr., Harry Carey and Chief Yowlachie. GRADE: B-

This greatest of Westerns and most American of all films is so famous as to hardly need a formal review as a movie, and at any rate discussion of it is easily found in countless printed and on line sources. For those who've never seen it, I'll only say that this 1948 Howard Hawks epic of John Wayne, with his adopted son Montgomery Clift and sidekick Walter Brennan undertaking the first major cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail is one of those supreme classics, like Hitchcock's Vertigo or Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, which is as appealing as entertainment for a general audience as it is impressive as a work of art to critics. It's also undoubtedly John Wayne's best role -- reportedly John Ford upon seeing it exclaimed, "I didn't know the son of a ----- could act!" Noted film critic David Thomson has written that this is his favorite movie.The film can be found on various DVDs and collections, of which the 2014 Criterion set is by far the one to prefer.

Red River (1948): Dir: Howard Hawks / Cast: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, Mickey Kuhn: Western classic with a title that not only addresses an overwhelming cattle drive but it also symbolizes the survival of generations. John Wayne plays a stubborn cattle hand named Thomas Dunson whose wagon train is wiped out by Indians leaving a lone boy survivor. Several years pass and Dunson's successful rise of cattle and selling beef comes under threat when poverty strikes so he recruits several men to drive the cattle to Missouri where a chance to sell the cattle is promising. From here the screenplay becomes extremely episodic with a stampede caused by someone's idiocy. Eventually a division is caused when Dunson's leadership becomes too heavy handed and his cattle is overtaken. Howard Hawks captures the era but the climax is corny with its fistfight make up conclusion. Wayne is effective as the hard driven Dunson who demands commitment when a task is underway. Montgomery Clift is superb as the grown boy who will challenge Dunson's authority. Walter Brennan plays Dunson's partner through life. Only Joanne Dru is pathetic as a woman in love with Clift after an awkward meeting. Mickey Kuhn plays the younger version of what would become Montgomery Clift. Theme of generation works when the screenplay drowns in corny clichés. Score: 6 ½ / 10