RIO GRANDE is a solid enough John Ford western, benefiting from crisp black and white photography and an action-orientated storyline that sees cavalry officer John Wayne going up against some murderous Apaches. There's a story of family drama at the heart of the movie which gives the characters life and more motivation than you sometimes see in this genre, and Maureen O'Hara holds her own against Wayne in her scenes with him. Ford can always be relied upon to shoot spectacle well and the narrative has a pretty fast pace which keeps it bubbling along nicely. I didn't mind the songs, either, which is unusual.

The often prickly John Ford the foremost American film director of his generation was once quoted as having said "I'm John Ford, i make Westerns" and as a long time ageing fan of the gender i have enjoyed watching Ford westerns for many many years. By now they are old friends, that i love to revisit, the attractions are many and long from pure personal nostalgia to the joy of pure cinematic entertainment to the often stunning visuals and breathless beauty of the landscape photography or to enjoy a great old time film star at the top of his game. A Ford picture such as Rio Grande (1950) has all the above and most of director Ford's weaknesses in some abundance for Ford may of been a great director but he was a lazy one as well and this film as much as any shows most of the director's flaws. A penchant to ramble on at length for no good reason, heavy handed sentimentality with song interludes, action scenes set up's he had used and re-used before and scant regard for historical accuracy. So why do i repeatedly enjoy Rio Grande so much? Ford got the best out of John Wayne as he does so again, there is Maureen O'Hara Wayne's greatest ever co-star, Ford regulars include the great Victor Mclaglen and the under rated Ben Johnson. There is at least one terrific action scene, brilliant western themed visuals and a fabulous western score. O'Hara and Wayne burn up the scene in there scenes together in a film that is all about mythology and big men in action on the frontier. The real west was never like this and i know it, but i was introduced to westerns in the mid fifties when not everyone had a television set and the lone ranger for half an hour at a generous neighbour was the treat of the week. Rio Grande may not be quite premier division John Ford but for western fans such as me it has all the best pleasures in a timeless classic.

John Wayne plays US Cavalry Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, in charge of an outpost on the Rio Grande and dealing with an increasing Indian threat. He's also in charge of training a batch of new recruits and is surprised to find one of them is his son (Claude Jarman, Jr.) he hasn't seen in fifteen years. He's even more surprised when his estranged wife (Maureen O'Hara) shows up intending to take their son home.Amiable, tender, sentimental western. The third of director John Ford's cavalry trilogy with John Wayne. This is the least of the three but still quite good. Duke is great, as usual. This one's also notable as being the first movie where John Wayne is paired with Maureen O'Hara. The two had terrific chemistry and would justifiably be considered one of the silver screen's great duos. Victor McLaglen is lots of fun in this. Ben Johnson is pretty good, too. Lanky Tennessee-born Claude Jarman, Jr. might seem like an unlikely choice for the son of the Duke, but he's perfect. This is one of the three big roles Jarman had in his short career. The other two being The Yearling and Intruder in the Dust. He's excellent in all three. The rest of the supporting cast is good, as they were in most Ford films.The Sons of the Pioneers sing a lot of songs in the movie, which seems to be a sticking point for some. I like their songs and felt it fit the gentle tone of the picture. One of the Pioneers is Ken Curtis, the actor who would go on to play Festus in Gunsmoke. Before that, though, he would play in a number of John Ford movies. This is the first. One funny note is that this movie supposedly has a UFO in a scene about an hour and thirteen minutes in. Duke and Maureen are talking and if you look to the left of him you see a little light zig-zagging about in the distance. It doesn't look like anything unexplainable to me, but it's become something of an urban legend.

I saw "Rio Grande" in the theater as a child and loved it. Unlike some movies I saw in my youth, it has stood the test of time and just gets better as I get older and learn more. I do not need to write a synopsis here as others have done this admirably. I am only writing this review to answer some of the criticisms of this lovely film.First, the "too much music" complaint. I can see how some people would feel this, especially in this day and age, as we are not used to people breaking into song except in a musical and even those are rare these days. But in the days that this movie is set, that is exactly what was going on. There was little else to do in the long, boring tedium of life in the Western outposts for the lowly trooper. They did a lot of singing. Some had guitars, fiddles, banjos...whatever. Libbie Custer tells that a soldier in the 7th had a zither, a unique treat. Of course "San Antone" was not one of the ditties sung by the cavalry as that was written by Dale Evans herself. And I doubt that the average group of soldier singers out on the plains sounded quite as good as Ken Curtis and the Sons of the Pioneers, although who knows. Mrs. Custer also said "There was always in the ranks much amateur and sometimes some professional 'talent'." They even built a little rough tent-building at Fort Hays, referred to as the Opera House, where the soldiers could put on performances and concerts.Secondly the complaint against using black and white and that the photography is just not that great. This movie has for me some of the most iconic images in a western, particularly of John Wayne. The kind of close-ups that make a legend. The photography in "Fort Apache" looks flat on the version I saw. Maybe it's the CD. And "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" looks somewhat garish by comparison. The black and white of "Rio Grande" however looks almost Bergmanesque in it's depth.There have been varying opinions of the Duke's acting in this. Although I feel John Wayne was a personality, rather than an actor, in this one I thought he was great. There are several scenes with no lines where he more than proves his ability.Many seem to think it's just not as good as the first two in the trilogy, but as stated by someone else, the first two have scenes that are hokey or corny or just don't work...or the unfortunate Hollywood touches that will yank you right out of the scene. "Rio Grande" is pretty much spared those. Maybe it's a good thing this was a 'quickie' for John Ford. He didn't have time to rethink his first instinct or give the suits a chance to meddle.Speaking of Hollywood's version of things, I used to assume these movies were exactly that regarding life on the frontier. But as I read more about the times, most importantly first hand accounts, I realized how amazingly accurate these films are, which makes them all the more enjoyable the second or third time around. And, last but not least, the 'indians' are all played by actual Native Americans. Talk about a unique treat! I know...the other two used Native Americans as well, but there was in each a 'non-Indian' playing a lead Indian role as well.If you haven't guessed it by now, of the three cavalry films of John Ford, "Rio Grande" is my favorite. I highly recommend it!!