The war with the Indians never stops !? RIO GRANDE is a film that does not bring about any change compared to his predecessor. John Ford is more focused on the family and romance in relation to retaliation against the Apaches. This is sufficient historical western adventure. Relationship to military duties and decisions of their own heart is quite interesting. The film lacks specific humor that is adorned predecessors.Serving in the US cavalry can be quite frustrating if the family becomes part of everyday life. The story focuses on a family, although it can be concluded that the established dozens of families. Children should be kept away from the army. Women keep as close as possible, because in this case are better than soldiers. However, I had to conclude in the case of a one woman.I could not define the relationship between father and son. This film lacks emotion. Fight scene looks impressive. Although, I think that it lacks tension. Fight scene looks impressive. Although, I think that it lacks tension. Apaches in the movie "kidnapped" children. The reactions are mild, at times tragicomic.John Wayne as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, one fairly quiet performance, unusual for Wayne. The character who loves his family with which in 15 years has not relationship. However, he loves his "job". The family has become part of the job. Maureen O'Hara as Kathleen Yorke is a kind of decoration that will improve relations at work. I am a fan of westerns and this part of the American cavalry my least liked. I am forced to listen to the song The Sons of The Pioneers. It is in my case the final straw.

After the Civil War, Union officer Kirby Yorke (John Wayne) is in charge of an output on the Rio Grande fighting the Apache. He hasn't seen his son Jeff in 15 years who recently failed out of West Point. He is surprised when Jeff shows up as one of the new troopers. It's not a happy reunion which adds to the tension of the undermanned outpost. Jeff's mother Kathleen Yorke (Maureen O'Hara) arrives and old feelings are stirred up. They are attacked by Indians and the prisoners escape. The women and children are evacuated but some are captured in an Apache ambush. Kirby leads the men on a rescue mission.It's an old fashion John Ford western. I can do without the old fashion singing. However there is some impressive horsemanship. The riding stunts are terrific. The story is simple. The romance is limited but O'Hara gives it her all. John Wayne is his great self. At one point, John Wayne meets his Mexican counterpart on the Rio Grande. If he crosses the river to continue the chase, this movie could have been a great action thriller. Instead he turns around and the momentum is lost.

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!!