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Red River
(1948)
In Howard Hawks' great western classic similar to
the story of Mutiny on the Bounty, regarding feuding, generational
rivalry and rebellion between an adopted son and his hard-headed
ruthless father, spanning a time period of fifteen years, during
a three month cattle drive - the first one north from Texas to Kansas
along the Chisholm Trail:
- the scrolling prologue that opened the film: "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"
- the early scene in 1851 of the parting of future cattle
rancher Tom Dunson (John Wayne) (bound for Texas from St. Louis)
from his young, pretty sweetheart Fen (Coleen Gray); she begged Tom
to let her come along so she wouldn't be deserted, but he stubbornly
refused her pleas, thinking that the arduous drive would be "too
much for a woman"; when she kissed him, she asked if she really
appeared weak: ("Hold me, feel me in your arms. Do I feel weak,
Tom? I don't, do I?"), and then pleaded with him to balance
his human actions by listening with his heart as well as his head: "Oh,
you'll need me. You'll need a woman. You need what a woman can give
you to do what you have to do"; but he resisted
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A Fateful Final Goodbye: Fen and Tom
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- shortly afterwards, during a Comanche Indian attack
that night against Tom and his sidekick Groot Nadine (Walter Brennan),
they found Fen's bracelet on the wrist of one of the killed natives
(Tom had given his mother's snake bracelet to her when they parted)
- that meant that Fen had fatefully died during an earlier Indian
attack on her California-bound wagon train
- the next day's discovery of a young orphaned boy named
Matt (Micky Kuhn as a young boy) wandering aimlessly and leading
a cow behind him - he was the sole survivor of the wagon train massacre
- after crossing the Red River and traveling many miles
in deep South Texas, all the way to the Rio Grande, Dunson declared
the land his own - a claim to all the sweeping grazing lands north
of the Rio Grande, to raise large herds of cattle: "And I'll
put a mark, a brand on 'em, to show they're mine too....There'll
be two lines, like this, like the banks of a river. It'll be the
Red River brand"; he traced a distinctive Red River brand (the
Red River D) for the bull and cow - his initial D (for Dunson) and
two lines (a double S to show the two banks of the river), and then
promised Matt that his initial would be added to balance the design
- once he earned it:: "I'll put an 'M' on it when you earn it"
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Young Orphaned Matt
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Tom Surveying His Land with Groot and Young Matt
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The First Red River D Brand
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- the scene of a confrontation with two Mexican wranglers
who claimed the land was already owned by their boss Don Diego
- a Spanish grantee whose family held the land by patent from the
King of Spain; in a quick draw shootout, Dunson killed one of the
men, and sent the second one back to his boss as a messenger with
a warning that the land had a new owner
- the scene dissolved (with a montage) to about 15 years
later in the year 1865 - Dunson was now the owner of a sizable cattle
enterprise - he boasted (in voice-over): "I'll have that brand
on enough beef to feed the whole country. Good beef for hungry people.
Beef to make 'em strong and make 'em grow. But it takes work and
it takes sweat and it takes time. Lots of time. It takes years" -
but he confided in Matt and Groot that he had to round up the entire
herd and transport it away from the South - north across the Red
River on an untested trail-trek to Sedalia, Missouri: "Unless
we can move 'em, I'm broke...I'm not gonna take it haunch-backed
like the rest around here. There's no market for cattle in Texas...Then
I'll take 'em where there is a market, if it means drivin' them a
thousand miles"
- the homosexual-tinged scene between notorious gunman
Cherry Valance (John Ireland), who was hired for Dunson's cattle
drive, and Tom's grown-up foster son Matthew Garth/Dunson (Montgomery
Clift as adult, in his debut film role) when they compared each other's
guns and competed in shooting abilities; Cherry made covert advances
toward Matt, while they both exhibited much symbolic macho posturing
and sexual innuendo about their respective guns: (Cherry: "That's
a good looking gun you were about to use back there. Can I see it?
(Matt handed it over) Maybe you'd like to see mine! (Cherry reacting
to Matt's gun) Nice! Awful nice. You know, there are only two things
more beautiful than a good gun: a Swiss watch or a woman from anywhere.
You ever had a good Swiss watch?"); the scene was followed by
their target practice session with a tin can to demonstrate their
shooting skills
- the momentous scene of Tom Dunson's tough challenge
and statement of ground rules to his recalcitrant cowhands the night
before a treacherous, near-suicidal cattle drive up to Missouri:
("Well, we start tomorrow. We're goin' to Missouri with ten
thousand head. Most of you men have come back to Texas from the war.
You came back to nothing. You find your homes gone, your cattle scattered,
and your land stolen by carpetbaggers. Well there's no money and
no work because there's no market for beef in the South. But there
is in Missouri. So we're goin' to Missouri... Cumberland didn't make
it. No one else has. That's the reason I'm here. I want you all to
know what you're up against. You probably already know, but I want
to make sure you do. We got a thousand miles to go. Ten miles a day'll
be good. Fifteen will be luck. It'll be dry country, dry wells when
we get to 'em. There'll be wind, rain. There's gonna be Indian Territory
- how bad I don't know. When we get to Missouri, there'll be border
gangs. It's gonna be a fight all the way. But we'll get there. Nobody
has to come along. We'll still have a job for ya when we get back.
Now remember this! Every man who signs on for this drive agrees to
finish it. There'll be no quittin' along the way, not by me and not
by you! There's no hard feelings if you don't want to go. But just
let me know now")
- the scene at sun-up on the morning of the start of
the epic cattle drive in which the camera panned 360 degrees around
to view the herd and the cowboys, followed by Dunson's order to Matthew
to begin the trek - "Take 'em to Missouri, Matt!" - and
the quick-cutting montage of each of the cowboys crying out to get
the doggies movin' ("Yee-Hah!")
- the stupendous sequence of the cattle stampede one
night, caused by Bunk Kenneally (Ivan Parry) who inadvertently sent
the herd into an out-of-control stampede when he again selfishly
reached to steal a dab of sugar in the chuckwagon - the third time
- and upset all the pots and pans; one of the drovers-cowhands Dan
Latimer (Harry Carey Jr.) died as a result of the stampede
- the funeral sequence for Dan Latimer, during which
a cloud passed over the sun and cast a shadow on the distant mountain
while Dunson delivered a eulogy: ( "You brought nothing into
this world and it's certain we can carry nothing out. The Lord gave
and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Amen")
- immediately after the service, Dunson threatened to
deliver a public bull-whipping to Bunk for the loss of several hundred
head of cattle and a man's life; Matt intervened (when Bunk reached
for his gun to defend himself against Dunson) by only wounding Bunk,
knowing that his father would have killed him ("You'd have shot
him right between the eyes")
- there were the beginnings of mutinous talk among the
cowboys, including Naylor (Glenn Strange) and Fernandez (Paul Fierro)
who challenged Dunson and wanted to take a different route - to Kansas;
Cherry, Groot and Matt helped to defend the unarmed Dunson and cold-bloodedly
executed the three "quitters"; afterwards, the tyrannical
Dunson turned and defiantly asked the rest of the men: "All
right. Anybody else? Say it now, 'cause I don't want ever to hear
it again. I don't like quitters, especially when they're not good
enough to finish what they start. Now go on! Speak up! Say it and
you can join your friends here..."; although Matt assisted in
the killing, he questioned his father's judgment and dictatorial
rule and declared his behavior "wrong"
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Dunson's Show-Down Against Three "Quitters"
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Dunson's Warning Against the Others
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Matt Blamed His Father's Tyranny for the Revolt
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- the marvelous scene of the crossing of the Red River
- soon, three others deserted during the night - Teeler,
Kelsey and Laredo (Dan White), stealing beans, flour, and cartridges
during their sneaky getaway, but two of the three rebellious deserters
were caught by Cherry and brought back to camp and tried for thievery
and desertion
- in a dramatic scene, Matt finally led a mutinous attack
against his mad, enraged and arrogant father and refused to hang
the two men for desertion when ordered to - Matt openly defied his
hard, inflexible father, forcibly assumed control, and decided to
reroute the herd on a different, shorter route to the railroad terminus
in Abilene, Kansas; during a short farewell scene, Matt had a few
final words with the cold-blooded, outnumbered Dunson, who verbally
threatend to hunt Matt down and kill him: "...I'm gonna kill
you. I'll catch up with ya! I don't know when, but I'll catch up.
Every time you turn around, expect to see me. 'Cause one time you'll
turn around and I'll be there. I'll kill ya, Matt"
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Two of Three Deserters Brought Back by Cherry
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Matt Again Defiant Against His Father
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Dunson's Threat Toward His Son: "I'll kill
ya, Matt!"
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- the sequence of Matt's rescue of a wagon train (of
dance hall girls and gamblers) from an Apache Indian attack - and
his acquaintance and rapid romantic relationship established with
Tess Millay (Joanne Dru), one of the pioneer women, although they
went separate ways when he pushed on to Abilene
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Matt Defending Wagon Train From Indians
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Tess Millay (Joanne Dru)
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Matt's Romance with Tess
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- during his relentless pursuit of Matt, Dunson came
upon Tess' wagon-train days later, and after a few moments realized
that she was the link between him and Matt - she offered him a
chance for redemption and peace-making after the two men had grown
to defy each other; he asked for her to provide him with a son:
("What would you say if, if I offered ya half of everything
I own for a son?") - but she responded with a tough caveat: "I'll
have your son, Mr. Dunson, if you'll stop now. Stop now and go
back where you came from. I'll have your son" - he refused
to give up his murderous quest for Matt
- the scene of the final savage confrontation between
father and son at sun-up, when Dunson saw Matt in the distance in
Abilene (where Matt's team had already arrived - the first cattle
drive to cross over the Chisholm Trail! - the cattle had streamed
through the streets); the camera tracked with Dunson as he rode forward,
dismounted and strode through the stray cows (actually plowed or
waded through them like water in a river), and drew his gun on Matt
- and challenged Matt: ("Go on, draw. I said 'DRAW'! (Long pause)
Then I'll make ya"); when Matt refused to draw, they got into
a lengthy, fist-fight brawl after Dunson taunted: "You're soft!
Won't anything make a man out of ya?...You yellow-bellied, cotton-livered..."
- the fight was interrupted by Tess's intervention into
the senseless fighting - she fired a gun close to them to get their
attention and then commanded them to end their fighting and quit
destroying each other ("Stop it. Stop it. Stop makin' a holy...Stop
it I said. I'm mad, good and mad. And who wouldn't be. (To Dunson)
You Dunson, pretendin' you're gonna kill him. Why, it's the last
thing in the world you... Stay still. I'm mad I told ya. (To Matt)
And you Matthew Garth, gettin' your face all beat up and all bloody.
You oughta see how, you oughta see how silly you look, like, like
somethin' the cat dragged - STAY STILL - What a fool I've been, expectin'
trouble for days when, when anybody with half a mind would know you
two love each other....Then stay still. No, don't stay still. I changed
my mind. Go ahead. Beat each other crazy. Maybe it will put some
sense in both of ya. Go ahead. Go on. Do it!") - she marched
off; they obeyed her by ultimately reconciling after Tom told Matt
that he should marry Tess ("You'd better marry that girl, Matt")
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Dunson's Arrival at the Rail Head in Abilene,
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Vicious Fight-Brawl Between Father and Son
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Tess' Arbitration of the Fighting
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- in the last lines of the film, Dunson ordered one
last thing, promising to add Matt's initial to the Red River D
cattle brand (as a new branding iron) to make him a full partner
in his cattle business - he drew the new brand in the dirt - a
close-up of the brand ended the film as he announced that Matt
had "earned" his manhood and had become a full partner
of his adoptive father; the first name initial, 'M', symmetrically
balanced out the surname, 'D', on the other side of the wavy, parallel
lines that represented the Red River: (Dunson: "When we get
back to the ranch, I want ya to change the brand. It'll be like
this, the Red River 'D' and we'll add an 'M' to it. You don't mind that do
ya?...You earned it")
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Scrolling Prologue
Tom Dunson (John Wayne)
Fen's Bracelet (on Dead Indian's Wrist)
Montage: The Development of Dunson's Red River D Ranch
15 Years Later - The Necessity of a Cattle Drive
Matt (Montgomery Clift): Hints of Conflict Between Father
and Foster Son
Showing Off Guns:
Cherry (John Ireland)
and Matt
Dunson's Challenge to Ranchhands About the Cattle Drive
Part of 360 Degree Panning View of Herd
Dunson: "Take 'em to Missouri, Matt"
Cowhands Cry: "Yee-Hah!"
Cattle Stampede
Dunson: "STAMPEDE!"
Dan Latimer's Funeral Service
Matt Shot and Wounded Bunk Before Dunson Could Kill Him
Crossing the Red River
Dunson's Discussion with Tess About Having a Son
After the Fight - Dunson to Matt: "You'd better marry
that girl, Matt"
The New Red River D Brand
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