Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Staci Frederick
Blistering performances.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Wuchak
Released in 1950 and directed by John Ford, "Rio Grande" stars John Wayne as a cavalry officer posted near the Rio Grande where he must deal with Apaches who cross the border to raid and then escape back to the protection of Mexico. The situation is complicated by the arrival of his son, who enlisted after failing at West Point (Claude Jarman Jr.), not to mention the youth's mother, the officer's separated wife, who wants to take "Johnny" back home (Maureen O'Hara).How do you review an old Western like this when you can't stand B&W or old-fashioned scores and hokey antiquated songs, not to mention the incongruent campy elements and slapstick (non)humor Ford is known for? Basically you have to ignore all these factors and focus on the story and the actors. If you can do this, "Rio Grande" is worth checking out. Wayne was lean & mean at almost 43 (during shooting) and O'Hara was striking and curvy as ever at almost 30. It's also cool seeing Ben Johnson & Harry Carey Jr. when they were so young. Amazingly, the film utilizes real Native Americans for the cast and the movie gets extra points for this and their respected portrayal.The film runs 105 minutes and was shot in Utah (e.g. Monument Valley) and Kayenta, Arizona. The screenplay was written by James Kevin McGuinness from a story by James Warner Bellah.GRADE: B-
grantss
Another John Ford/John Wayne classic. Solid plot that isn't all about cavalry vs indians battles. If it was, it would be fairly mundane. No, there's action, and a good dose of human and relationship drama.Action scenes are great, as is the scenery and cinematography. All this you would expect from John Ford. Shooting a western in black-and-white does not sound like the best idea, but Ford makes it work.Great performance by John Wayne. He gets to show off a bit more acting range in this movie. There is the usual action-hero John Wayne, and then the romantic, concerned husband/father John Wayne.Maureen O'Hara is wonderful in the female lead, and stunningly beautiful even in black-and-white.Good support from Claude Jarman Jr and Chill Wills. J Carroll Naish gets the award for looking exactly like the historical figure he is portraying (General Sheridan).Only negatives are the singing and that there are a few moments where the plot seems to briefly stall. All the singing and music started to feel like padding after a while. The plot has some "clunky" moments, where you thought - why is that necessary? Minor issues, that's all.
atlasmb
Supposedly John Ford agreed to make this film in exchange for the go ahead on "The Quiet Man" that followed, also starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and Victor McLaglen. For my money, Ford was right--"The Quiet Man" is the better film, by far.But "Rio Grande" is not a bad film. It is somewhat formulaic--like many of its type. The usual formula is: *Establishment of story within a western fort that house cavalry, surrounded by savage Indians. The fort is run by a strict officer and includes an Irish Sergeant. *A woman is introduced to the story, with subsequent romantic involvement. *Action scenes involving conflict with the Indians, preferably set in the environs of stark and beautiful terrain that is now a national park."Rio Grande" has all that. It also includes enough music that this film might be classified as a musical. The fort, luckily, has its "regimental singers" and a military band that could rival a philharmonic.Colonel Kirby Yorke's (John Wayne) son is played by Claude Jarman, Jr., only four years removed from his emotional, rookie role in "The Yearling". He holds his own and even performs his own horse riding stunts.One thing this film has going for it is horsemanship. Tragically, two stuntmen drowned while filming a river crossing, but the riding in this film is second to none.The acting, in general, is good. Wayne seems in his prime and O'Hara shines, though the film is in B&W.But "Rio Grande" is burdened by a script that is sometimes disjointed, that treats Indians as little more than evil nuisances (as most westerns do), and includes a number of anachronisms.Watch "Rio Grande" for its sentimental ballads and lusty folk songs, its majestic cloud formations, and one interesting plot twist regarding why the two lovers split some fifteen years before.This movie is a mixed bag, so I can only rate it 6/10.
Robert D. Ruplenas
It is so sad that the younger crowd avoids back and white movies just because ..... well, because they're black and white. They're depriving themselves of a lot.I put Rio Grande on my Netflix queue because I stumbled on the title somewhere and realized that it was one of the Ford/Wayne westerns I had not seen. I had seen Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I had liked the former only moderately, and didn't care much for the latter. My favorite Ford western was My Darling Clementine. Rio Grande blew me away from the beginning. A previous commenter mentioned the photography. In the Netflix version I saw it is absolutely gorgeous - the best B&W cinematography I think I've ever seen (after Clementine). The acting is wonderful, with all the usual John Ford crew on hand. Great to see Wayne and Maureen O'Hara working together again. For me it's a tough call between Rio Grande and Clementine as to which better captures the majestic sweep of the western landscape. The story line is a venerable one - mother/father conflict over a struggling son, with mother overprotective and father being tough.This is must-see for fans of westerns and especially for devotees of Ford, Wayne, and O'Hara.
