Customer Reviews

Rio Grande [VHS]

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'Rio Grande', the last of director John Ford's 'unofficial' Cavalry Trilogy, has often been unfairly judged the 'weakest' of the three westerns. Certainly, it lacks the poetic quality of 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon', or the revisionist view of a thinly-disguised reworking of the events surrounding the death of George Armstrong Custer ('Fort Apache'), but for richness of detail, a sense of the camaraderie of cavalrymen, an 'adult' (in the best sense of the word) love story, and a symbolic 'rejoining' of North and South conclusion that may have you tapping your toe, 'Rio Grande' is hard to beat!

It is remarkable that 'Rio Grande' ever got to the screen; Ford hadn't planned to make it, but in order to get Republic Pictures to agree to his demands for 'The Quiet Man' (he wanted the film to be shot on location in Ireland, and in color), he had to agree to do a 'quickie' western that would turn a quick profit for the usually cash-strapped studio. This is, perhaps, a reason why the film is held in less esteem than it deserves. 'Rio Grande' may have not been born with high expectations, but with John Ford in the director's chair, and John Wayne and the Ford 'family' in the cast and crew, the potential for something 'special' was ALWAYS present!

A few bits of trivia to enhance your viewing pleasure: Yes, that IS Ken Curtis, singing with The Sons of the Pioneers, in the film...while uncredited, he made a favorable impression with Ford, and soon became a part of his 'family'...Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr, and Claude Jarman, Jr, actually did their own stunts while performing the 'Roman Style' riding sequence (Carey said in interviews that they were all young, and didn't think about the danger of it; a production would lose their insurance if they 'allowed' three major performers to do something as risky, today!)...Did you know that O'Hara, playing Jarman's 'mother', was barely 14 years older than her 'son', and was only 29 at the time of the filming?...Harry Carey barely had any lines in the script; most of what you see in the film was ad-libbed!...the popular ditty, 'San Antoine', sung by Jarman, Carey, Johnson, and Curtis, was, in fact, written by Mrs. Roy Rogers, herself, Dale Evans!

Whether you're viewing 'Rio Grande' for the first time, or have sat through many viewings, the film has a richness and sense of nostalgia for a West that 'may never have existed, but SHOULD have'. It would be a proud addition to any collector's library!

This is the third of Ford's films which focus on the U.S. Cavalry and its violent encounters with the Apache. Wayne's role in each is quite different. He is a subordinate officer in Fort Apache, a commanding officer about to retire in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and again a commanding officer in this film but estranged from his wife Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara), and son Jeff (Claude Jarman, Jr.) among the men he commands. Lieutenant Kirby Yorke (Wayne) resembles Woodrow F. Call in Lonesome Dove (played by Tommy Lee Jones) who refuses to show any favoritism or even affection whatsoever to his son. (In fact, Call denies his fatherhood.) Of course, Ford ensures that husband and wife are reunited by the end of the film; also, that father and son become close after Trooper Yorke plays a key role in helping to rescue children captured by the Apache and thereby earns his commanding officer's (and father's) respect. A similar relationship exists in Red River except that the conflict is resolved without a brawl. Personally, I would have preferred less reliance on Irish ballads, the focus on Yorke's marital conflicts, and what I view as the macho element of which Ford was so fond. Nonetheless, Wayne's performance is outstanding and the sequence by which the children is rescued is brilliantly portrayed. In additional to much improved sound and image, this DVD version also offers several excellent supplementary features which include a scene-specific commentary with Maureen O'Hara, a mini-documentary "Along the Rio Grande with Maureen O'Hara," and "The Making of Rio Grande" hosted by Leonard Maltin.

Rio Grande, shot in glorious black and white, is in a way the most colorful of the three cavalry movies that John Ford made with John Wayne. As in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" Wayne is in the starring role but a fetchingly mature Maureen O'Hara is able to hold her own with Wayne and become as powerful a figure in the story. Much of the fun of watching this picture is the on screen chemistry of Wayne and O'Hara, they are totally believable as lovers and as equals. It must be duly noted that they are supported by the John Ford stock company and they are seldom showcased as well as this. Of particular note are superb efforts by Harry Carey, and Ben Johnson who carry their parts in an easy and natural style, and Victor Mclaglen who reprises his Sgt. Quincanon from "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon". The DVD edition was digitized from the original negative and it is indeed beautiful. The soundtrack is also clear although a trifle shrill at times. Wayne, with mustache and crumpled hat never looked better, Victor Young's score is rousing, and Ford is at his sentimental and poignant best in this "must see" western classic.

This film marks the first of five films that John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara made together. Once John Ford got a somewhat reluctant Republic mogul Herbert Yates to agree to produce his long-time dream "The Quiet Man" - Yates added a "condition." That condition was that the same team, Maureen O'Hara, Duke Wayne, do a western film first, to make up for the money he anticipated 'losing' on "The Quiet Man."

Yates must have had to eat a lot of crow because not only was "Rio Grande" a box office success, but "The Quiet Man" went on to become an all-time classic masterpiece. "Rio Grande" is an exceptionally wonderful film, and I feel is equal to "The Quiet Man" in it's own genre (Calvalry/western). It is romantic, sensitive, full of action, and everything you would expect from hero John Wayne...and his lovely lady, Maureen O'Hara - plus a happy ending.

This is a subject close to my heart because I maintain a website on Ms. O'Hara and have interviewed her, as well as many of her peers, including Harry Carey, Jr., Anna Lee and John Agar. The chemistry of O'Hara and Wayne in itself is an interesting study and long underrated by Hollywood historians....

I love this movie - Maureen O'Hara never looked prettier and John Wayne is his outstanding macho self. Wayne had to complete The Quiet Man in Ireland in order to do this film and John 'Pappy' Ford made exceptionally effective use of the Monument Valley locations. The added bonus is the music of Stan Jones and the Sons of the Pioneers, the number one western music group of all time. Stan (who wrote the classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky") wrote almost all the music, also has a speaking role, as does Ken Curtis, the Pioneers' lead singer and who later became "Festus" on Gunsmoke. The story is a classic - a mother's love for her only son along with the anger of a spoiled southern aristocrat caught in the ravages of the Civil War, the former husband whose pledge of Duty, Honor, and Country of the career military man broke up their marriage, and the realization and acceptance by both of that pledge is as integral to the man as were her ties to the South. This should be in the top five of John Wayne movies for collectors - great music, acting, scenery, photography, and message.

Great movie, but want to comment on the DVD. Other reviewers to the contrary, I felt that this was a poor transfer, with digital artifacts present and indeed quite distracting in a couple of scenes. Not good. My old VHS copy is more of a pleasure to watch. Also, the last reviewer was incorrect; as Maltin makes clear in a pretty boring "Making of" segment, this wasn't shot in Monument Valley.

Many Great Westerns have been the results of Director and Star partnerships none more so than John Ford and John Wayne From STAGECOACH (1939) to THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962). Just about in the middle of this period they made three films regarded as Ford's Cavalry Trilogy. As well as John Wayne, Victor McLagen (A former Ford favourite) would also appear in all three! FORT APACHE (1948) SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949) and RIO GRANDE (1950).

In RIO GRANDE John Wayne reprises his role of Kirby Yorke from FORT APACHE. John Ford had just completed WAGONMASTER (1950) starring Ward Bond in the title role along with Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jnr both who no doubt for a matter of convenience retained their names of Travis (Tyree) and Sandy (Boone) from WAGONMASTER. Ben Johnson also played Sgt Tyree in SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON. The film also stars Maureen O'Hara as Wayne's estranged screen wife, Claude Jarman Junior as their son and last but not least J. Carrol Naish as Lt Gen Phil Sheridan.

The story is basically a study of reconciliation between the Wayne and O'Hara characters during the Apache wars. Beautifully shot in black and white plenty of images on the skyline, as well as that of the troops encampment and on the move.
The horse riding sequences are outstanding it's reputed that Johnson, Carey and the young Jarmen did all the Roman (standing on two horses whilst going at full gallop) style riding. Ben Johnson was a former stunt rider and double and it's these three who are the real heroes of the piece!

As usual with most John Ford films we have several comic set pieces as well as the frequent accompaniment by "The Sons of the Pioneers" (A singing group previously lead by Roy Rogers). John Wayne was in a purple patch at this stage of his career having had critical acclaim for the aforementioned SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON and Howard Hawkes RED RIVER (1948). Any John Ford / John Wayne aficionado will have a field day with this release, but any Western fan should find much to enjoy in this top quality Collector's Edition DVD

This Rio Grande Collector's Edition DVD along with Trailers (All digitally remastered). Plus extras
"THE MAKING OF RIO GRANDE" Hosted by Leonard Maltin
"ALONG THE RIO GRANDE WITH MAUREEN O'HARA"

I am in total agreement with those who don't regard this piece of filmwork as something "lightweight" or "throwaway" when compared to "Fort Apache" or "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon". Nor is it "just" a "sleepwalking" effort by John Ford to gain financing from Herbert Yates at Republic for a Technicolor production of "The Quiet Man" (which it DID succeed in doing).
It is, in fact, a solid and masterful piece of filmmaking that stands successfully (and rightly so) on its own merits and does not need to figuratively hang its head at all in the company of "Apache" or "Ribbon". If it is considered the "least" of the three by some, then such an evaluation speaks volumns for the quality of the two companion pieces, because this film itself is an excellent one.

During the 1940s and into the early 50s the popular western writer James Warner Bellah wrote a series of U.S. Cavalry stories that centered around a fictional army garrison at "Fort Starke" , deep in Arizona's Apache country. These stories appeared frequently in the magazine "The Saturday Evening Post" and featured recurring characters like Kirby Yorke, Flint Cohill, Sgt. Quincannon, Ross Pennell,Travis Tyree, Mickey O'Rourke, Sgt. Major O'Rourke, and others. John Ford enjoyed these J.W. Bellah stories...and the strong "Irishness" that filled them...and used them as the basis of his trilogy.

The first film of the trilogy, "Fort Apache", is a re-vamp of a "Fort Starke" story, with some elements of it changed. Lt. Mickey O'Rourke defends the pack train in the finale of the original story, not Kirby Yorke (John Wayne)and a few other elements here and there vary from one medium to the other.

"Yellow Ribbon" is the Fort Starke "team" again with Wayne
portraying the retiring Nathan Brittles.

"Rio Grande" brings us back around to Kirby Yorke again. Yes, Wayne's character..Lt. Col. Yorke...is the SAME CHARACTER he played in "Fort Apache", aged and promoted and now wearing a mustache. At the end of "Fort Apache", when a cleanshaven Wayne gives up his horse to Col. Thursday (Henry Fonda), Thursday tells him "When you command this regiment...and you probably will...COMMAND it".
Well, Yorke has taken Thursday's admonition to heart, and in "Rio Grande" he does indeed COMMAND the regiment. He is a no-nonsense, hard-nosed, professional military man. But he is also a lonely man.

CAPTAIN Kirby Yorke had no love interest whatsoever in "Fort Apache". Now, in dealing with COLONEL Kirby Yorke in "Rio Grande", we find out why that was. It seems that Yorke has all this while been married, but estranged from his wife. It also seems that he has a son. The problem was not an uncommon one in the middle 1800s; Yorke was a young Army officer who was married to a Virginia belle (Maureen O'Hara), heir to a lovely ante-bellum plantation in the Shenandoah Valley. When the Civil War broke out Yorke remained loyal to the Union, while his wife's sympathies were decidedly pro-Southern. A rift grew between them. The rift grew greater when U.S. campaign tactics began to target civilians as well as confederate armies. By late 1862 the Union had been whipped repeatedly in battle after battle and in Northern Virginia their supply lines were constantly being disrupted by guerilla cavalry raids let by the confederate partisan genius, John Singleton Mosby, "The Grey Ghost". As a reaction against Mosby's raids General Philip Sheridan had union forces sweep through the Shenandoah Valley. pillaging and burning out landowners who backed and supplied Mosby's forces. One of these burn-out operations seems to have involved the plantation owned by Kirby Yorke's wife (O'Hara). Worse, still, the troop detachment sent to tend to this "dirty business" was Yorke himself...and the man who set the first fire was family friend Sergeant Quincannon. From that day, fifteen years prior to the time "Rio Grande" is set, Yorke's wife has had nothing to do with him...and he has not seen his son, Jeff, in all that time either.

When "Rio Grande" opens, something surprising and disruptive has taken place; Private Jefferson Yorke, Kirby's son, has shown up as a troop replacement at Fort Starke, having flunked out of West Point for poor math grades. This surprise hits Kirby hard, but more is to come. Kathleen Yorke shows up with
War Department paperwork, which, with a fee, can get her son out of the Army. She intends to take him home. Her first meeting with her husband in 15 years, however, gives instant indication that the feelings between these two run deep and strong still. There is lot to be resolved here.

And resolved things are, but before such resolution can occur there are Indian attacks to be dealt with, massacres to soldier through, a young soldier's ascension to manhood to unfold, and the bitterness of the past to be put behind. All of these things
are depicted with John Ford's sentimental love of humanity, rollicking sense of humor, and heavy-hearted acknowledgement of
tragedy when it occurs.

Ben Johnson is here, Hollywood's greatest horseman, doing some of his fabulous riding sequences. Claude Jarman, Jr. does a great job portraying Yorke's son Jeff, and Harry "Dobie" Carey, Jr.("YO"!!) and Victor McLaglen provide comic shenanigans with professional panache. The Sons of the Pioneers portray the "Regimental Singers". and the vocal soloist...new to the Pioneers at the time...was young Ken Curtis. If one is an old "Gunsmoke" fan, it may take some real effort to get a grip on the notion that this impeccable young man would one day be "Festus Hagen" on t.v. Curtis's rendition of the popular old ballad "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" is excellent.
Other musical ditties are the jaunty "Aha, San Antone" (written by Dale Evans), "Yellow Stripes On Britches Blue" (life in the cavalry), and a portion of a Stan Jones composition, "Cattle Call", which would subsequently be released on the radio as a hit single recording by country music star Eddy Arnold (and a song that has since been "covered" by Leanne Rimes).

A performance of note in "Rio Grande" is that of (Col.)Peter Ortiz (USMCR) as "Captain St. Jacques" , a lean, eyepatched officer of obvious French descent who shows the carraige and demeanor of a Foreign Legionnaire. There was reason for that, as Ortiz had served for several years IN the Foreign Legion. A Californian of French-Spanish ancestry, he attended college in France and went into the Legion in 1932 and served in North Africa. Later he returned to the United States and, when WWII broke out, he took a commission in the Marine Corps. Ortiz never set foot in the Pacific Theatre of that war, however, as did MOST Marine officers and enlisted men. When his background military history was evaluated by Washington, Ortiz was detached from the Marines and assigned to the Office of Strategic Services, The OSS, the forerunner to today's CIA. The OSS sent him to North Africa to help run sabotage and intelligence networks there (and to Liaison with Free French Forces), and then later he was parachuted into occupied France to work with the resistance underground (the "Maquis") against the Germans. Ortiz was captured and spent time till war's end in a POW camp. A heavily decorated warrior...2 Navy Crosses, The Legion of Merit, the Order of the British Empire,FIVE French Croix de Guerre, AND Chevalier of the French Legion d'Honneur...Otiz was a real "Audie Murphy type" known to John Ford through their mutual OSS connections. Ortiz appeared in only two films, both Ford vehicles, "Rio Grande" and "What Price Glory?" with James Cagney.
Filled with action, great performances all around, and true star power in Wayne and O'Hara (as well as a sweeping, emotionally moving orchestral score by Victor Young), "Rio Grande" is just a marvelous entertainment vehicle. The performances of these two mega-stars are powerful, evocative,and absorbing. One scene in particular is remarkable. It is just prior to Ken Curtis's serenade and involves nothing more than John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara looking at each other across a table in a tent . There is NO dialog. Everything is conveyed through the eyes and facial expressions. It is all nuance...and it is magnificent. Brilliantly directed...brilliantly acted.

And, as for more acting Kudos, J. Carroll Naish makes a wonderful General "Little Phil" Sheridan . He looks like Sheridan and is dressed like Sheridan. Even wears the kind of hat the real Sheridan typically wore. Great touch, that, and good job Mr. Naish!

"Rio Grande"...one of the all-time great westerns. I'll recommend it ANY day.

John Ford's so-called cavalry trilogy includes "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (absolute classic), "Fort Apache" (a terrific movie in its own right), and "Rio Grande" (sometimes looked at as a lesser movie). However, "Rio Grande" holds up nicely on its own.

The protagonist, York, has the same name as Henry Fonda's subordinate in "Fort Apache," also played by John Wayne.

York's son, after failing at West Point, is assigned to his command. His mother, played by Maureen o'Hara, tries to get him out of the service. Of course, the son refuses.

After that, the movie addresses the issue of Native Americans in the United States crossing the Rio Grande to avoid the American Army. General Phil Sheridan (not too well depicted as an oversized figure--Sheridan himself was a small person in stature) empowered York to cross the River--unofficially. Thus, if any problems came up, York would be the fall guy.

Neat scenes: riding horses as "the ancient Romans," young York getting in a fight, the wonderful rescue of the children in Mexico.

Although some see this as the least of the trilogy, it captures a feel and generates some powerful emotional responses. All in all, a fine movie.

Ford's cavalry trilogy is, in its way, just as much Victor McLaglen's trilogy, for he appears once again in 'Rio Grande', still superbly filling the tough-soft sergeant part, still providing the Ford horse-play comedy element with just a touch of parody, still, one might add, probably fulfilling Ford's own particular vision of revering the heroes who have helped conquer the West...

The McLaglen sergeant seems drawn on the spreading of lines, but in retrospect, one realizes that somehow, paradoxically, he has inspired a remarkable degree of realism into the three motion pictures... (They would be not the same without him.)

'Rio Grande' has a very strong domestic flavor...

John Wayne - a casualty of the Civil War - is a cavalry officer, under strict orders, with great family problems... He's a northerner who, not surprisingly, has left his wife, a southerner, because he obediently did his military duty and burned several southern plantations - including the one owned by his wife's family... Maureen O'Hara - bringing a fitting maturity to her stereotyped assignment in the film - never forgives her husband for burning her plantation, and abruptly takes their son and goes away, effectively ending their marriage...

Fifteen years later, Wayne, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Cavalry officer, attempts to maintain the truce calm at his southwestern post, which is besieged by marauding renegade Apaches who are continually using the border with Mexico as an escape route after their raids, a lost cause since the U.S. and Mexican governments agreed that their military forces will not cross the Rio Grande under any circumstances...

He hurries to put down an Indian uprising when his past and his wife cross his path again... He is confronted by a new recruit: his West Point dropout son (Claude Jarman Jr.) and, later, the arrival of his frigid wife, desperate to buy her son out of the cavalry...

Everything, domestically and militarily is, of course, resolved successfully and, indeed, predictably, but it is the texture of the film that gives it its enjoyment - the gentle study of the reconciliation of a colonel and his estranged wife; the interplay of a father compelled to send his son on a dangerous mission; the peculiar supporting contributions of the 'beloved brute sergeant,' or the cavalry side-kicks, Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr.

The three films (even considered singly) give a feeling of frontier military life, however colored by a director's highly personal viewpoint, that has hardly been approached, let alone surpassed...

There's a beautiful scene in which Wayne and Maureen are serenaded by soldiers of his troop... We can observe a husband meditating about all that went wrong with his marriage, and watch the inclination and desire that exist in his longing sideways brief look at his wife...

With first rate acting and lushly sentimental score, 'Rio Grande' can never be missed... It is the last of John Ford's cavalry movies and the most sentimental...