ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

zniva-96130 Wonderful mix of family story and insight in every day's life of an soldier in the old west. Beautiful shots in black and white and good acting of Wayne and O'Hara! Not to forget the sentimental music of Victor Young!

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-

nyc man ***Spoiler Alert*** There are some surprises in this corny western. The raids of the Indians are savage, truly, with a not-too-muscular John Wayne saying in a bland voice: "they tied 3 soldiers guarding the water hole face down on ant hills." Holy cow: that is a more brutal torture than I am willing to imagine. And there are touches (just touches) of realism where a lawyer is needed to help an accused soldier ("And if a Dallas lawyer can't get him acquitted, " says John Wayne, which is a refreshing take on a NY lawyer). And both Wayne and his son know the law quite well. Meanwhile, the Indians dash across the Rio Grande (like terrorists! in this 1950 film), befuddling the US Cavalry which can't pursue and the Mexican army which can only stay on guarding the river Rio Grande. Even though both armies want to pursue (and even join forces: an Alliance of the Willing), their Orders specifically stop them. I had to fast forward every time the film (frequently) has the soldiers serenading one another. Some horse tricks are amazing ("Roman style" – it's a thing). I was somewhat jarred by one piece of dialog that could've been said this year: As the teenage son is about to pull an arrow out of his dad's chest (John Wayne), his fellow young soldier says "Get it done" and the other young soldier says "Yo". The scenes with the Indians chanting was perhaps authentic (but who knows? – perhaps some Native Americans, that's who), but I thought it was a bit stereotypical.The film is OK, but sappy, and I watched it more as an exercise to see what "the old Westerns looked like" than to enjoy it.

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.