AWARDS AND HONORS

Although not released until September 1948, Red River became the year's third biggest moneymaker, earning more than $4 million on its first run.

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Film Editing (Christian Nyby) and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story (Borden Chase).

Charles Schnee and Borden Chase received a nomination for Best Written American Western from the Writers Guild of America.

Howard Hawks was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement by the Directors Guild of America.

In 1990, Red River was chosen by the National Film Preservation Board to be preserved in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

THE CRITICS CORNER

"It's a spectacle of sweeping grandeur, as rugged and hard as the men and times with which it deals. ... The staging of physical conflict is deadly, equalling anything yet seen on the screen." – Variety, July 14, 1948.

"So long as it sticks to cow-herding and the gathering clash between these two-a clash brought on by disagreement as to whether they should try the untrod trail-it rings with the clang of honest metal and throbs with the pulse of real life. For Mr. Hawks has filled it with credible substance and detail, with action and understanding, humor and masculine ranginess. He has made it look raw and dusty, made it smell of beef and sweat-and he has got a stampede of cattle in it that makes you curl up with terror in your seat. He has also got several fine performances out of a solidly masculine cast, topped off by a withering job of acting a boss-wrangler done by Mr. Wayne. This consistently able portrayer of two-fisted, two-gunned outdoor men surpasses himself in this picture. We wouldn't want to tangle with him. Mr. Clift has our admiration as the lean and leathery kid who does undertake that assignment, and he carries it off splendidly." – Bosley Crowther, New York Times, October 1, 1948.

"A memorable performance [by Montgomery Clift] in one of Hawks' finest films, worthwhile not only for its picture of a lean, practical, and independent cowboy but for the way it seemed to compel John Wayne into thinking about his part." – David Thomson, A Biographical Dictionary of Film (Alfred A. Knopf, 1994).

"The tragic rivalry is so well established that somehow it keeps its weight and dignity in our memories, even though the ending undercuts it. ... Between Wayne and Clift there is a clear tension, not only between an older man and a younger one, but between an actor who started in 1929 and another who represented the leading edge of the Method." – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, March 1, 1998.

"Immaculately shot by Russell Harlan, perfectly performed by a host of Hawks regulars, and shot through with dark comedy, it's probably the finest Western of the 40s." – Geoff Andrew, TimeOut Film Guide (Penguin Books, 2000).

"It wasn't just his physical beauty that mesmerized audiences. In Red River Clift conveyed a more tortured sense of uncertainty and self-doubt than we expected to see in a laconic cowpoke. The Western is ordinarily set in a universe of absolute moral certainty; the intense self-questioning that Clift brings to his characterization suddenly propels the genre into the 20th century." – Stephen Farber, Movieline magazine, October 2004.

"The epic story is both a view of American history and a view of the American civilization as a successor of those of the past...But this journey has a relation to Homeric epic as well as to American history...The contrast between the sensitive, "soft," almost beautifully handsome Clift and the hard, determined, indomitable Wayne not only provides the essential psychological contrast required for the film's narrative but also provides two brilliant and brilliantly contrasted acting styles for the film's dramatic tension." - Gerald Mast, The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers.

"Unromantized western has remarkable authenticity; beautiful black-and-white photography by Russell Harlan, with emphasis on cloudy skies, barren terrain, darkness that makes night oppressive to give harsh feel to the West...but Dru (whom I usually like) is miscast; in pivotal role, coming in so late in the film and having such an important part, she interferes in the proceedings in more ways than one. Through her, picture changes tone; while momentarily satisfying, the ending is more suitable for a comedy." - Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic.

"Brawling Western, a bit serious and long drawn out but with splendid action sequences." - Halliwell's Film & Video Guide.

"A magnificent horse opera - one of the more elaborate celebrations of those trail-blazing episodes that Hollywood used to glorify as "historical events"...A lot of it is just terrible, but Clift - in his most aggressively sexual screen performance - is angular and tense and audacious, and the other actors brawl amusingly in the strong-silent-man tradition." - Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies.

"A Spirited Western, and a study of the deeper meanings of companionship." - Peter Cowie, Eighty Years of Cinema.

"...the epic power of Red River is immense. It's a classic Western...Red River was conceived as a sort of Western version of Mutiny on the Bounty...Clift, in his screen debut, is stunningly tense and aggressive...But a large part of the movie's effectiveness is the result of Russell Harlan's black-and-white photography (the scenery is spectacular) and a truly heroic score by Dimitri Tiomkin." - Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide.

"A seminal Western, as much for Wayne's performance, which drew the response from John Ford of 'I didn't know the sonofabitch could act!', as for Hawks' magisterial direction...The ending has been attacked as a compromise that makes nonsense of Wayne's character as a man who sees things through to the bitter end, and certainly it seems out of kilter with the thrust of Chase's script...All that one can say of the ending as used is that it works." - Phil Hardy, The Encyclopedia of Western Movies.

"...has the dimension of classical Greek tragedy....It's also notable as a mood piece of epic majesty, with a famous stampede and the much loved 'Yee haw' scene re-enacted in City Slickers [1991]." - The Rough Guide to Cult Movies.

Compiled by Rob Nixon & Jeff Stafford