Rio Grande (film)

Rio Grande
Directed by	John Ford
Produced by	Merian C. Cooper John Ford
Written by	James Warner Bellah (story) James K. McGuinness (screenplay)
Starring	John Wayne Maureen O'Hara
Music by	Victor Young
Cinematography	Bert Glennon Archie J. Stout
Editing by	Jack Murray
Distributed by	Republic
Release date(s)	November 15, 1950
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Rio Grande is a 1950 western film and the third installment of John Ford's "cavalry trilogy", following two RKO Pictures releases: Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949).

John Wayne stars in all three films, as Captain Kirby Yorke in Fort Apache, then as Captain of Cavalry Nathan Cutting Brittles in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and finally as a promoted Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke in Rio Grande (the York/Yorke character's last name was spelled slightly differently in Fort Apache and Rio Grande).

The film is based on a short story "Mission With No Record" by James Warner Bellah, that appeared in the The Saturday Evening Post on September 27, 1947, and the screenplay was written by James Kevin McGuinness.^[1][2]

Contents 1 Production 2 Plot 3 Basis 4 Cast 5 Music 6 References 7 External links

Production

Ford wanted to make The Quiet Man first, but Republic Pictures studio president Herbert Yates, insisted that Ford make Rio Grande first, using the same combination of Wayne and Maureen O'Hara; Yates did not feel that the script of The Quiet Man was very good, and wanted Rio Grande to be released first to pay for The Quiet Man. (To Yates's surprise The Quiet Man, on its eventual release in 1952, would become Republic's number one film in terms of box office receipts.)^{[citation needed]}

The film was shot in Monument Valley, and other locations in southeastern Utah around the town of Moab and along the Colorado River.^[3]

Plot

In Rio Grande, Colonel Yorke is posted on the frontier to defend settlers against hostile Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress between the Apaches and the young-raw recruits sent to the post-in numbers far inadequate to the needs of his command.

Tension is added when Yorke's son (whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years), Trooper Jeff Yorke (Claude Jarman Jr.), is posted to the fort. Not wanting the other men to think he is favoring his son, he ends up being harder on him. Jeff is watched over by a pair of more seasoned troopers, Tyree (Ben Johnson) and Boone (Harry Carey Jr.).

With the arrival of the estranged Mrs. Kathleen Yorke (Maureen O'Hara) who has come to take the under-age Yorke home with her, even more tension is added. The Colonel and Mrs. Yorke figure out it would be best to let young Jeff grow up and make the decision whether to stay or leave for himself; he chooses to stay. The tension brought about in the fight for their son rekindles the love they once had for each other.

Yorke is visited by his former Civil War commander, Philip Sheridan (J. Carrol Naish), now Chief General of Army. Sheridan has decided to order Yorke to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico, an action with grave political problems since it could well be seen as an act of war against Mexico.

If Yorke fails in his mission to destroy the Apache threat he faces the threat of court-martial. Sheridan, in a quiet act of acknowledgment of what he is asking Yorke to risk, promises that the members of the court will be men who rode with Yorke through the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War. Yorke accepts the mission. Now Col. Yorke must fight to save, and put back together, his family and his honor.

Basis

Some aspects of the story, notably the regiment's crossing into Mexico, and undertaking a campaign there, loosely resemble the expedition conducted by the 4th Cavalry Regiment (United States) under Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie in 1873.^{[citation needed]}

Cast

Actor	Role
John Wayne	Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke
Maureen O'Hara	Kathleen Yorke
Ben Johnson	Trooper Tyree
Claude Jarman Jr.	Trooper Jeff Yorke
Harry Carey Jr.	Trooper Daniel "Sandy" Boone
Victor McLaglen	Sgt. Maj. Quincannon
Chill Wills	Dr. Wilkins
J. Carrol Naish	Gen. Philip Sheridan
Grant Withers	Deputy Marshal
Peter Julien Ortiz	Capt. St. Jacques
Gaylord Pendleton	Capt. Prescott
Karolyn Grimes	Margaret Mary

Music

The film contains folk songs led by the Sons of the Pioneers, one of which is Ken Curtis (Ford's son-in-law and best known for his role as Festus Haggen on Gunsmoke).

References

External links

• Rio Grande at the Internet Movie Database

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