Rio Grande ***** (1950, John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Ben Johnson, Claude Jarman Jnr, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jnr, Chill Wills, J Carrol Naish, Victor McLaglen) – Classic Movie Review 2352

Director John Ford makes the 1950 closing episode in his US Cavalry trilogy third time lucky and essential old Hollywood viewing. John Wayne again stars, this time as a Cavalry officer dealing with the plundering Apache as well as his disaffected, long separated wife (Maureen O’Hara) and his son (Claude Jarman Jnr) who has just enlisted.

This is another grand Western, arguably just a shade down from its predecessor She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and just a tad up from the first film, Fort Apache, though there’s so little in it quality-wise that the argument could continue all night. Once again the old songs, comedy and sentimentality are very much to taste. They’re charming if you take to them or irritating if you don’t.

Wayne plays Union officer Kirby Yorke, who is in charge of a dusty, remote outpost on the Rio Grande, training new recruits, including the son he hasn’t seen in 15 years. He gets him into shape to take on the Apaches but his mother Kathleen shows up to get him out of there. Kirby and Kathleen fall back in love but his unorthodox plan to outwit the elusive Apaches leads to possible court martial.

Bert Glennon and Archie Stout’s glorious black and white cinematography, Victor Young’s music score and the stars’ performance are the perhaps the main assets. The ideally paired Wayne and O’Hara share very good screen chemistry in their first teaming of five films together, including The Quiet Man (1952).

However you’d certainly need to add to that the charismatic support performances of an ensemble that includes Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jnr, Chill Wills, J Carrol Naish, Victor McLaglen, Grant Withers, Peter Ortiz, Steve Pendleton, Karolyn Grimes, Alberto Morin, Stan Jones, Jack Pennick, Pat Wayne, Ken Curtis and Dick Foran.

James Kevin McGuinness’s screenplay is based on the Saturday Evening Post story by James Warner Bellah.

The 94-year-old Hollywood legend Maureen O’Hara (born on August 17 1920) was at long last finally the recipient of a 2015 Honorary Oscar on November 8 2014. She died on October 24 2015, aged 95. She starred in five films with Wayne, the most beloved being The Quiet Man (1952), but also The Wings of Eagles (1957), McLintock! (1963) and Big Jake (1971).

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2352

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