Rio Grande is a 1950 American romantic Western filmHarrison's Reports film review; November 4, 1950, page 176. directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. It is the third installment of Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", following two RKO Pictures releases: Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949). Wayne plays the lead in all three films, as Captain Kirby York in Fort Apache, then as Captain Nathan Brittles in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and finally as a promoted Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke in Rio Grande. Rio Grande's supporting cast features Ben Johnson, Claude Jarman Jr., Harry Carey Jr., Chill Wills, J. Carrol Naish, Victor McLaglen, Grant Withers, the Western singing group the Sons of the Pioneers and Stan Jones.
While originally Ford was uninterested in directing another Western, his studio wouldn't permit him to start The Quiet Man until he directed Rio Grande. The script was based on a short story by James Warner Bellah, which was inspired by historical events. The film was shot in only 32 days in Monument Valley, Utah. After its release, it made a modest profit, with reviewers praising the music and the action, but noting that the themes were well-worn. Later reviews praised the natural beauty of the shooting location, but were mixed about its efficacy. The film can be read as anticipating the frustration with international borders the US military would experience in the Vietnam War, with the solution to ignore international borders reflecting the conservative politics of Bellah and scriptwriter James Kevin McGuinness. The film is one of the least sympathetic of Ford's Westerns to Native Americans, depicting them as bloodthirsty and villainous. In contrast to its one-sided portrayal of Native Americans, its treatment of the reconciliation of an estranged couple and their son is emotionally complex. Rio Grande also addresses issues of class, showing a rejection of class privilege common in Ford's work.
Plot
In the summer of 1879, Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke is posted on the Texas frontier in command of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment to defend settlers against attacks by marauding Apaches. Yorke has just captured the Apache's leader. Apaches have been using Mexico as a sanctuary from pursuit, and the regiment is suffering from a serious shortage of troops.
Yorke has been estranged from his wife and son for 15 years, after he set fire to his wife's family's plantation in the South under orders from his commanding officer during the Shenandoah Valley campaign of the American Civil War. Yorke's son, Trooper Jefferson (Jeff) Yorke, is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment. After failing mathematics and flunking out of West Point, he immediately enlisted as a private in the Army. In a meeting with his father, Yorke informs him that he will receive no special treatment in the brutal way of life he has chosen; Jeff declares he wants none. Through his willingness to undergo any test or trial, Jeff befriends Travis Tyree and Daniel "Sandy" Boone, as well as the long-serving career troopers of the regiment. Tyree is on the run from the law for killing a man, but wants to wait to go to trial until after his sister's wedding. Yorke's estranged wife, Kathleen, arrives unexpectedly to buy the underage Jeff out of his enlistment. In a showdown with his mother, Jeff refuses her attempt to buy him out of the Army. The struggle over their son's future rekindles the romance the couple once felt for each other.
The Apaches attack the fort one night. Many of them are killed by the awakened troopers, but they succeed in freeing their leader. When Yorke's patrol reaches the Rio Grande, too late to capture the Apaches he was following, he meets a Mexican patrol. Yorke and the Mexican lieutenant in command exchange military courtesies, and both confirm that the US troops cannot cross into Mexico.
Yorke is visited by his former Civil War commander, Philip Sheridan, now Commanding General of the Military Division of the Missouri, the headquarters responsible for pacifying the Great Plains. Sheridan has decided to order Yorke to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico in pursuit of the Apaches and kill them all, an action with serious political implications. Sheridan promises that if Yorke draws a court-martial as a result of the orders Sheridan legally cannot give him, he will ensure that the members of the court will be his fellow soldiers from the Civil War. Yorke accepts the assignment.
Before Yorke leads his men toward Mexico, he sends the women and children to Ft. Bliss for safety, with an escort including Jeff. Jeff and Boone meet Tyree, who has gone Absent Without Leave to evade a Texas marshal who is looking for him. Tyree informs them that there are Apaches in the area. The Apaches attack the wagons and capture the one carrying the children and Corporal Bell's wife. The braves kill some of the escorting cavalry. While the remainder fends off the Apaches, Jeff returns to the fort for reinforcements. Tyree saves him from an Apache attack on the way.
The Second meets the survivors of the escort and follows the Apache raiders. They discover the burnt-out wagon and the body of Corporal Bell's wife, but there is no sign of the children. In the meantime, Tyree rejoins the regiment and tells them he trailed the Apaches to their hideout in Mexico. Working with Tyree, Yorke permits three troopers, Tyree, Boone, and Jeff, to infiltrate the village where the Apaches have taken the children. Then Yorke leads his regiment in an all-out attack. The cavalrymen rescue all of the children unharmed, though Colonel Yorke is wounded by an arrow that he orders Jeff to remove. He is taken back to the fort by his victorious troops, where Kathleen meets him and holds his hand as he is carried on a travois into the post.
After Colonel Yorke recovers, Troopers Tyree, Boone, Jeff, Corporal Bell, and Indian Scout Son of Many Mules are decorated. At the ceremony, when one of the Texas marshals reappears Trooper Tyree continues his run from the law, stealing General Sheridan's horse for the purpose. As the troops pass in review, the regimental band plays Dixie at the General's request, apparently to please Mrs. Yorke.
Cast
Production
Background With the completion of Wagon Master, Ford did not want to make another Western. Instead, he wanted to film the Ireland-set romantic comedy-drama film The Quiet Man with Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, but Herbert Yates, the studio president of Republic Pictures, insisted that Ford first make Rio Grande with the same pairing of Wayne and O'Hara because he thought the script of The Quiet Man was weak and that the story was of little general interest. Yates insisted that Rio Grande be made before The Quiet Man, to offset the anticipated losses on that film.The Quiet Man 60th Anniversary Edition, Special Features: Maltin, Leonard, "The Making of The Quiet Man", 1992; When The Quiet Man was eventually released in 1952, though, it vastly out-performed Rio Grande by grossing $3.8 million in its first year and giving Yates and Republic Pictures one of the top-10 hits of the year.
Writing The script for Rio Grande was written by Irish-born screenwriter James Kevin McGuinness. It is based on a short story "Mission With No Record" by James Bellah that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on September 27, 1947. McGuinness had been working at MGM as a story editor, and either resigned or was fired for his extremely conservative politics. Patrick Ford, John Ford's son, reported that many of the long speeches that McGuinness included in his script were cut in the final filming, and that many scenes were improvised. McGuinness based his story on a specific raid by the 4th Cavalry Regiment (United States) in May 1873. Colonel Ranald Mackenzie, under orders from General Phil Sheridan, crossed the border to fight Kickapoo people, and kidnapped some of their women and children to hold as hostages. This was illegal, and the Mexican government protested. McGuinness made several changes to the original story on Ford's request. He made the main character more sympathetic and less ruthless. There are also differences between the film and the historical events. In the film, Apache kidnap white American women and children, but in the historical event, members of the 4th Cavalry regiment kidnapped Kickapoo women and children. In the film, the Mexican officer seems relieved that Yorke helped to kill Native Americans; in the historical event, the Mexican government protested the raid as a violation of their international border.
During filming, the film was called Rio Bravo and then Rio Grande Command until right before release.
Casting Skilled stuntman and rodeo star Ben Johnson played his third credited role in Rio Grande. The stunt where he rides two horses "Roman style", standing on the backs of two separate horses, took three weeks to master.
Rio Grande was the first of three films directed by Ford starring the pairing of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, followed by The Quiet Man in 1952 and The Wings of Eagles in 1957. Wayne and O'Hara also starred together in McLintock! (1963) and Big Jake (1971).
Filming The film was shot entirely on location in Monument Valley near Moab, Utah. Archie Stout was the second-unit director and Bert Glennon also helped with cinematography. O'Hara recalled that the weather was so hot that production crew dug a pit covered by a tarp to have a cooler resting place.
The location shoot, which Harry Carey described as a "vacation" picture, was shot in just 32 days, with 665 takes of 646 setups. O'Hara recalled that Ford insulted and belittled Wayne frequently on set.; While those who knew Ford were accustomed to his abusive behavior, Claude Jarman, another newcomer to the Ford set, felt like the cast was scared and "you never knew what [Ford] was going to do."
Ford wanted the military aspects of the film to be realistic. The film uses the conical Sibley tents that were used then, as well as Primus stoves. Actors were not permitted to wash their cavalry uniforms to ensure that they looked dusty and lived-in.
Music The film contains folk songs led by the Sons of the Pioneers, one of whom is Ken Curtis (Ford's future son-in-law). Studio president Yates insisted that the group appear in the film. Ford disliked being forced to use them, and how they appeared incongruous with cavalrymen. Victor Young wrote the score. On the music, Ford biographer and film critic Scott Eyman said there was too much of it, but that it "gives the film an air of plaintive longing."
Reception Rio Grande cost 1.2 million dollars to make, and earned 2 million dollars. Its net profit was $215,634. A review by New York Times described it as a "familiar story" that "travels a well-rutted road" but that "the horsemanship never was better". It was also noted for its similarities to the 1935 epic-adventure film The Lives of a Bengal Lancer. Praise was given, though, for the Western-style ballads sung by the Sons of the Pioneers. William Brogdon at Variety summarized the film as "big brawling mass action clashes, mixed together with a substantial portion of good, honest sentiment" which predict box office success.