There were four reasons why I decided to watch this western: the lead star, director John Ford (My Darling Clementine, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), five stars by the critics, and it appears in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Basically after set after the Civil War, Union officer Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke (John Wayne) in charge of the outpost of Rio Grande is training new recruits, one of which is his son Trooper Jefferson 'Jeff' Yorke (Claude Jarman Jr.) who hasn't seen for fifteen years. He whips him and the other men to against the Apaches, but of course Jeff's mother Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara), who Kirby separated from, shows up to take her son away. Kirby faces a tough battle, and his unorthodox plan gets him a court-martial, and he must fight to redeem himself and bring his broken family back together. Also starring Ben Johnson as Trooper Travis Tyree, Harry Carey Jr. as Trooper Daniel 'Sandy' Boone, Chill Wills as Dr. Wilkins, J. Carrol Naish as Lt. Gen. Philip Sheridan, Victor McLaglen as Sgt. Maj. Timothy Quincannon, Grant Withers as U.S. Deputy Marshal and Peter Ortiz as Capt. St. Jacques. This was the third film in Ford's cavalry trilogy following Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and even though it doesn't have the most interesting story in my opinion, Wayne is a good lead and there are some good sights to be seen. John Wayne was number 56 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, and he was number 13 on 100 Years, 100 Stars - Men. Very good!
Review of Rio Grande
