Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

nyc man ***Spoiler Alert*** There are some surprises in this corny western. The raids of the Indians are savage, truly, with a not-too-muscular John Wayne saying in a bland voice: "they tied 3 soldiers guarding the water hole face down on ant hills." Holy cow: that is a more brutal torture than I am willing to imagine. And there are touches (just touches) of realism where a lawyer is needed to help an accused soldier ("And if a Dallas lawyer can't get him acquitted, " says John Wayne, which is a refreshing take on a NY lawyer). And both Wayne and his son know the law quite well. Meanwhile, the Indians dash across the Rio Grande (like terrorists! in this 1950 film), befuddling the US Cavalry which can't pursue and the Mexican army which can only stay on guarding the river Rio Grande. Even though both armies want to pursue (and even join forces: an Alliance of the Willing), their Orders specifically stop them. I had to fast forward every time the film (frequently) has the soldiers serenading one another. Some horse tricks are amazing ("Roman style" – it's a thing). I was somewhat jarred by one piece of dialog that could've been said this year: As the teenage son is about to pull an arrow out of his dad's chest (John Wayne), his fellow young soldier says "Get it done" and the other young soldier says "Yo". The scenes with the Indians chanting was perhaps authentic (but who knows? – perhaps some Native Americans, that's who), but I thought it was a bit stereotypical.The film is OK, but sappy, and I watched it more as an exercise to see what "the old Westerns looked like" than to enjoy it.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . Wayne's film career, once again sums up the primary aspect of his "Col. Kirby Yorke" character in John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy" Capper, RIO GRANDE. Yorke's son is described here as being "under-aged" as a military enlistee, meaning that he's 17, at most. Since he hasn't laid eyes on Dear Old Dad for at least 15 years, it's likely Daddy disappeared when it was his night to change diapers and offer the bottle. Yet at the end of RIO GRANDE Pops Yorke grudgingly admits from his litter that Junior turned out okay. The upshot of all of this seems to be that if you want your son to thrive, do NOT let him within a mile of any male "role model" remotely resembling John Wayne. This theme of father\son estrangement making the youngster's character grow stronger is borne out in picture after picture starring Mr. Wayne. But since American schools are carefully crafted to "dumb down" their students, the U.S. suffers from the Uncommon Sense that EVERY day is Opposite Day. Therefore, each time that there is a mass shooting, sales of the deranged killer's weapon-of-choice hit All-Time Highs. Similarly, despite director Ford's best efforts, a majority of America's Dads (during the 1900s, at least) strove harder "to be like John" each time they saw a Wayne flick!

georgewilliamnoble The often prickly John Ford the foremost American film director of his generation was once quoted as having said "I'm John Ford, i make Westerns" and as a long time ageing fan of the gender i have enjoyed watching Ford westerns for many many years. By now they are old friends, that i love to revisit, the attractions are many and long from pure personal nostalgia to the joy of pure cinematic entertainment to the often stunning visuals and breathless beauty of the landscape photography or to enjoy a great old time film star at the top of his game. A Ford picture such as Rio Grande (1950) has all the above and most of director Ford's weaknesses in some abundance for Ford may of been a great director but he was a lazy one as well and this film as much as any shows most of the director's flaws. A penchant to ramble on at length for no good reason, heavy handed sentimentality with song interludes, action scenes set up's he had used and re-used before and scant regard for historical accuracy. So why do i repeatedly enjoy Rio Grande so much? Ford got the best out of John Wayne as he does so again, there is Maureen O'Hara Wayne's greatest ever co-star, Ford regulars include the great Victor Mclaglen and the under rated Ben Johnson. There is at least one terrific action scene, brilliant western themed visuals and a fabulous western score. O'Hara and Wayne burn up the scene in there scenes together in a film that is all about mythology and big men in action on the frontier. The real west was never like this and i know it, but i was introduced to westerns in the mid fifties when not everyone had a television set and the lone ranger for half an hour at a generous neighbour was the treat of the week. Rio Grande may not be quite premier division John Ford but for western fans such as me it has all the best pleasures in a timeless classic.

Robert D. Ruplenas It is so sad that the younger crowd avoids back and white movies just because ..... well, because they're black and white. They're depriving themselves of a lot.I put Rio Grande on my Netflix queue because I stumbled on the title somewhere and realized that it was one of the Ford/Wayne westerns I had not seen. I had seen Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I had liked the former only moderately, and didn't care much for the latter. My favorite Ford western was My Darling Clementine. Rio Grande blew me away from the beginning. A previous commenter mentioned the photography. In the Netflix version I saw it is absolutely gorgeous - the best B&W cinematography I think I've ever seen (after Clementine). The acting is wonderful, with all the usual John Ford crew on hand. Great to see Wayne and Maureen O'Hara working together again. For me it's a tough call between Rio Grande and Clementine as to which better captures the majestic sweep of the western landscape. The story line is a venerable one - mother/father conflict over a struggling son, with mother overprotective and father being tough.This is must-see for fans of westerns and especially for devotees of Ford, Wayne, and O'Hara.