Sadly Over-hyped

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Wonderful mix of family story and insight in every day's life of an soldier in the old west. Beautiful shots in black and white and good acting of Wayne and O'Hara! Not to forget the sentimental music of Victor Young!

. . . which Jessie Film, Inc. and Lamberti Productions Corp. originally churned out in 1993 for TV or a VHS tape, and which Artisan Entertainment threw onto its 1999 RIO GRANDE disc release. This MAKING OF is written and hosted by Leonard Maltin. Michael Tetrick and Bill Coggon direct this 21 minute, 15 second piece. John Wayne's son Michael is one of three guys offering interview snippets here, sandwiched between clips from the feature film. The other two Reminiscers are RIO GRANDE cast members Ben Johnson ("Sandy") and Harry Carey, Jr. ("Travis"), who each spent two weeks mastering "Roman Riding" for this Western, which involves a horseman standing up on two of these equine critters at the same time (with one foot balanced upon the back of each steed) and galloping in this position as fast as feasible. (Johnson and Carey say it only took Tinhorn actor Claude Jarman, Jr., who plays "Jeff," the son of Wayne's character, 10 minutes to become a proficient Roman Rider, since Jarman's feet were as large as Ben and Harry's combined.) We learn here from film critic Leonard Maltin . . .. . . that the Mexicans call our Southern Border River "Rio Bravo," while its Real Name is the Rio Grande (which still sounds pretty Spanish to me). Evidently, President Obama and All of his predecessors have politely asked Umpteen Million citizens of Mexico NOT to cross the Rio Grande without going through the proper channels. However, about 11 million current Mexican Citizens have simply shrugged their shoulders and muttered (presumably in Spanish), "Well, they didn't say anything about wading over via the 'RIO BRAVO.'" This kind of willful misinterpretation will be short-circuited once and for all by President Trump's Great Wall. Hopefully, they will model this upon the classic lines of the historic Chinese Tourist Attraction. Even though Americans probably won't be allowed to trek into Mexico to traipse atop it, CGI improvements by Hollywood's technical wizards should allow 20th Century Fox to make a sequel to THE CONQUEROR, in which John Wayne posthumously reprises his role as Genghis Khan, and maybe throws in a little bit of Col. Kirby Yorke from RIO GRANDE to boot, as he patrols along the Great Wall of Trumpville.

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.

There was a time...quite a long time...when John Wayne was one of the Kings of the American box office. Then along came the Vietnam War era, and his grip on the American psyche faded. But in recent years I have sensed a re-evaluation of John Wayne's contributions to American cinema (although not his personal politics)...and I have followed and agreed with that re-evaluation.I hadn't seen this film until the 1970s, and looked at it then as just another old Western. But now it's like I am seeing it for the first time. What a beautiful film on so many levels.Of course, there is still the problem of how Indians were portrayed in films, but at the time this film was made, that was the perspective...right or wrong.But once we get beyond that, it's marvelous. You have Wayne as the terribly flawed hero. You have Maureen O'Hara as the terribly flawed wife. You have Claude Jarman, Jr. as the son who has flunked out of West Point and is now trying to prove he is a man in the regular army. You have J. Carrol Naish as Gen. Philip Sheridan. And you have Victor McLaglen as the old sergeant.On the negative side, it seemed to me that Maureen O'Hara's character should have finally forgiven Victor McLaglen's character (for the arson)...and that could have happened at the end of the film...when it seemed that the film suddenly ended too soon. Speaking of Victor McLaglen's character...very shallow, almost amounting to just making faces; comic relief that wasn't very funny. I was quite impressed with J. Carrol Naish as Gen. Philip Sheridan.In another section of the website, someone asked why John Ford put so many songs into this (and other) Westerns. Having read that question before watching the film this time around, I noticed that every song in this film explained some aspect of the plot...usually about the relationship between Wayne and O'Hara. No coincidences here.A few years ago I retired to Colorado, and I have visited a number of the battlefields where the military fought the Indians, as well as a number of old military forts. How the Indians were treated -- not that they were angels -- was abominable. But setting that aside, this film reminded me of how the soldiers in the Plains and West sacrificed for their country. No, they probably weren't anywhere near as "good" as they are portrayed here, but the nation was in their debt.On the positive side, John Wayne is absolutely perfect here. It might even be some of his best acting, as he melds the hero Indian fighter with the surprisingly sensitive husband who has suffered through (and partially caused) a long separation from his wife. Equally wonderful is Maureen O'Hara -- seemed she always was wonderful, especially with Wayne) -- playing a seemingly tough-minded woman who knows she is part of the problem with her seemingly failed marriage. Claude Jarman does alright here as the boy becoming a man, and that story line isn't over done, as it might have been.Bravo to John Ford!