Where does "Rio Grande" rank among your favourite John Ford Westerns?

Claude Jarman Jr. played Wayne's son. He was a very successful child and young adult actor in the late 40s into the mid 50s. His most famous role was for the Yearling in 1946, his first part at 10 years old, for which he won a special academy award. My favorite film of his is an adaption of a William Faulkner book, Intruder in the Dust. He, Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. did their own riding in the Roman riding scenes. Johnson was a real life cowboy and rodeo champion, Carey was an experienced rider, Jardan was a newbie rider, and doing his own riding was impressive. John Ford had a favorite riding school he sent actors to. Jardan is still living, he's near 90 years old.

The general in this film is famous Union General Phil Sheridan, he was an American born son of Irish immigrants from County Cavan. Sheridan was one of the first to use burn and pillage tactics against the Confederacy.

Exactly, Herbert Yates made him do this to make The Quiet Man. I think Ford also used it to see if Wayne and O'Hara could act together. The actor playing Jeff Yorke is Claude Jarman from The Yearling.

PS and the scene when John Wayne walks by the river on his own at night. Very powerful and speaks volumes. Like you said :no dialogue needed.

"Aren't you gonna kiss me goodbye?" "I never want to kiss you goodbye, Kathleen." Fun Fact: Film debut of Patrick Wayne. The Duke Fact: John Wayne's first film with Maureen O'Hara. They starred together four more times and would become known as one of Hollywood's greatest on-screen couples. One For You, One For Me Fact: In order to get approval for a film he very much wanted to make, The Quiet Man (1952), John Ford had to agree to Herbert J. Yates, head of Republic Pictures, to make this film, starring both John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Republic believed that Ford's passion project would tank at the box office and thought a western would recoup that film's expected losses. As an aside, The Quiet Man (1952) was a box office smash. Unlikely Sequel Fact: It is unclear whether John Wayne's character in this film (Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke) is the same as in Fort Apache (1948) (Capt. Kirby York) at a later stage of his career or not. Although the characters have the same name save for the spelling, the fact that Victor McLaglen plays Sgt. Maj. Quincannon here, but Sgt. Mulcahy in Fort Apache (1948) would indicate that Duke's characters are in fact completely different people. Director John Ford often had a habit of re-using names in his films, an example of this is in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) where Victor McLaglen's character shares the name Quincannon with his Rio Grande (1950) counterpart, as does Ben Johnson's character of Tyree whilst Duke's character is completely different.

This movie is about the conflict between the duties of one's career and the duties of one's familial relations. John Ford struggled with that conflict, and like Wayne's character in this movie, he probably neglected his wife and son quite a bit in the pursuit of his career (both his film career and his military career). In this film he is working through his conflicted feelings about these aspects of his life.

Those two young guys -- Harry Carey Jr. and Ben Johnson -- are in a lot of Wayne and Ford westerns. Johnson won an Oscar for the Last Picture Show. Carey is Brad in The Searchers.

The Regimental Singers were a group known as The Sons of the Pioneers that recorded albums and were quite popular. They appear in a number of Ford films. One of them was Ken Ferguson, the rival for Laurie's hand in The Searchers. He went on to portray Festus, Matt Dillon's deputy, in the TV series, Gunsmoke.

Nice review again. I feel that this was stronger than Fort Apache : great and unusual love story angle with a son thrown in as well.Great moments between Wayne and O'Hara. Very strong but subtle performance from John Wayne. But mostly those great Fordian moments : as you say the coming and going throught the gates with the kids,the cavalry processions , when Maureen opens the music chest which plays the 19cent Irish song 'I'll take you home again Kathleen' and the mirror (camera ) mists over like a tear, it ranks with the moment in Grapes of Wrath when Ma Joad looks in the mirror while trying on ear rings. Then at the end when the band plays 'Dixie' which she has obviously arranged , she twirls her parasol playfully. Maureen O'Hara said that Ford told her to do that. , I have read.

The song goes back to 1798, The Year of the French . . . .

The extra features on my old DVD copy of this film are excellent. It contains very moving commentary from an older Maureen O'Hara. She talks so affectionately about working with Duke, Ford and the other actors. She points out how in one scene Ben Johnson and Harry Carey can't outwardly express emotion, both as cavalry soldiers, and also being men from their own generation. She exclaims "look how they are expressing with their eyes, today's actors don't do that".

My Top Three John Wayne Westerns: Rio Grande, She wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Shootist

Great horse stunts in this one.

Phil Sheridan was a great Civil War calvary officer for the Union side and led the Shenandoah Valley campaign in Virginia, which was the "breadbasket" of the Confederacy. He and William T. Sherman and Grant executed total war on the South, destroying their economy as well as their armies. After the war, Sheridan carrried that approach on was one of the leading generals in the Indian wars. Sheridan is credited with saying, “The only good Indians I ever saw were dead." York apparently fought with Sheridan in the Shenandoah and in the process destroyed his wife's southern plantation, the source of their embitterment.

Irish Guy Reacts - Thank you for another great reaction. I've read so many of the comments here that "Beat the Drum" for this being the best entry in the "Trilogy" that I believe I have nothing to add. I would just like to once again suggest "Stagecoach" (1939). John Wayne was the headliner in many movies prior to this one, but "Stagecoach" made him a STAR. Whether you like the film or not, it is a hallmark in the Western genre.

This was my favorite of the three. I've seen it many times. The reuniting of Kathleen and Kirby is my favorite aspect of the film. Love the Sons of the Pioneers.

Victor Young's theme for this is one of my absolute favorites; quite beautiful. This is not the best of the cavalry trilogy, but it's got some great stuff in it. Wayne looks great and the Regimental Singers (Sons of the Pioneers) sound terrific. The Roman riding is spectacular and Ford's stock company is in top form.

John Wayne and Maureen O’hara featured in several westerns. Big Jake and McLintock as well as this one.

This one is my favorite of the trilogy. The only thing that would make it better is if it was in color only because of the fantastic landscapes!

Speaking of Rio, Rio Bravo, a bit farther down the road, is an enjoyable one.

Yo this was my favorite of the three. The scene where they ride Roman style is amazing. I also really enjoyed the friendship between Johns son and the other two. How about a John Wayne war trilogy, They were expendable, Operation Pacific and Flying Leathernecks there are many to choice from.

I want to thank you sincerly for reacting to RIO GRANDE! I believe that it is the best of Ford's Trilogy. I have suggested it in vain to other reactors. I would further suggest to you that you react to SHANE, with Alan Ladd and Van Heflin. It is the quintessential western, homesteaders vs. the cattlemen, with gunfighters. It is beautifully shot near the Gran Teton mountains.

All three of the Cavalry Trilogy bring something emotionally unique to the table. Much of what The Duke becomes as an actor going forward is honed in these three films.

Another good Wayne flick, but I agree with you, weakest of the 3 ✅

Great review! Herbert J. Yates, the notoriously stingy boss of Republic Pictures, told Ford "Make me a western that makes money and you can shoot The Quiet Man in Ireland." So Ford deliberately set out to do a moneymaker which is why Rio Grande seems like the weakest of the trilogy, but it's still solid entertainment. The same year, though, Ford made a marvelous little western (without John Wayne) called 'Wagon Master' which was one of his personal favorites.

You'd be better served cutting off the arrow and removing it when you have a surgeon.

Love your commentary & appreciation of the western genre. I have 2 recommendations: Stagecoach (1939) the first Ford / Wayne collaboration and Hombre with Paul Newman. Also here is the bio of the actor who plays Capt. St. Jacques in Rio Grande, Peter Ortiz. His life could & should be a movie: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_J._Ortiz

It's just pronounced just like grand... As far as John Wayne westerns go, his best, by far, is "The Searchers".

This is a late comment but in the movie did you spot the UFO in the sky?

This is the least Comanche/Apache-centric of the Cavalry Trilogy . . . .

These are all fairy tales of the Cavalry and very good movies. The only real criticism I have is - they are only movies and audiences shouldn’t get them confused with the reality of treatment of Indians. In fact John Ford directly addresses this in the western Cheyenne Autumn. Another movie worth watching .

Out of the three it's definitely the weakest one .