Immaculately shot by Russell Harlan, perfectly performed by a host of Hawks regulars, and shot through with dark comedy, it's probably the finest Western of the '40s.
Overview
Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.
Director and cast
- Howard Hawks Director
- Arthur Rosson Director
- John Wayne as Thomas Dunson
- Montgomery Clift as Matthew 'Matt' Garth
- Joanne Dru as Tess Millay
- Walter Brennan as 'Groot' Nadine
- Coleen Gray as Fen
- Harry Carey as Mr. Melville
- John Ireland as Cherry Valance
- Noah Beery Jr. as Buster McGee
- Harry Carey, Jr. as Dan Latimer
- Chief Yowlachie Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Even despite a big let-down, which fortunately comes near the end, it stands sixteen hands above the level of routine horse opera these days. So strap on your trusty six-shooters and race to the wind-swept Capitol, you lovers of good old Western fiction.
It's a sign of the movie's complexity that John Wayne, often typecast, is given a tortured, conflicted character to play.
The staging of physical conflict is deadly, equalling anything yet seen on the screen.
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