Red River

Saw Red River. John Wayne plays against type, from under a black hat. He plays a man who is one of three survivors of an Indian raid on a wagon train of settlers (oh, did I mention this is a western? It's a western.) The other two survivors are the comic relief (a Shakespearean wise-cracking servant (here a cook)) and a callow youth with a lot to prove. Wayne slaps everyone and they then merrily steal some land from some Mexicans. Luckily, they have a bull and a cow so... fade-a-few-years-into-the-future... they have a ranch. The callow youth has become the quite attractive Montgomery Clift and Wayne has become a hard man. "The war" has sucked the money out of the south and Wayne is broke. He stakes everything on a desperate trek from Texas to Missouri, where beef is in high demand. He rounds up his cattle, instructing his field-hands to gather up any other cows that might be out there as well. The other ranchers grumble about this but he buffaloes them into agreeing to a small cut. On the trek the situation deteriorates, with cowboys abandoning Wayne, shooting at him, and eventually mutinying.

I was surprised by Wayne actually playing an actual bad guy. He softens somewhat eventually, but he snarls and swears he'll kill anyone who crosses him and is generally beastly. The only people who can handle him at all are the ancient cook and Clift. The deterioration of the relationship between Wayne and Clift is the most interesting aspect of this film. At first fiercely loyal, Clift grows critical of Wayne and finally becomes openly rebellious. I entertained myself by imagining that they were lovers whose relationship was crumbling. The film gave me much fuel for this allegorical reading. Twice the cowboys talk about the trail as being no place for a woman (they are not 'strong' is why) and there's a strange intense relationship Clift develops with another rancher who always seems to be wandering around in this shirt. Later when they come across a troop of gamblers/whores, one lady gambler (not a whore, of course! She's still marriageable) declares that Wayne and Clift love each other too much to hate each other. Of course in this more innocent time they mean as a father loves a son, but the line made me smile.

So, not wild or histrionic enough to fully entertain me (or at least not enough to distract me from mentally pairing up the male actors) but a ripping yarn and not terrible and not ethically bankrupt. Perhaps there's hope for the western genre after all. (I hope so, because I kind of dread an upcoming list of westerns I have to saw through.)

Edit: Ha! Ha ha!!