Red River is a 1948 American Western film, directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift.

The dramatic tension stems from a growing feud over the management of the drive between the Texas rancher who initiated it (Wayne) and his adopted adult son (Clift).

[5] In 1990, Red River was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Hours later, as Dunson and Groot reach the Red River (the Texas border), they spot smoke coming from the direction of the wagon train.

His only option is to drive his herd of 10,000 head a thousand miles (1,609.3 km) to the railhead in Missouri, where he believes they will fetch a good price.

"[9] Hawks felt Dru's final speech after Dunson and Matt fight didn't work, wishing his original choice to play Tess Margaret Sheridan had been available.

[10][verification needed] The film was shot in black and white rather than color, because director Howard Hawks found Technicolor technology to be too "garish" for the realistic style desired.

[11] But as with many remembrances of Hawks, he has also said the exact opposite to Peter Bogdanovich, to whom he claimed that he wished he had shot the picture in color, especially the sequence involving driving the cattle across the Red River.

In Chase's original Saturday Evening Post story, published in 1946 as "Blazing Guns on the Chisholm Trail", Valance shoots Dunson dead in Abilene and Matt takes his body back to Texas to be buried on the ranch.

The original theatrical cut was reassembled by Janus Films (in co-operation with UA parent company MGM) for their Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD release on May 27, 2014.

[13] Film historian Peter Bogdanovich interviewed Hawks in 1972, and he was led to believe that the narrated theatrical version was the director's preferred cut.

Schlesinger also points out that Hughes's shortened version was prepared for overseas distribution because it is easier to replace narration than printed text.

[15] The song "Settle Down", by musician Dimitri Tiomkin and lyricist Frederick Herbert, was heard over the credits and at various places throughout the film score.

It was later adapted by Tiomkin with a new lyric by Paul Francis Webster as "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" in the 1959 film Rio Bravo for an onscreen duet by Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson as John Wayne and Walter Brennan look on.

[17] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times gave the film a mostly positive review, praising the main cast for "several fine performances" and Hawks' direction for "credible substance and detail."

He only found a "big let-down" in the Indian wagon train attack scene, lamenting that the film had "run smack into 'Hollywood' in the form of a glamorized female, played by Joanne Dru.

"[18] Variety called it "a spectacle of sweeping grandeur" with "a first rate script," adding, "John Wayne has his best assignment to date and he makes the most of it.

"[19] John McCarten of The New Yorker found the film "full of fine Western shots," with the main cast's performances "all first-rate.

"[20] Harrison's Reports called the film "an epic of such sweep and magnitude that it deserves to take its place as one of the finest pictures of its type ever to come out of Hollywood.

In 1990, Red River was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Red River was selected by the American Film Institute as the 5th greatest Western of all time in the AFI's 10 Top 10 list in 2008.

To commemorate their work on the film, director Howard Hawks had special Western belt buckles made up for certain members of the cast and crew of Red River.

Wayne wore the Red River D belt buckle with the initials "HWH" in nine other movies: Rio Bravo (1959), North to Alaska (1960), Hatari!

Red River D buckles, made by a number of sources, are among the most popular and sought after icons of John Wayne fans.