Rio Grande (1950) 5

Here we have one of John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy with the Duke on the frontier fighting Apaches. The great John Ford supporting caste is here including the beautiful Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson and Victor McLaglen. This is the last of the trilogy, and Ford shows us the some of the spirit of the gentlemen that persisted in this country between the Civil War and the Spanish American War. We know that this is soon to pass, but Ford lovingly covers it.

Compare Ford's technique to that of Sam Peckinpah. Both make films about the passing of this great era of time but from opposite ends. Ford comes from the high end and the greatness of the human spirit. Peckingpah is the low end and the dark side of the human soul. A more Manichean look at the West really cannot be found than the difference between the treatment of similar topics by Ford and Peckinpah. Look for Ken Curtis, Festus of Gunsmoke, singing with the Sons of the Pioneers. Curtis had a great voice!