Rio Grande ( film ) - wikipedia Rio Grande ( film ) Rio Grande Theatrical poster Directed by John Ford Produced by Uncredited : Merian C. Cooper John Ford Screenplay by James Kevin McGuinness Based on Mission With No Record 1947 story Saturday Evening Post by James Warner Bellah Starring John Wayne Maureen O'Hara Music by Victor Young Cinematography Bert Glennon Edited by Jack Murray Production company Argosy Pictures Distributed by Republic Pictures Release date November 15, 1950 ( 1950 - 11 - 15 ) Running time 105 minutes Country United States Language English Box office $2.25 million ( US rentals ) Rio Grande is a 1950 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. The picture is the third installment of Ford 's `` cavalry trilogy, '' following two RKO Pictures releases : Fort Apache ( 1948 ) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ( 1949 ). John Wayne plays the lead in all three films, as Captain Kirby York in Fort Apache, then as Captain of Cavalry Nathan Cutting Brittles in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and finally as a promoted Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke in Rio Grande ( scripts and production billing spell the York ( e ) character 's last name differently in Fort Apache and Rio Grande ). The film is based on a short story `` Mission With No Record '' by James Warner Bellah that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on September 27, 1947, and the screenplay was written by James Kevin McGuinness. The supporting cast features Ben Johnson, Claude Jarman, Jr., Harry Carey, Jr., and Chill Wills. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Music 4 Production 5 Accolades 6 Basis 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke ( John Wayne ) is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against attacks by marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress between the Apaches using Mexico as a sanctuary from pursuit and by a serious shortage of troops of his command. The action of the movie is set in the summer of 1879 ( `` fifteen years after the Shenandoah '' ). Tension is added when Yorke 's son ( whom he has n't seen in fifteen years ), Trooper Jeff Yorke ( Claude Jarman Jr. ), is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment. He had flunked out of West Point but immediately enlisted as a private in the Army. Not wanting to give any impression that he is showing favoritism towards his son, Col. Yorke ends up being harsher dealing with Jeff than the others. By his willingness to undergo any test and trial, Jeff is befriended by a pair of older recruits, Travis Tyree ( Ben Johnson ) ( who is on the run from the law ) and Daniel `` Sandy '' Boone ( Harry Carey, Jr. ), who take him under their wings. With the arrival of Yorke 's estranged wife, Kathleen ( Maureen O'Hara ), who has come to take the under - age Yorke home with her, further tension is added. During the war, Yorke had been forced by circumstances to burn Bridesdale, his wife 's plantation home in the Shenandoah valley. Sgt. Quincannon ( Victor McLaglen ), who put the torch to Bridesdale, is still with Yorke and provides a constant reminder to Kathleen of the episode. In a showdown with his mother, Jeff refuses her attempt by reminding her that not only the commander 's signature is required to discharge him, but his own as well, and he chooses to stay in the Army. The tension brought about in the struggle over their son 's future ( and possibly the attentions shown to her by Yorke 's junior officers ) rekindles the romance the couple once felt for each other. Yorke is visited by his former Civil War commander, Philip Sheridan ( J. Carrol Naish ), now commanding general of his post. Sheridan has decided to order Yorke to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico in pursuit of the Apaches, an action with serious political implications since it violates the sovereignty of another nation. If Yorke fails in his mission to destroy the Apache threat he faces the threat of court - martial. Sheridan, in a quiet act of acknowledgment of what he is asking Yorke to risk, promises that the members of the court will be men `` who rode down the Shenandoah '' with them during the Civil War. Yorke accepts the mission. Yorke leads his men toward Mexico, only to learn that a wagonload of children from his fort, who were being taken to Ft. Bliss for safety, has been captured by the Apaches. After permitting three troopers -- Tyree, Boone and Jeff -- to infiltrate the church in the Mexican village where the Indians have taken the children, Yorke leads his cavalry in a full - scale attack, rescuing all of the children unharmed, though he himself is wounded. He is taken back to the fort by his victorious troops, where Kathleen meets him and holds his hand as he is carried on a travois into the post. After Yorke recovers, Tyree, Boone, Jeff and two others receive medals. At the ceremony, Tyree is given furlough to continue his run from the law, stealing Sheridan 's horse for the purpose. As the troops pass in review ( with the post band playing Dixie at the General 's request to please Mrs. Yorke ), the movie closes. Cast John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara & Claude Jarman Jr. in Rio Grande - publicity still John Wayne as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke Maureen O'Hara as Kathleen Yorke Ben Johnson as Trooper Tyree Claude Jarman, Jr. as Trooper Jeff Yorke Harry Carey, Jr. as Trooper Daniel `` Sandy '' Boone Chill Wills as Dr. Wilkins J. Carrol Naish as Gen. Philip Sheridan Victor McLaglen as Sgt. Maj. Quincannon Grant Withers as Deputy Marshal Sons of the Pioneers as the Regimental Singers Peter Ortiz as Capt. St. Jacques Steve Pendleton as Capt. Prescott Karolyn Grimes as Margaret Mary Albert Morin as Lieutenant Stan Jones as Sergeant Fred Kennedy as Trooper Heinze Music The film contains folk songs led by the Sons of the Pioneers, one of which is Ken Curtis ( Ford 's son - in - law and best known for his role as Festus Haggen on Gunsmoke ). Bob Nolan had previously serenaded Charles Starrett lead actor in Rio Grande directed by Sam Nelson in 1938. Production Ford wanted to make The Quiet Man first, but Republic Pictures studio president Herbert Yates insisted that Ford make Rio Grande beforehand, using the same combination of Wayne and Maureen O'Hara ; Yates did not feel that the script of The Quiet Man was very good, and wanted Rio Grande to be released first to pay for The Quiet Man. To Yates 's surprise The Quiet Man, on its eventual release in 1952, would become Republic 's number one film in terms of box office receipts. Maureen O'Hara stars with John Wayne in five movies : Rio Grande ( 1950 ), The Quiet Man ( 1952 ), The Wings of Eagles ( 1957 ), McLintock ! ( 1963 ) and Big Jake ( 1971 ). The first three were directed by John Ford. This was the film debut of Patrick Wayne. The film was shot in the Mohave Valley, Utah, though it is frequently mentioned incorrectly in film histories as having been made in Ford 's favorite location for westerns, Monument Valley on the Colorado Plateau. Accolades The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists : 2008 : AFI 's 10 Top 10 : Nominated Western Film Basis Some aspects of the story, notably the regiment 's crossing into Mexico, and undertaking a campaign there, loosely resemble the expedition conducted by the 4th Cavalry Regiment ( United States ) under Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie in 1873. See also John Wayne filmography References Jump up ^ ' The Top Box Office Hits of 1950 ', Variety, January 3, 1951 Jump up ^ Variety film review ; November 8, 1950, page 6. Jump up ^ Harrison 's Reports film review ; November 4, 1950, page 176. Jump up ^ `` Mission With No Record. '' - The Saturday Evening Post. - volume 220, number 13. - September 27, 1947. - Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 21. Jump up ^ Rio Grande on IMDb Jump up ^ Scott Eyman John Wayne : The Life and Legend 2015 - 1439199590 Page 197 `` Yates insisted that the Sons of the Pioneers appear in Rio Grande, which Ford found appalling, but he found a way to found a way to work them in as a sort of musical Greek chorus, cavalry style. '' Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915618/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t28 Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 10 Top 10 Nominees '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 19. Jump up ^ Matthews, Matt M. ( 2007 ), The US Army on the Mexican Border : A Historical Perspective ( Adobe Acrobat - *. PDF ), The Long War Series : Occasional Paper 22, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas : Combined Arms Research Library : Combat Studies Institute Press - United States Army Combined Arms Center, pp. 48 -- 51, ISBN 978 - 0 - 16 - 078903 - 8 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rio Grande ( film ). 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( 1971 ) ( produced and co-wrote ) Related Five Came Back ( 2017 documentary ) VIAF : 214778824 GND : 7552974 - 9 BNF : cb16700263n ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rio_Grande_(film)&oldid=793230454 '' Categories : 1950 films English - language films 1950s Western ( genre ) films American films American Western ( genre ) films American epic films American black - and - white films Cavalry Western films Films based on short fiction Films set in Texas Films shot in Utah Republic Pictures films Films directed by John Ford Film scores by Victor Young Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2008 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Hrvatski Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 31 July 2017, at 13 : 11. 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Question: where was rio grande with john wayne filmed
Answer: Mohave Valley, Utah