The last entry in the John Ford - John Wayne "Cavalry Trilogy", Rio Grande is regarded by many observers as the best of the three. Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke (John Wayne) heads a cavalry post on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, defending settlers against Apaches launching raids from the Mexican side of the river. When Yorke's 16-year-old son, Jeff (Claude Jarman Jr.) --- who he has not seen since he was a baby -- shows up at the post as one of the new recruits, he treats him more harshly than the others. Things are further complicated when Yorke's estranged wife, Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara), returns to take her son home. Though Rio Grande turned out to be one of John Ford's most successful films, the director had initially refused to make it, acquiesing only after Republic promised him that he'd be permitted to film The Quiet Man once the cavalry picture was in the can. James Kevin McGuinness adapted his screenplay from the James Warner Bellah story Mission With No Record.



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