There was a time that I ranked "The Searchers" the best Western ever made, with "Red River" occupying the runner-up slot. But the older I have become, the more I have come to believe that the ranking of the two movies must be reversed: "Red River" is the best Western ever made. What could be more American than the portrait of the West as frontier, as possibility? The frontier has always been a significant feature of American history. And so it is here: "Just over the next hill, and into the valley beyond, and we'll find that land we always have yearned for." What could be more American than the portrait of the young man-becoming-adult, taking on a task against enormous odds and succeeding? What was it that Mr. Melville, the character played by Harry Carey, Sr., said? "There's three times in a man's life when he has a right to yell at the moon: when he marries, when his children come, and... and when he finishes a job he had to be crazy to start." Yes, "Red River" presents the quintessential portrait of the American West.
