Eureka - Masters of Cinema

Perhaps one of the most underrated of the collaborations between director John Ford and star John Wayne, Rio Grande manages to be both a conclusion and a new beginning for this most iconic of actor-filmmaker collaborators. The film is the final entry in Ford and Waynes Cavalry Trilogy, following their hits Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949). Yet it also marks the first of five appearances Wayne made with actress Maureen OHara, three of which were directed by Ford.

Wayne is Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, attached to the Texas frontier in 1879 to protect settlers from attacks by Apaches. When Yorkes son a West Point flunkee turned Army private is assigned to his fathers regiment, tensions flare upon the arrival of Yorkes estranged wife Kathleen (OHara), who wants their teenaged son out of Yorkes unit. After Apaches attack, the stakes of Yorkes mission escalate, and he must journey to Mexico where the Apaches are hiding out. With his son and two old recruits (Ford/Wayne regulars Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr.) as accompaniment, Yorke faces his toughest battle.

The Quiet Man (1952) may be the most fondly remembered collaboration between Ford, Wayne, and OHara, but ironically, that classic wouldnt even exist if not for Rio Grande, as studio Republic was so (incorrectly!) certain that the later film would lose money, that they only agreed to its production on the condition that Ford and his collaborators make another western first to cover the costs. But Rio Grande stands on its own as yet another outstanding meeting of these remarkable talents.

Från IMDB:
A cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son whos a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years.