Red River 1948 ORIGINAL TRAILER 1948 American Western film, directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. It gives a fictional account of the first cattle drive from Texas to Kansas along the Chisholm Trail. The dramatic tension stems from a growing feud over the management of the drive between the Texas rancher who initiated it (Wayne) and his adopted adult son (Clift). The film's supporting cast features Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, Coleen Gray, Harry Carey