John Wayne's Highest-Rated Movie On Metacritic Is Available To Watch For Free

When John Wayne broke through to bona-fide movie stardom in John Ford's 1939 classic "Stagecoach," he quickly established himself as the most bankable actor in the film industry. Not every Wayne picture was a smash hit, but they almost always turned a tidy profit. Given that he was remarkably prolific throughout the prime of his career, making multiple movies per year, this meant his fans came to expect a certain level of quality from the star — otherwise, they would've stopped showing up at a certain point.

If you're new to the movies of John Wayne, and you're looking for a good place to start, you can do no better than the aforementioned Western, which established his swaggeringly laconic persona. But once you get that one out of the way, there are many different paths you can take. You could try one of his war films or watch The Duke get absolutely steamrolled by Barbara Stanwyck in the pre-Code classic "Baby Face."

If, however, you want to see the cocksure Wayne get challenged for real in a proper Western, there are many terrific options. "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and "The Searchers" are full-on Ford-directed classics, while Mark Rydell's "The Cowboys" (and its sensational John Williams score) might surprise you. But if you want to see someone not only stand up to Wayne, but occasionally blow him off the screen, the movie you're looking for is Howard Hawks' "Red River," and it's streaming for free at the moment!

Wayne played several outright bastards throughout his career, but, with the possible exception of Ethan Edwards in "The Searchers," I'm not sure he's ever been more than as rancher Thomas Dunson in "Red River." Determined to drive his 10,000 cattle to Missouri regardless of the considerable risk. Riding with him is his adopted son Matt, a young man with growing confidence and a greater sense of decency played by 28-year-old Montgomery Clift in one of his first big-screen roles.

The story itself is not riddled with surprises. It's basically "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Wayne as the captain and Clift as the charge who usurps his command. We sympathize with Matt, but Hawks and his screenwriters (Borden Chase and Charles Schnee) portray Dunson as a hard man fighting like hell to ensure the survival of his livelihood. The ranch is his life, and Dunson has killed to protect it. The film finds Dunson at a precarious moment; he's being challenged by his son, who doesn't want to go in for the kind of bloodshed that's marked his father's life, and when he can't convince the old man to moderate his viciousness he throws him over.

Dunson's not one to lose a fight, so we know there will be a reckoning between father and son. It's a spectacular conflict, one that's doubly charged when you consider Hawks has pitted unfussy film actor Wayne versus method-trained Clift. Are there better Westerns? No, not really (Metacritic says it's Wayne's best). Just Westerns that are perfect in different ways.

"Red River" is currently streaming for free (with ads) on The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Freevee. It's also free sans ads on Hoopla.