In July 1946, much to the dismay of the state of Texas, Monterey Productions announced its plan to film the western movie “Red River” in Arizona. The story is based in Texas and Kansas, but the production manager noted that “he can find every type of Texas scenery within the 20-mile radius of an imaginary circle around his location near Elgin. So, instead of going to Texas where he would have to travel several hundred miles for the correct changes in scenery, he’s moving his entire production outfit to the Santa Rita Hotel here [Tucson] and to an about-to-be-built camp near Elgin.” [Arizona Daily Star, 7/25/1946].
“Red River” was directed by Howard Hawks and starred John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru and Walter Brennan.
Location work began in early September and was projected to take about eight weeks. The temporary camp in Elgin included 75 semi-portable tent cabins, mess and recreational halls, and other housing and equipment and cost $150,000 to build. [Arizona Daily Star, 9/6/1946]. About 250 actors, technicians and directorial staff moved into the facilities. Elgin was also “reconstructed” for the scenes in the city of Abilene. [Nogales International, 9/6/1946].
About 75 extras from the Elgin/Tombstone area and more from Tucson and Nogales were hired. Local rancher Bill Douglass worked as a wrangler and an extra, and subsequently worked on every John Wayne movie filmed in the area. [Barr, Betty. “More Hidden Treasures of Santa Cruz County,” 2008:202]. Patti Holbrook Oliver recalls that her dad, Bill Holbrook, also appeared as a cowboy.
Most of the cattle drive scenes, including the stampede, were filmed on the Rain Valley Ranch which was owned at that time by W. S. Symington. The Empire Ranch was used for some corral location work. The San Pedro River near Fairbank was the location for the “river crossing” scene. Five dams were constructed above the crossing point to ensure ample water in the river when several thousand head of cattle crossed. [Arizona Daily Star, 10/11/1946].
The cast, crew and producers had considerable interaction with area residents throughout their time in the area. Director Howard Hawks and his film editor viewed the “dailies” in the Elgin Community Club.
“Local ranchers and Elgin folk were not long in learning of the nightly show and now as many or more help fill the seats in the building as do members of Hawks’ group on location.” [Arizona Daily Star, 9/20/1946]. The entire cast participated in the rodeo parade, including Hawks who led the procession. [Tucson Citizen, 10/12/1946].
Heavy summer rains caused filming delays and added two weeks to the location work which ended in early November. The film was not released until 1948 and was first shown at the Midway drive-in theater in Tucson in late October. [Arizona Daily Star, 10/22/1948].