Red River - SJC

Red River was produced in 1948 and features two characters that could be considered alpha-male cowboys. Both Tom Dunson and Matt Garth features characteristics exhibited by alpha-male cowboys. According to Sue Matheson an alpha-male cowboy must be strong, quiet and moral. Tom Dunson is the older cowboy and is first introduced to the audience as a strong man who kills Indians and Mexicans to claim his land. Tom also fits the quiet characteristic as he rarely talks about his emotions; instead he prefers using his gun to express his opinion. While he does meet the first two requirements he struggles slightly with the morality concept. After Matt Garth defends the cattle and the men and changes the final destination Tom swears to kill Matt. Tom had raised Matt since he was a child and was betrayed because he refused to consider the safety of the men. Tom does fit most of the alpha-male cowboy characteristics but is slightly questionable on his morality.

The second alpha-male cowboy is Matt Garth. Matt Garth was found by Tom after escaping the Indian assault; he is later seen 15 years later riding in from the wilderness. Matt is very strong and Tom even admits Matt is a better shot than he. Matt also meets the morality trait as he stands up to Tom to defend the men and protect their safety. In addition to considering the men in the cattle drive he also planned to give Tom the money he earned from the cattle. Being fair and paying a man what he earned is a moral action and so Matt fulfills two of the requirements to be the alpha-male cowboy. Where he fails is the silence. Matt is seen talking and falling for Tess a strong female he meets during an Indian raid on another caravan. Matt talks about his feelings and eventually falls in love with Tess. This talking about emotions is not a traits expressed by alpha-male cowboys in most westerns.

Now when determining which male is the alpha-male cowboy it become evident that neither character fulfills all requirements of the alpha-male cowboy and so with both characters being slightly flawed they are both equal and so two alpha-male cowboys exists in the film Red River.