MB Red River

The 1948 film Red River, contains two alpha male cowboys. As both Tompkins and Matheson would agree the two alpha male cowboys within the film are Tom Dunson (John Wayne) and Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift). Tom Dunson, is the Matheson alpha male cowboy that John Wayne tends to always play, while Matt Garth relates to the alpha male cowboy's acceptance of death found in Tompkins.

Tom Dunson as Matheson describes is "the Wayne canon, it becomes obvious that the Duke specialized in playing distablized alienated figures, socially marginalized men caught in double binds in short the modern existential antihero"(Matheson 897). Tom become socially marginalized from his men within the film during the middle of the drive while he is obsessed with the drive above all else. Tom grows distant from the herders and is driven to killing the men who want to desert. The double-bind within this film is between Tom and his "adopted" son Matt. Tom's problem with Matt is that he "stole" the herd because the men wanted to reason with Matt over Tom's lack of remorse. Tom states that he plans on killing Matt. As he rides to catch up with Matt he runs into a group heading west and he runs into a girl that Matt loves. This reminds Tom of his own life when he left a girl for his own work. So when he does catch up with Matt he is caught in a double-bind on weather to kill Matt for taking the herd or let him be happy with the girl that Matt loves

Tom Dunson exhibits sociopathic behavior throughout the journey of the cattle drive. Matheson states that sociopathic behavior are "manipulative, callous, remorseless, parasitic, pathological liars with pooe behavioral controls, ironically, their disordered personalities, which disable them socially, enable them professionally"(Matheson 892). Tom Dunson during the drive kills any man that wants to leave the drive. Tom is professionally driven to complete the task of driving the cattle to market. However, Tom cannot cope with the fact that men are wanting to desert as soon as things go bad. Tom kills destertees without remorse. He murders men for wanting to get out of the trip. Tom also exhibits sociopathic behaviors when he vouches to kill Matt Garth for taking away his herd. Tom is willing to kill Matt who is as close to a son as he would ever have just to get back at him for finishing the drive.

Matt like Tom is also an alpha male within the film. Matt takes over the role as head cattle driver from Tom after Tom loses respect from the men. The men view Matt as an person that they all can rally behind because of his social skills and rugged build. Tom states that he will kill Matt for taking his herd and his men. Matt is open with this invitation to death. Tompkins notices that "though death is what the hero is always trying to avoid, and what we continually escape along with him, death is constantly being courted, flirted with, and imposed (on others) in scenes that have a ritual quality to them"(Tompkins 24). When the show-down between Matt and Tom comes, Matt shows up not willing to fight. Matt realizes that he did the right thing for taking the herd and does not want to fight or kill Tom. The alpha male cowboy like Matt welcomes death and is not afraid to meet his maker if he knows that his action were right.