of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Red River was selected by the American Film Institute as the 5th greatest Western of all time in the AFI's 10 Top 10 list in 2008. "Red River D" belt buckles To commemorate their work on the film, director Howard Hawks had special Western belt buckles made up for certain members of the cast and crew of Red River. The solid silver belt buckles had a twisted silver wire rope edge, the Dunson brand in gold in the center, the words “Red River” in gold wire in the upper left and lower right corners, the initials of the recipients in the lower left corner, and the date "1946" in cut gold numerals in the upper right corner. Hawks gave full-sized (men's) buckles to John Wayne, his son David Hawks, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, assistant director Arthur Rosson, cinematographer Russell Harlan, and John Ireland. Joanna Dru and Hawks' daughter Barbara were given smaller (ladies') versions of the buckle. According to David Hawks, other men's and women's buckles were distributed, but he can only confirm the family members and members of the cast and production team listed above received Red River D buckles. Wayne and Hawks exchanged buckles as a token of their mutual respect. Wayne wore the Red River D belt buckle with the initials "HWH" in nine other movies including North to Alaska, Circus World, Hatari! Rio Bravo, El Dorado, McLintock!, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Rio Lobo. In 1981, John Wayne's son Michael sent the buckle to a silversmith in order to have duplicates made for all of Wayne's children. While in the silversmith's care, it was stolen and has not been seen since. Red River D buckles, made by a number of sources, are among the most popular and sought after icons of John Wayne fans. See also Cimarron1931 film mentioned on poster The Covered Wagon1923 film mentioned on poster References Further reading Eagan, Daniel (2010). "Red River essay" in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, London: A & C Black. , pp. 417–19. External links on Lux Radio Theatre: March 7, 1949. 14 Mb download. 1948 Western (genre) films 1948 films 1940s English-language films American Western (genre) epic films American black-and-white films Films about farmers Films directed by Howard Hawks Films scored by Dimitri