MovieChat Forums > Red River (1948) Discussion > Does Cherry survive at the end

Does Cherry survive at the end

posted 13 years ago by jamest155
5 replies | jump to latest

At the end John Wayne shoots Cherry and Cherry falls to the ground although he is moving. Does anyone know if Cherry survives at the end or dies. has anyone read the book.

[–] winonaforever2 12 years ago

There was another thread on this before, for what I read, he dies in the book, but in the film it's not specified. The ending in the book is quite different. The movie ends in a positive way with everyone happy, so I'd like to think that he was just wounded.

[–] thbryn 12 years ago

Abdomen gunshot wounds will kill you if it hit a vital organ --obviously-- and there's a 33% chance of dying of infection, even if it's a "clean" hole and you are getting med attention and not bleeding out.

If it "nicked the fat" he may have survived. But that's not the way it looked.

[–] wtl471629 12 years ago

I agree with winonaforever2 that he does survive and I think that was what the movie intended. But I can see where others interpret it differently but I think he survies.

[–] Druxy 11 years ago

I knew John Ireland and I asked him that very question.

Yes, Cherry survives.

There was a scene shot, but cut from the final picture, that is set in a barroom. Cherry is there with his arm in a sling.

[–] DukeTogo1300 11 years ago

Nice to know. He does seem rather discarded even with the softening of Dunson's intentions at the end. Actually, that made it even more strange.