Red River-MR

Although at certain points there is a slight power struggle in the film, Red River, there is only one alpha male cowboy throught the movie. Tom Dunsen is the only cowboy to excert a signfigant amount dominance over a group of people at any time. Even when he is thrown out by a group of men, the men still know that Dunsen is in power and will return to make them pay. Dunsen is a veteran of the west and, although he is hyper-focused about what he wants, he is determined to keep law and order within the group of men traveling with him. He asserts his dominance at the beginning of the film, when he stakes his land and cooly tells the previous owner to stay off. Although Dunsen does get overthrown, there is a clear respect for the power he posses by the other apparent leader, Matthew.

Matthew, arguably the other alpha male cowboy, would never have been able to lead had he not learned everything from Dunsen. Thus, Matthew understands the kind of power that Dunsen has and although he becomes the leader, he fears what Dunsens power will do to him, Matthew clearly lacks the leadership abilities that Dunsen naturally has. He is sensitive, caring, and has a moral code that Dunsen lacks. When Matthew stops Dunsen from punishing two men from abandoning the group, which they previously signed on for, it is clear that Matthew is not an alpha male. The men that abandoned the group were in clear violation of a code that they had agreed too and if they broke it, it was understood that they were to pay. Matthews set of defined moral values, differ from Dunsens which do not allow hime full dominance over the group.