"Red River" was filmed in 1946, copyrighted in 1947, but not released until September 30, 1948. Footage from "Red River" was later incorporated into the opening montage of Wayne's last film, "The Shootist", to illustrate the backstory of Wayne's character. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Film Editing (Christian Nyby) and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story (Borden Chase). John Ford, who worked with Wayne on many films such as "Stagecoach", "The Searchers" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", was so impressed with Wayne's performance that he is reported to have said, "I didn’t know the big son of a bitch could act!"