User reviews

Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) is holding Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) for killing an unarmed man. Only Joe's brother Nathan (John Russell) wants Joe freed, and he'll use everything in his powers. The only hope Chance has is a drunk (Dean Martin), a kid (Ricky Nelson), and ol' Stumpy (Walter Brennan).

This is classic John Wayne at his finest. He is the great gunslinger facing insurmountable odds who takes on the bad guys with his brains, his determination, and his skills. Directed by Howard Hawks, this is just a great old fashion western. They even have Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson sing-along. Angie Dickinson plays the romantic lead. Sure, it is cliché. The good guys always win in the end. But there's nothing wrong with that.

Howard Hawks initially wanted to reunite John Wayne and Montgomery Clift who had worked so well together in Red River in his second film with Wayne. Clift however was at the beginning of the slide that would ultimately destroy him in seven years and said no. It was then that Dean Martin was cast as John Wayne's alcoholic deputy.

By the way if Clift had done the part it would have reunited him with Walter Brennan also who is playing a very similar part to the one he did in Red River in relation to Wayne.

In the wordless beginning of Rio Bravo, Wayne while going into the town saloon to fetch Dino, witnesses a cold blooded killing perpetrated by Claude Akins. Akins is the no good brother of rich rancher John Russell who keeps trying to spring Akins from Wayne's jail. He also brings in some hired guns who bottle the town up.

Both Howard Hawks and John Wayne absolutely hated High Noon and made Rio Bravo as their answer to it. This sheriff doesn't go around begging for help from the townspeople he's sworn to protect. He's supposed to be good enough to handle the job himself with some help from only a few good men.

Dean Martin said that the Rio Bravo role for him was one of the most difficult. At that time he was playing a drunk on stage and was not yet into the substance abuse problems that beset him later on. But turns in a stellar performance.

This film marked the farewell feature film performance of Ward Bond who took some time from his Wagon Train TV series to play the small role of a Wayne friend who offers to help and gets killed for his trouble. Fitting it should be in the starring film of his best friend John Wayne.

The only bad note in Rio Bravo is that of Ricky Nelson who is too much the nice kid from Ozzie and Harriet to suggest being a young gun. But Rio Bravo marked the first of many films Wayne used a current teenage idol to insure box office. Later on Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Vinton all the way down to Ron Howard in The Shootist brought a younger audience in for the Duke.

James Caan who played the Ricky Nelson part in El Dorado was much superior to Nelson. Then again, Caan is an actor. But I will say that Dean and Ricky sung real pretty.

When you hear Dean singing My Rifle, Pony, and Me in the jailhouse, you might recognize the same melody from Red River as Settle Down. Dimitri Tiomkin wrote it and Dean recorded it as well as the title song for Capitol records. At Capitol Dino did mostly ersatz Italian ballads, it was what he was identified with. When he switched to Reprise, Dino started doing far more country and western and it really starts with the songs he did in Rio Bravo.

Rio Bravo is a leisurely paced western, probably one of the slowest John Wayne ever did. But Howard Hawks created some characters and a story that hold the interest through out.

It says much about current cinema that this vintage slice of Hollywood is now considered too long and too slow by the modern generation of movie goers. Howard Hawks labours to create setting, mood and pace introducing genuine characters are colourful for the flaws they have as their positive points presenting heroes one can empathise with, people with three dimensions, not thin caricatures that popular many of today's movies.

No character empathises this more than Dean Martin's broken down drunk Dude. Nicknamed "Borachon" by the Mexicans (Borachon is Spanish for "Drunkard") Dude battles with the demons that drove him to drink as he desperately tried not to let down Sheriff Chance, John Wayne, who believes in him more than he believes in himself. Dude's pouring back of a glass of bourbon into the bottle is one of the most life affirming scenes ever committed to film.

Wayne never really does anything other than play John Wayne and Hawks spins on this playing with the ethos of the man. The same steadfast values that mean Wayne's Sheriff John T. Chance will not release the prisoner Joe Burdette back to his murderous gang leave him stiff and awkward in front of Angie Dickinson's love interest "Feathers" creating perhaps the quintessential John Wayne movie in which the Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett's screenplay explores the depths of the ideals that Wayne stands for. This is a movie about not just about redemption, but about the reasons for a tough redemption in a World in which collapse and lawlessness are easier options.

And when Dude pours his Bourbon back, affirming that even though he cannot be the man he was but he can still be a good man, you will not be wishing it was film in bullettime.

Disregarded at the time of its release, and still underrated by many critics, Rio Bavo is finally coming into its own as a masterpiece. One reason that it has been underrated is that,it does not seem a typical western for the fifties. Most of the great westerns of the period were darker and moodier. Witness for example, the great films of Boetticher and Anthony Mann, or-the supreme example-The Searchers.Others were 'revisionist' and often sought to convey a socially conscious "teaching'- High Noon is the paradigm here. In contrast, Rio Bravo is unashamedly reactionary. Hawks actually claimed to have made the film as a reply to High Noon..In addition, there are very few pyschological or moral ambiguities here. Instead, we get a classic Hawksian scenario, also found in Only Angels Have Wings and To Have and Have Not. . in which a groups of misfits and outsiders bands together to defeat evil. Here we have John Wayne- offering a performance of considerable subtlety and self knowledge- as the valiant, yet limited, patriarchal hero, John T. Chance. To save the day, he calls on a cast of standard Western characters:The old-timer( Brennan), the reformed drunk( Martin), The "kid'( Nelson), and the "hooker with a heart of gold( Dickinson).Thanks to Hawks' assured, efficient, direction,All of these actors transcend the stereotypes usually associated with such characters to deliver fine performances which are simultaneously "realistic' and archtypal. Particularly worthy of notice is Dean Martin. John Carpenter once claimed that the scene of Martin's "redemption" was the greatest moment in all of cinema. That may be an exaggeration, but Carpenter has a point. It is both moving and unforgettable.In short, Rio Bravo is a triumph for Howard Hawks and his seemingly artless art.

When Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) murders a man on a whim, Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) arrests him and puts him in small Texas town's jail. The problem is that the U.S. Marshall is a week away from taking Burdette off his hands, and Burdette's brother, Nathan (John Russell), won't see his brother put away. Complicating the situation even further, Burdette is rich enough to hire a score of thugs, and the only support that Chance has is from a drunk, Dude (Dean Martin), and an elderly crippled man, Stumpy (Walter Brennan).

Rio Bravo is a sprawling pressure cooker. For anyone not used to the pacing of older films, this is not the best place to begin. Uninitiated audiences are likely to find it boring--the plot is relatively simple, and they would likely have a difficult time remaining with Rio Bravo for its 2 hour and 21 minute running time. It's best to wait until one is acclimated to this kind of pacing, so as not to spoil the experience. The film is well worth it.

John Wayne was an enthralling paradox, and maybe no film better demonstrates why than Rio Bravo. He had almost delicate "pretty boy" looks and a graceful gait that were an odd contrast to his hulking height and status as the "action hero" of his day. He speaks little, and doesn't need to, although he is the star and thus the center of attention. He tends to have an odd smirk on his face. Wayne's performance here interestingly parallels the pacing and tenor of the film--that's not something that one sees very often, or at least it's not something that's very easy to make conspicuous.

And he's not the only charismatic cast member. Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan and Angie Dickinson are equally captivating. Even when the full blow-out action sequence begins (and that's not until about two hours into the film, although there are a few great shorter action scenes before that), the focus here is still on the interrelationships between these characters, with Brennan the continually funny comic foil, Nelson the suave, skilled youngster, Martin the complex and troubled but likable complement to Wayne, and Dickinson as the sexy, forward and clever love interest.

Director Howard Hawks seems to do everything right. He guides cinematographer Russell Harlan in capturing subtly beautiful scenery--like the mountains in the distance over the tops of some buildings, and a great sunrise shot--and asks for an atmospheric score (such as the repeated playing of Malaguena by a band in the background) that shows that plot points weren't the only element of the film that influenced John Carpenter (who partially based his Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) on this film). But most intriguing is probably Hawks' staging/blocking. You could easily make a study of just that aspect of the film. The characters are always placed in interesting places in the frame, and they're constantly moving in interesting ways throughout the small collection of buildings and streets that make up the town. There is almost a kind of performance art aspect to it. Wayne, for instance, repeatedly touches base at the jail, then picks up his rifle, circles around to the hotel and back, almost as if he's doing some kind of western Tai Chi.

Rio Bravo is nothing if not understated, and as such, it may take some adjustments from modern, especially younger, viewers. But it's a gem of a film, and worth watching and studying.

I noticed that a few reviewers gave RIO BRAVO scores of 10. Well, I certainly can understand this, as it is one of the better Westerns you can see, but I also am very hesitant to toss out 10s--as not many movies are perfect enough to merit this score. And, while I loved RIO BRAVO, I also must admit that there are a few films of the genre that are better...though not many.

One thing I noticed as I saw this film again today is that it is so much better than I'd remembered. Some of this might be because there are a lot of details about films and film making I notice now that I have a bazillion film reviews behind me--I couldn't help but learn a little bit after seeing so many films. Some of it might also be that despite me knowing the plot and knowing exactly what would happen, it just didn't get old--it was that well made.

Now the plot itself is amazingly simple and is not 100% new (hence, my giving the film a 9). The idea of a lawman or group of lawmen refusing to give up a murderer to a rich and powerful boss and steadfastly enforcing the law is such a classic plot line. However, this film is a great example of taking a standard plot yet making it come alive due to such incredibly deft direction. Howard Hawks was a master director with a ton of wonderful films to his credit. You can really tell he knew his craft, as he brought so much out of the actors and situation. In some ways, I even preferred it over the John Ford style, as Ford is usually very, very heavy on the sentimentality. Here, while there is a tiny bit, the emphasis seems to be more on character development, redemption and the individual's interactions with each other. Somewhat similar to Ford--just with less of the lovely schmaltz that Ford did so well. I love both style--and it's amazing that Hawks really only made a few Westerns.

In some ways, this film seems a bit surprising for a John Wayne film. While Wayne is naturally known for his extreme manliness in his movies, here he is more complex and vulnerable. First, his romantic pairing with a much younger Angie Dickenson is odd but somehow they make it work and bring out a bit more complexity to his character. Second, there is a lot of wonderful male bonding in the film--and a lot of tenderness. This is not a homophobic film, as the men truly seem to love and care for each other in a way you often don't see in Westerns. It's not all toughness but the vulnerability of the characters (especially Dean Martin) was endearing. Also, while it was very, very atypical of Wayne, I loved the scene where he kissed Walter Brennan on top of the head--it was wonderful and made me laugh. It's funny, because as it was about to happen I said to myself that if Wayne should kiss Brennan, it would be the perfect scene...and then he did!

One thing that worried me about the film was that in several Wayne films of the late 50s and into the early 70s, Wayne had young pop singers play important roles. While this sometimes worked, sometimes the acting and characters didn't really pan out well (such as Bobby Vinton playing Wayne's son in BIG JAKE). Here, fortunately, Ricky Nelson actually was a positive addition. Not only did his acting seem polished (after years of playing on "Ozzie and Harriet") but his singing actually worked well--even if the style was anachronistic to the Old West. I particularly liked his little duet with Dean Martin. As for Martin, he showed that despite the Matt Helm films and his laid back attitude towards acting in the 70s, he was a terrific actor.

As for everyone else, they were in top form. Wayne was a gentler and more believable guy--but still the John Wayne everyone wanted to see. Walter Brennan was downright hilarious as the cantankerous old cuss he grew into in his later years (though he was actually a bit younger than he looked and acted). Angie Dickenson also had more depth and appeal than usual. Interestingly, Hawks and the script put so much emphasis on the good guys that the bad guys were almost an after-thought. This isn't a bad thing, as the film chose instead to deal with the way the good guys got along and worked together as friends.

Exceptional direction, great acting and a top-notch script, this is a fine film and one any fan of Westerns or John Wayne simply has to watch. I liked the trivia section of IMDb and its entry that says "Quentin Tarantino has said that before he enters into a relationship with a girl, he always shows her 'Rio Bravo' and if she doesn't like it, there is no relationship." I would agree. Anyone who doesn't like this film after seeing it isn't to be trusted!

By the way, although I love this film, I am less in love with EL DORADO. A decade later, Hawks basically redid RIO BRAVO (again, with Wayne) and it offers no improvements at all over the original. Hawks denied that it was a remake and if you believe that, I'll sell you some oceanfront property in Colorado! It's watchable, but you see the two side-by-side, there's simply no comparison.

The story itself is a composite of all the elements needed to make a great Western: good guys in white hats, bad guys in black hats, townspeople content to stand aside and to let the battle be fought between the outlaws and the man with the tin star, a beautiful woman to distract the hero and finally help him when the chips are down.

The main stars, John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Angie Dickinson all turn in the top-notch performances one would expect from them, and Rick Nelson is a very pleasant surprise as Colorado. It's two others that separate this movie from other Westerns, though.

Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales, as Carlos the hotel-keeper, is a breath of fresh air. His interplay with John Wayne's John T. Chance adds a touch of human reality to the movie that sets it apart.

Walter Brennan in his role as Stumpy, however, is the glue that holds the whole thing together and makes it work. His constant griping under his breath, his goading of Wayne, his dialogue with the prisoner and his general comic relief set Rio Bravo apart from any other Western and put it in a class of its own. Keenan Wynn in Eldorado doesn't even come close.

It is my pleasure to make comments on Rio Bravo, considering all the hype that already has been written about it. True, it is not socially redeeming, nor does it make a political statement, it's just darn fun, i.e. entertaining. What's wrong with that? I couldn't care less if it is a redemption by Hawks for "High Noon"! I know one thing is for certain, when you watch John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, and the rest of the cast, you can tell that they had a really good time making the film, this, I believe is plain to see. Add a top notch script and very fine acting, good scenery, a love angle, and enough action to satisfy, and it adds up to a classic movie no matter how you judge it. 10 for 10.

"Every man should have a little taste of power before he's through."

Rio Bravo boasts a stellar cast in John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson. It's a classic Western film that strays from themes related to the genre. Instead of the stereotypical outlaw vs. sheriff theme, Rio Bravo forces the audience to analyze each character and how their unique backstories explain their actions.

One of Rio Bravo's defining features is that, unlike other Westerns, there isn't an overwhelming protagonist. Instead, each of the characters are seen grappling with their own issues and finding their place in the story.

All four of our main characters are deputies in the town. John Wayne plays the sheriff and acts as the calm and steady voice of reason in the story. Dean Martin plays Dude, a has-been who delved into alcoholism after he was left by a woman. There's Stumpy, the crippled grandpa and a young, talented new guy. The interactions between all the other characters is quite interesting, especially the chemistry between Chance and Dude.

Methodically speaking, this is a really good movie whether you like Westerns or not. The writing is really good, and the direction especially is remarkable. Each scene is intricately set up. I want to bring special attention to the opening scene. There's no dialogue, and we don't fully find out what transpired until later. The opening scene really pulled me in, and set this up to be a really solid film.

Unfortunately, the run-time is a bit long. As the movie progresses, Feathers and Stumpy started really annoying me. There's a shootout scene that's really good, but the closing scene is anticlimactic and I wish the movie had ended better for the sake of the story.

Despite all the praise I can offer Rio Bravo, I just don't think it warrants over a 7 rating. The scenes with Feathers are too drawn out, and I think we'd have a better story if her character was removed completely. Nonetheless, this is definitely a good Western to see if you appreciate character development, dramas, and John Wayne.

I am not the biggest fan of westerns, but I have liked a lot of what I've seen. Rio Bravo I accept has been acclaimed, but when I saw it myself, I liked it but I wouldn't go to say it is the best western ever. Starting with its problems, it is much too long, it could have done with being 8-10 minutes shorter. Also I have seen reviews not on here that say it is majestically paced but I cannot say I agree, I for one found it too slow. While there was some good acting, Angie Dickinson does overdo her part and it doesn't help her character and situation are both underdeveloped. So what were the good things? Well the scenery and cinematography are magnificent, the score rousing, haunting and bombastic, the story intriguing, the dialogue excellent and the direction superb. And John Wayne, while he has been better, does give a good and charismatic performance in the lead, while Dean Martin is likable enough and Walter Brennan is wonderful. Overall, it is good but not as good as I'd heard it was. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I have read the user's comments about Rio Bravo. Frankly I can't understand how is it possible that most of them say this is a "Masterpiece" or "Hawk's Best" or "Great Movie" or "Still One of the Best" and a lot of similar opinions.

The story is rather interesting and could have done a great movie, but it has so many terrible flaws that turns into a B western (and that being generous). Lets see:

1) John Wayne is always John Wayne. He doesn't really act (except perhaps in his two best westerns "Stagecoach" and "The Shootist") both really good. 2) Sheriff John T. Chance looks always as if he knew the script is on his side and he'll come out well no matter what. 3) Ricky Nelson looks exactly like a comic magazine cowboy, totally out of place and surely someone told him about the happy ending too. And we also are forced to listen to his singing! 4) The movie is too long and with plenty of hard to believe sequences. 5) Most of all the final shooting that is really incredible and impossible. Wayne, Martin and Nelson engage in a shooting contest hitting small dynamite bars not only when static on the floor but moving rapidly through the air far from them. Wayne does it with a rifle (difficult enough) but Martin hits them with a six shooter without even aiming!! I can assure you also that dynamite bars don't blow off when hit by a bullet, a spark is always needed. The whole sequence is absolutely ridiculous, more proper of a "spaghetti" western and definitely sinks the film to the bottom.

My 4 points rank for Rio Bravo comes out of acceptable setting and good performances by Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan and Dean Martin (shortly after breaking his comedy partnership with Jerry Lewis). Fine music too. But that aside, nothing at all to match the great westerns of the 50's we enjoyed through the decade (High Noon, Shane, 3:10 to Yuma, Gunfight at OK Corral, The Gunfighter and so many others). In fact, I think Hawks himself realized the movie was really poor and spoiled, so he made "El Dorado" within a short period of time; though almost a remake of Rio Bravo and not a top western either El Dorado has not the terrible flaws and ridiculous sequences we saw in Rio Bravo and is a far better movie.

Don't you agree?

Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) arrests a man for murder but the man's powerful brother is dead set on breaking him out. Chance must hold off the brother and his hired guns until the federal marshal arrives. Helping him is a cantankerous old man named Stumpy (Walter Brennan), a deputy with a drinking problem named Dude (Dean Martin), and Colorado, a young man new in town but good with a gun (Ricky Nelson).

Duke is excellent. Contrary to some of the negative reviews here, he's not "just playing John Wayne." But he always was an under-appreciated actor, especially among certain types. As for his love interest Angie Dickinson, despite the age difference he has great chemistry with her. Dino has probably his best acting role here. Walter Brennan is always fun. The most surprising part of the cast is Ricky Nelson and how good he was alongside these more experienced actors. The cast works well together and there's a real sense that these people like each other that comes through in their performances, making it all the more believable.

The plot is deceptively simple but it just goes to show that stories don't have to be complex to be interesting. It's a great character western, slow but well-paced. Howard Hawks shows why he is one of the all-time greats with how well he handles these characters and their actors, the flaws and strengths of each, and tells a simple but powerful story. The Furthman and Brackett script is great. I read some of the negative reviews here and all I can say is that I feel sorry for those people. Most of them seem to either have an ax to grind with Wayne and Hawks or they just don't like westerns to begin with. The good reputation of this film has lasted decades. It's inspired directors from John Carpenter to Quentin Tarantino. It's a genuine classic. On my top ten westerns list for sure.

This is one of the great Westerns of all-time. Hawks at his best, as are John Wayne and Walter Brennan. Dean Martin has the chops and we get a little music, too. The script is slightly better than 'El Dorado' and it comes together in a perfect blend of action, drama and entertainment. It's just a classic.

This western Has some of the most popular stars of the 50s and 60s with Dean Martin and John Wayne, I mean talk about a stacked roster. This movie is set in the sleepy Texas town Rio Bravo and follows sheriff John Chance and deputy Dude. They are in a rivalry with Joe and Nathan Burdette two brothers who basically run the town. That's all I am going to say about the story, but I think all the fantastic elements of this movie make it the most underrated western of all time.

John Wayne- Dean Martin - Ricky Nelson -- with production by Warner Bros. , bring them together in Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" . John Chance (John Wayne) is the marshal of a Texas border little town who imprisons gunslinger Joe (Claude Atkins) into jail for being brought to justice . But Joe's brother is a corrupt baron land named Nathan (John Russell) . Then Chance takes on a blockade of gunfighters . He along with a cripple old (Walter Brennan ) are besieged and only helped by a drunk (Dean Martin) and a cocky youngster (Ricky Nelson) as hired hand . Meanwhile the tough Wayne falls in love with an enigmatic young (Angie Dickinson)...and the girl they all call 'Feathers' . Wheeler...a chunk of solid granite now crumbling with age...Burdette...he was the knife poised at the throat of Rio Bravo...Old Stumpy...no teeth...one leg...but all the rest was guts...and Dean and Ricky sing, too!. "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" "Rio Bravo" "Cindy" . The fought back to back...No quarter given...No quarter asked...No way in...No way out...of Rio Bravo. Feathers...the one girl who could give the big guy a hard time...

Action western, an agreeable love story , shoot-outs at regular intervals , and humor abound in this magnificent film whose characters are splendidly portrayed . It packs larger-than-life roles , uproarious events and lively happenings . The Duke carries strong acting on his brawny shoulders and perfectly does . The picture is mainly lifted out by veteran Brennan's wonderfully acting as a half-crazed likable old man , whose finger itches demoniacally on the trigger every time he gets a nasty guy in his sights . And of course , top-drawer Dean Martin with an unexpected excellent performance as alcoholic sheriff . Colorful Technicolor cinematography by cameraman Russell Harlan who adds much to the setting of this unique Western. Marvelous musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin including the Mexican ¨Degueyo¨, music also played during ¨John Wayne's Alamo¨ siege. This overlong , too much-acclaimed and very gripping Western will appeal to John Wayne fans. Rating : Above average, essential and indispensable Western , a masterpiece horse opera whose reputation has improved over the years.

Subsequently , Howard Hawks shot ¨El Dorado¨ in similar style with a hot-headed James Caan as Mississipi who is a virtual retreat of the previous young sidekick named Colorado-Ricky Nelson . Howard Hawks also displays a number of similarities to the posterior ¨Rio Lobo¨ starring Wayne, Victor French, Jorge Rivero and again with an old short-tempered person played by Jack Elam . Furthermore, a semi-remake on modern times by John Carpenter was called ¨Assault on Precinct 13¨.

Despite its classic status, this is not one of my favorite Westerns. I have my reasons. First of all, it's not really a Western. It can be and has been transposed to just about any era, anywhere in the world. Next, the story is absurdly simple. You have a small group standing off a much larger group trying to get their comrade out of captivity. That's about it. There isn't a whole lot more. Finally, the actors camp it up something terrible. Now I don't hold with those who say John Wayne couldn't act. If you watch "Red River", "The Searchers", "The Quiet Man", "True Grit", "Hondo", and a number of others, you'll find an impressive body of work by a dedicated professional. Here, however, Wayne plays Wayne and nobody else. The same is true of just about everyone else in the cast with the exception of the great Walter Brennan, who brings dignity to his role.

I am aware that many people really love this movie. I am aware that "Rio Bravo" is included in some critics' top ten lists of the best Westerns ever made. I have watched it over and over again to find out what I'm missing, what I can't see. I just can't get it. There is just too little plot and too much ham for my taste.

That's the main reason why some are western authentic lovers may not prefer this one compared to for instance THE SEARCHERS, another masterpiece, directed by John Ford, and set in superb settings, as a real western would suppose to be. But RIO BRAVO remains an outstanding character study and symphony, a terrific atmosphere, and a very good Dimitri Tiomkin score, but unfortunately with a unsurprising scheme, that could easily be written on a subway ticket, and of course a more than expected ending. Yes, most scenes of this Howard Hawks feature take place indoors, except some street sequences. That may disturb western lovers, because most of westerns give breathtaking settings. This one, not. But that remains a must see for every movie buff. And that's not Quentin Tarantino who will tell the contrary. Nor John Carpenter. The most performance of Hawks was to make a so captivating film, with such a simple topic, and fill the two hours and twenty minutes without any boredom for the audiences, simply with the characters presence. Forget the villains, who are totally useless here. A classic anyway.

Filmed by Howard Hawks as a response to what he saw as none macho cinema in Gary Cooper's acclaimed High Noon, Rio Bravo has moments of brilliance that are sadly coupled with failings that are not Hawksian peccadilloes. The macho plot is simple but wholly effective as our heavily out numbered heroes (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan & Ricky Nelson) defend a jail house against a marauding mob trying to release an incarcerated friend. This alone sounds grand but the truth is, is that it takes the film nigh on close to 100 minutes to get to the adrenalin rush of the siege and even allowing for fine character development, the film is ponderous and even at times dangerously close to being self indulgent.

The casting of Ricky Nelson was (as is widely regarded now) one of the worst of its kind in the history of cinema, he was there purely as a marketing ploy to garner the teen audience who were bopping to his pop tunes way back then. In fairness to Hawks, though, he saw straight away that this was out of Nelson's league and promptly (and cutely) gave him few lines of note to speak of. Also a big negative in the film is Angie Dickinson as the Female interest, she is raw and fresh out of water, and it shows, just like sushi on your plate.

The bonuses with the film however keep the film talked about for ever more, Wayne is magnetic and believable, whilst Martin comes into his own as the drunk trying to do right, a superlative performance from him and one would think that is really down to Hawks' direction. The action sequences are of a high standard, while the tight intimate feel of the town is precious - and who can resist an ending that makes you want to go fire yer guns in the air?

A very good film, but not a Western masterpiece by a long shot. 7/10

Howard Hawks, smarting from the failure of Land of the Pharaohs, left for Europe for a few years to lick his wounds and consider his next moves as a film director. While in Europe, he discovered that television westerns with emphasis on character rather than plot were fairly popular, so he returned home to America. There he found John Wayne ready and willing to work on a counterargument to Fred Zinnemann's High Noon, the story of Gary Cooper's lone sheriff in a small western town who can't get anyone to help him get ready for the arrival of a known felon out for his blood. Wayne and Hawks were of the opinion that High Noon was simply wrong in its portrayal of the West and the hero, so they made the best counterargument possible, they made another movie.

John T. Chance (Wayne) is the sheriff of a small Western town. His deputy, Dean Martin's Dude, is at the tail end of a two-year bender in response to a girl leaving him. In a great, silent opening scene, Dude is so desperate for a drink that when the notorious Joe Burdette, younger brother to the most powerful man in the area Nathan Burdette, throws a dollar piece into a spittoon Dude is reticent but willing to reach in for that dollar to get him his next drink. Chance saves him from the degradation in the final second, and Joe ends up attacking Chance and shooting another man dead. Chance and Dude get Joe into custody, and the standoff begins.

What's markedly different about Rio Bravo is its almost lackadaisical pace. The plot gets sidelined for long stretches as Wayne, Martin, Angie Dickenson, and Walter Brennan play off of each other with the other assorted members of the town. Quentin Tarantino apparently showed this film to every woman he ever dated, and if they didn't like it then he ended the relationship. Looking at his filmography through the lens of Rio Bravo, it suddenly all makes sense. He's been making his own version of Rio Bravo in some capacity until Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood where it almost feels like a complete homage. This isn't a movie about its plot. This is a movie about its characters in the middle of a situation. This feels like a movie made from the moments cut out of most movies. Where most movies have their characters endlessly discuss the plot, these characters discuss it occasionally and then simply try to live their lives otherwise within the confines of the situation at hand.

All of that rests on a handful of things. The first is the script. Hawks was well known for allowing his actors to improvise freely on set, but in order for that to really work you need to start with a strong script that provides a great guide on who these characters are. The second is the actors themselves. They have to fit their roles almost like archetypes, understanding what the script has created in their individual characters, allowing them that space to improvise but also the boundaries on how far they can go in any particular direction. The third is the world around them. This has to feel complete, populated, and real so that it never feels like the characters have been transported from the place of the plot to somewhere else where they can talk. They still need to inhabit the world completely and at all times.

Rio Bravo does all three extremely well.

The script and actors use the world to full effect. They feel alive as Chance and Dude interact with Walter Brennan's Stumpy, guarding Joe in the jail with an ever-present shotgun, ready to shoot Joe should anything start up. An old friend of Chance's, Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond) rides into a town with his wagon and men including the young Colorado (Ricky Nelson), a great gunman. Pat is immediately on Chance's side, offering whatever services he can to help, but Chance refuses it all. He doesn't want to endanger the lives of those not involved of their own choosing, including Colorado even though he could use the help for sure. Into the scene walks Angie Dickenson's Feathers. Arriving in Rio Bravo on the stage, she's stuck while the stage gets fixed. She takes up at the local card game, but Chance ends up suspecting her of being noted on a handbill, and when he discovers that three cards are missing from the deck, decides to take action. It ends up she isn't the one sleeving cards (her dress won't allow it), but she was married to a noted card cheat who died a few months back. It was another guy at the table, helped caught by Colorado, who was cheating.

So sets in motion the string of character vignettes that come to make up Rio Bravo. We see how Chance and Stumpy are friends with constant bickering, almost like a married couple. We see Feathers steadily fall for the manly and brave Chance. We see Dude steadily find his sobriety in the face of danger, allowed his badge once again. We see Nathan show up to start showdown with Chance, but the situation Chance has created, waiting for the US Marshalls to arrive for Joe while holding Joe under guard, is too well maintained for any sort of rash action, allowing the whole character based story to play out comfortably but believably at the same time. Colorado becomes more and more useful until he gets too involved to deny official involvement anymore, Chance finally offering him a badge.

The finale centers around Dude, and I just have to take a moment to talk about Dean Martin. Martin was a lounge singer who started as the second half of a duo with Jerry Lewis, breaking off to follow his own career. He sang in Vegas alongside his buddies in the Rat Pack, even starring in the original Ocean's 11 as pretty much himself. Here he plays the drunk, self-doubting Dude really well. In fact, there's so much of him that if Hawks had been forced to cut down the running time from two hours and twenty minutes to a hundred minutes, he would have had the choice of two main characters, Chance and Dude, to center the proposed shortened movie around.

Dude ends up getting captured by Nathan with the intention of trading the deputy for Joe. This leads to a shootout with Stumpy throwing dynamite that Colorado, Chance, and Dude shoot at. It's a good, explosive ending, finding a way to provide genre thrills at the tail end of a movie that's largely more concerned with character interaction.

I suppose if there's a problem I have with the movie, it's that John Wayne is so obviously so much older than Angie Dickenson that it ends up coloring their interactions in a weird way that reminded me of my reaction to John McTiernan's Medicine Man. I mean, I can believe that a young woman would fall for John T. Chance, especially in the face of the danger he's up against. He's a very manly example of the sex, and I could see the appeal. But the age difference is just so obvious that it becomes a small barrier for me.

Anyway, this is Hawks returning from a failure (maybe not a complete artistic failure, but definitely a commercial and critical one) in grand form. He makes a statement about heroism from one of cinema's most defining heroic personalities, countering a film he considered unbelievable (Cooper walked out of Rio Bravo apparently thinking the same thing of Hawks' film), and making a great film overall. This is just good old-fashioned movie making.

Perhaps it is because westerns aren't really my thing but I just never really could get into this movie. It's long, mostly consists out of just talking back and forth and is lacking in adventure, action, true excitement and than some more.

Guess you could still say that the movie is good, just not great. Even though it was lacking a lot, it wasn't a movie that I hated watching, simply because it's a far too well made one for that. Howard Hawks and John Wayne are obviously at ease within the genre, I just wished that the story had more to offer.

It takes literally almost 90 minutes into this movie for the 'conflict' to finally develop but that doesn't mean that the movie takes off after that point. It's one that more puts its focus on its characters, rather than its story. That's fine of course, as long as the characters are interesting enough and the actors that play them are good in their roles. But no, John Wayne wasn't exactly the best actor that ever lived, which also shows in this movie and Ricky Nelson was also distractingly poor in his role. What the movie is further more lacking, when it comes down to its characters, is a good strong villain. Of course they still found room for a love-story to get thrown in, which just isn't something I'm waiting for when I'm going to see a western. It still is good and fun to see a young Angie Dickinson in this, as Wayne's, almost 30 years younger, love interest.

Because the characters aren't really that compelling, the dialog of the movie also falls sort of flat. And the dialog is really something the movie its script had put its emphasis on. This is the foremost reason why the movie tends to feel a bit overlong and slow. I kept waiting for a good stand off or the moment that they got on their horses and ride off but it just wasn't that kind of western. So yes, maybe I was expecting a different movie but I was also certainly expecting a better one.

Sorry to say but this movie just never surpassed the level of 'just good' for me.

7/10

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The 2 highlights were Dean's & Ricky's western song and Walter Brennan's portrayal of the cackling geezer. Too bad there wasn't more interesting material throughout because most of the rest was dull dialogue, very little action [although there was a fun shoot-out near the end], and way, way too much romancing between The Duke and a woman young enough to be his granddaughter. Part of the reason I watched this was to see if Ricky could act....he couldn't.