User Reviews

For many, Hawks' 'Rio Bravo' is the perfect Western... For me it is the antithesis of 'High Noon,' and the clearest exposition of Hawks' philosophy of professionalism... His tough lawman solves his own problem without going out looking for help... So he welcomes volunteers and in fact depends on them... What is more, he wins by displaying superior skills and quicker wits...

The survivors in Hawks' philosophy are the ones who conduct themselves with the greatest degree of coolness and discipline... It is not difficult to appreciate why Hawks has used substantially the 'Rio Bravo' plot, with only minor variations in both his subsequent Westerns, 'El Dorado' and 'Rio Lobo.'

In Fred Zinneman's 'High Noon,' Gary Cooper struggles to round up a posse that might help him deal with four desperadoes arriving on a noon train to kill him... In "Rio Bravo," John Wayne is faced with a similar situation but takes on the forces of evil in the shape of a gang of local tyrants...

Wayne always makes us feel that somehow he'll cope... So when the wagon master Ward Bond asks him if he wants to use any of his men as deputies in fighting Burdette's men, he turns down the offer... Wayne, holding a brutish prisoner Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) on a murder charge, waits for the U.S. marshal to take charge of him... But the prisoner's powerful brother Nathan (John Russell) wants him free and is determined to release him by any method possible...

The obvious method is the traditional one—hired gunmen—and, in effect, the sheriff becomes a prisoner himself, in his own town… But in this instance the lawman is not absolutely without help... The two deputies are a semi-crippled veteran (Walter Brennan) and a pretty hopeless drunk with a past 'fast' reputation (Dean Martin).

But the whole point about this cleverly conceived movie is that this unlikely trio do in fact have something to offer when the cards are dealt... Like the sheriff, they're professional people, and what Hawks seems to be saying is that whatever the odds, such people will always have the courage, and the deeds... This is demonstrated in one inspired sequence which has become a classic: Dean Martin – drying out and eager to win back his self-respect – tells Chance that he wants to be the one who chase the killer into a saloon, and that Chance should assume the less dangerous role of backing him up from the back door...

'Rio Bravo' is a beautifully controlled film... John Wayne, who re-created and heightened the mythology of the West, is at his best...

John Ford imitates Howard Hawks' tendency for having his male characters never back down from a fight even when it means they are initiating the fight themselves... In Rio Bravo's famous wordless opening, villain Claude Akins throws a silver dollar into a spittoon, daring Dude, so desperate for a drink, to humiliate himself, and get the coin... Hawks' clever camera emphasizes how far beneath the standards Dude has fallen... Now Wayne is ready to confront Akins...

The same scene in Ford's 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.' Lee Marvin trips unarmed James Stewart as he carries a steak dinner to Wayne in the restaurant where he works... He stumbles and the steak falls to the ground... Stewart has been obviously humiliated... Suddenly Wayne enters the frame, and orders Valance to peak up 'his' steak, revealing his gun belt as he faces him... He is ready for the showdown...

In 'Rio Bravo,' Hawks' men win out primarily because they fight together... But Hawks helps them by having the outlaws mistakenly play a Mexican tune called 'cutthroat,' a song which Santa Anna tried to intimidate the Texans under siege in the Alamo... As the music plays, we see Dude putting down his glass untouched... He observes that his hands no longer shake...

In Hawks' 'Rio Bravo' there is tenderness, and humor... In Hawks' film, a man is defined by how well he relates to women, how well he handles pressure and how he reacts to danger... Angie Dickinson playing the gambling gal, enriches the mixture with a nicely judged performance...

'Rio Bravo' is an action Western, which captures a legendary West that fits the legendary talents of Wayne and Hawks... But what makes the film so special is the relationship between the individual characters... It is a traditional, straightforward Western, good-humored and exciting, rich in original touches...

The best moment of the film when Martin and Nelson join each other for some singing and guitar picking, and Walter Brennan joins in with his harmonica and his scratchy voice... The film has a terrific score by one of the great film composers Dimitri Tiomkin...

"Rio Bravo" is sometimes described as a right-wing riposte to Fred Zinnemann's "High Noon". I am not sure why "High Noon" needed a right-wing riposte, because it has never seemed to me to be particularly left-wing. On a literal level it deals with a subject- the need for a strong stance on law and order- which has always been dear to the hearts of conservatives, and on a metaphorical level it would be just as easy to read a right-wing meaning into it as it would a left-wing one. (Given that the film was made during the Korean War, it would be easy to see Sheriff Kane as a symbol of America as the world's policeman, Frank Miller and his gang as Stalin, Mao and the other Communist leaders and the cowardly townspeople as the anti-war movement in the West). The received idea that the film is an allegory for McCarthyism has always struck me as a strained interpretation.

It would appear, however, that what angered Howard Hawks and John Wayne about "High Noon" was not so much Zinnemann's views on McCarthyism but rather his implication that the citizens of Hadleyville are cowards for refusing to help Kane. This seems to have inspired the most direct reference to the earlier film in "Rio Bravo". When it is suggested to John Wayne's Sheriff John T. Chance that he should round up a posse, he replies that asking amateurs to help him fight hardened professional gunmen would only give the villains more targets to shoot at. The inference is that Gary Cooper's character was wrong to ask the townsfolk to risk their lives on his behalf.

The two films are, in fact, broadly similar in plot. Both concern a courageous and incorruptible Sheriff taking on a gang of dangerous villains who are threatening the peace of a whole community. (This basic plot was used in numerous other Westerns, such as "Dodge City" and "Gunfight at the OK Corral"). In "Rio Bravo" Chance has arrested a local hoodlum named Joe Burdette on suspicion of murder. Burdette's brother Nathan, a wealthy rancher, organises a gang of gunfighters to try and free him from the jail. Chance has to try and hold off the thugs for several days until the US Marshal arrives to take Joe to stand trial.

His chances of doing so, however, seem slim, because his only assistance comes from his deputies, one of whom, Dude, is an alcoholic and the other, Stumpy, is a one-legged old man. (Was Dude the inspiration for Gene Wilder's character in "Blazing Saddles"?) Dude and Stumpy, however, find reserves of courage within themselves, and Chance recruits another volunteer, a young gunman named Colorado who has seen his boss murdered by the villains. "Rio Bravo", in fact, is not simply an action film, but also a character study. One of its themes is the way in which the characters battle to overcome their problems- Stumpy's disability, Dude's alcoholism and, in Colorado's case, his initial moral cowardice and reluctance to assist.

Colorado is played by Ricky Nelson, a teenage pop star of the period, who was brought in to try and attract a younger audience. He was, however, only seventeen when filming started, and seems far too young and callow for the role. If Chance was so concerned about avoiding innocent casualties, he would no doubt have sent such an inexperienced greenhorn back home to mother before the shooting started. Walter Brennan's Stumpy can seem a bit irritating, but with those exceptions the acting is mostly good. I am of the generation which always thinks of Angie Dickinson as the sexy older woman in "Police Woman", so this film gave me the opportunity to see what she looked like as a sexy younger woman. (Very nice too). Chance is the sort of role which John Wayne excelled in portraying, but the best performance came from Dean Martin as Dude, a man who finds redemption for his past misdeeds. There is also a good cameo from John Wayne's close friend Ward Bond as Pat Wheeler, Colorado's murdered boss.

The main difference between this film and "High Noon" is not one of politics but of style. "High Noon" is shot in real time and conveys an urgent sense of time rushing towards the final showdown; it also observes the Classical unity of action as well as that of time, with no digressions from the main plot. "Rio Bravo is much more leisurely and spacious, running to nearly 2½ hours. Besides the main action there is also a subplot detailing Chance's burgeoning romance with Dickinson's character, a female card-sharp and good-time girl named Feathers, and plenty of comic relief involving Carlos the Mexican barman (who closely resembles Manuel in "Fawlty Towers") and even Stumpy, who for all his bravery is often treated as a comic character. Of the two films, my preference is definitely for "High Noon". "Rio Bravo" never drags, as there is always something going on to hold one's interest, but it lacks the gripping pacing which makes "High Noon" one of the most thrilling films ever made. (In my view it is perhaps the greatest Western ever). Hawks may have disagreed with Zinnemann over politics, but he could perhaps have learned something from him about film-making. 7/10

Rio Bravo is perhaps the finest work of director Howard Hawks, and also one of Wayne's very best films. It was made as a response to High Noon, which is sometimes thought to be an allegory for blacklisting in Hollywood, as well as a critique of McCarthyism. Wayne would later call High Noon "un-American" and say he did not regret helping run the writer, Carl Foreman, out of the country. Wayne teamed up with director Howard Hawks to tell the story his way. In Rio Bravo, Chance is surrounded by allies - allegorical representations of countries.

But over all the deep content that it has, that may be worth of various re-watches, it is an excellent film telling a somewhat entertaining story about a sheriff keeping in jail a bandit, brother of the bandit leader. Although, the allegorical part really plays big in this film.

The cinematography is as well very good. Exteriors for the film were shot at Old Tucson Studios, just outside Tucson, Arizona. Filming took place in the summer of 1958, and the movie's credits give 1958 as the year of production, although the film would not be released until 1959.

A curious fact about the film is the addition of two singers(Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson) for the important supporting roles in the film. They later do music just a few moments before the great climax of the film.

So, yeah. Rio Bravo is really a very good film, and it's somewhat better than it's remake El Dorado. A good choice for a 500th film.

8.7/10

There are quite a few seminal classic American westerns (such as 'High Noon', 'The Searchers', 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' or 'Shane' - to name but a few), but 'Rio Bravo' ended up being my favorite among those. It's the quintessential film of the genre, yet although it delivers pretty much all of the classic western tropes in spades, I think the main reason I love it so much is because it's also such a great buddy movie.

Pairing John Wayne's stoic hero sheriff against the self-deprecating wit of Dean Martin's alcoholic deputy was a stroke of genius, as was the casting of a very charming Angie Dickinson in the female lead role and veteran Walter Brennan as grumpy old Stumpy. The constant bickering between all the main characters makes 'Rio Bravo' so much fun, but the humor in the great script and the wonderful performances by the game cast are only half of what makes this movie so great.

The other quality 'Rio Bravo' has which makes it stand out among other greats of the genre is its mood. There's an almost apocalyptic sense of doom permeating the movie throughout, and that constant dread combined with the film's humor - which is often of the gallows' kind - gives it a special kind of atmosphere that other classic American westerns of that era lack. What also adds to that unique tone of the movie is the central piece of music, the hauntingly beautiful Mexican ballad 'El Deguello' which plays an important role in the film.

'Rio Bravo' was the last truly great movie by one of the towering figures from Hollywood's "Golden Age", Howard Hawks (who had previously made such classics as 'Scarface', 'Red River' 'The Big Sleep', 'His Girl Friday', 'To Have And Have Not' and many more). The veteran director seemed to have realized he had made something special too, as he went on to remake 'Rio Bravo' not once but twice during his remaining years. In fact, his two last films were those two remakes ('El Dorado' in '67 and 'Rio Lobo' in '70). Both films featured John Wayne in the lead role, and while they're both solid westerns, they couldn't quite capture the unique charm of the original.

As it is, 'Rio Bravo' remains a highly influential classic (Quentin Tarantino cites it as one his favorite movies) and a masterpiece of the western genre. 10 stars out of 10.

P.S. In case you don't know whether to trust this review or not, just check out the lists below, and you'll see exactly what kinds of films I like:

My 50 favorite films reviewed: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

80 Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Rio Bravo is a 1959 American Western film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson. The supporting cast includes Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, and Ward Bond. The script was written by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett, based on a short story by B.H. McCampbell.

In short, the film is about a small-town sheriff (John Wayne) in the American West enlisting the help of a cripple (Walter Brennan), a drunk (Dean Martin), and a young gunfighter (Ricky Nelson) in his efforts to hold in jail the brother (Claude Akins) of the local bad guy (John Russell).

The film was made as a response to High Noon, which is sometimes thought to be an allegory for blacklisting in Hollywood, as well as a critique of McCarthyism. Wayne would later call High Noon "un-American" and say he did not regret helping run the writer, Carl Foreman, out of the country. Wayne teamed up with director Howard Hawks to tell the story his way. In Rio Bravo, Chance is surrounded by allies - a deputy recovering from alcoholism (Dude), a young untried gunfighter (Colorado), a limping "crippled" old man (Stumpy), a Mexican innkeeper (Carlos), his wife (Consuela), and an attractive young woman (Feathers) - and repeatedly turns down aid from anyone he doesn't think is capable of helping him, though in the final shootout they come to help him anyway. "Who'll turn up next?" Wayne asks amid the gunfire, to which Colorado replies: "Maybe the girl with another flower pot."

No matter where you stand on the political aspects of the film, it is a great example of both Hawks and Wayne doing what they do best. Hawks made some of the most entertaining films of the 1930s and 40s, including Only Angels Have Wings, Bringing Up Baby, and To Have And Have Not, and he had a style of his own that is often unappreciated for its simplicity. Never a fan of the close-up, he preferred shots where the relationships between the characters and the locations were highlighted. Rio Bravo shows us actors framed in windows or doorways, so we see them in a wider setting and build up our own sense of the geography of the small town - the saloon, the jailhouse, the long dark street that connects them. These shots establish the action so well; we know that there is nowhere to run when the showdown starts.

"Sorry don't get it done, Dude. That's the second time you hit me. Don't ever do it again."

The characters are also a great strength of the film. John Wayne never looked particularly sexy, but Angie Dickinson works so hard as Feathers, the smitten love-interest, that you buy it. Wayne's character, John T Chance, looks poleaxed by her attentions, which gives him a charm that sometimes eluded him. There are other great performances, particularly from Dean Martin as Dude, the drunk who has to sober up, and Ricky Nelson as Colorado, the young gunslinger.

Style

Hawks was versatile as a director, filming comedies, dramas, gangster films, science fiction, film noir, and Westerns. Hawks's own functional definition of what constitutes a "good movie" is revealing of his no-nonsense style: "Three great scenes, no bad ones." Hawks also defined a good director as "someone who doesn't annoy you".

While Hawks was not sympathetic to feminism, he popularized the Hawksian woman archetype, which has been cited as a prototype of the post-feminist movement.

Orson Welles in an interview with Peter Bogdanovich said of Howard Hawks in comparison to John Ford "Hawks is great prose; Ford is poetry".

Despite Hawks work in a variety of Hollywood genres he still retained an independent sensibility. Film critic David Thomson wrote of Hawks in The New Biographical Dictionary of Film "Far from being the meek purveyor of Hollywood forms, he always chose to turn them upside down, To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, ostensibly an adventure and a thriller, are really love stories. Rio Bravo, apparently a Western - everyone wears a cowboy hat - is a comedy conversation piece. The ostensible comedies are shot through with exposed emotions, with the subtlest views of the sex war, and with a wry acknowledgment of the incompatibility of men and women." As David Boxwell states "It's a body of work that has been accused of ahistorical and adolescent escapism, but Hawks' fans rejoice in his oeuvre's remarkable avoidance of Hollywood's religiosity, bathos, flag-waving, and sentimentality.

His directorial style and the use of natural, conversational dialogue in his films were cited a major influence on many noted filmmakers, including Robert Altman, John Carpenter, and Quentin Tarantino. His work is admired by many notable directors including Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, François Truffaut, Michael Mann and Jacques Rivette.

Although his work was not initially taken seriously by British critics of the Sight and Sound circle, he was venerated by French critics associated with Cahiers du cinéma, who intellectualized his work in a way Hawks himself was moderately amused by, and he was also admired by more independent British writers such as Robin Wood. Wood named the Hawks-directed Rio Bravo as his top film of all time.