Rio Bravo




Hey, sheriff, you forgot your pants.

When Howard Hawks and John Wayne didn't like Fred Zinnemann's High Noon, they went out (give or take seven years) and made this in response.

After the brother (Claude Akins) of an affluent rancher (John Russell) is jailed for murder with the marshal a week away, Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) finds himself in a tough place. That affluent rancher has dozens of professional hired guns and is ready to spring his brother. Sheriff Chance resorts to the help of Dude (Dean Martin) and Stumpy (Walter Brennan), a washed up drunk and an old cripple respectively. To complicate things the last stagecoach brought "Feathers" (Angie Dickinson) to town, who doesn't leave and attracts the attention of the sheriff.

Being that they regarded High Noon as Communist garbage, it is no surprise that Rio Bravo is nearly the exact opposite. As it stands, the rough premise is the same: a lone man (or in this case a few lone men) standing up for what is right against the bad guys. But in this case it's not nearly so driven, as with High Noon's real time pacing. In fact, though the underlying tension remains and the idea that the bad guys are going to strike at any time, there's a persistent laid back feeling. Even before things start happenin' the guys manage to find some time to sit down and sing some songs together (that being Martin and Rickie Nelson). The good guys standing up for truth, justice and the American way, all the while being buddies, is priceless.

In so many ways this is Hawks and Wayne saying that real Americans wouldn't desert a decent sheriff (much less Gary Cooper) and that help sometimes comes as misleading men. Wayne's character is that epitome father figure, who believes in everyone but pushes them along with tough love. That includes Dude the drunk, Stumpy the cripple, Colorado (Rickie Nelson) the young gunslinger and even his forward girlfriend Feathers.

Meanwhile, Rio Bravo also happens to be a well made Western besides. The wordless opening is a little odd, but the rest is exceptional. The action is fairly sparse, as this is more of a character affair. But when the action does come it's great to watch, especially the barroom scene where Dude shows his stuff. Even despite its somewhat longwinded approach, things only drag occasionally.

Wayne couldn't be better as that "father figure," and that goes for his various bantering as well. Dean Martin probably plays the most enjoyable role, and he does a great job with it. Angie Dickinson is bold and sensual, though often over done. Walter Brennan gets the thumbs up as the motor mouth old man; the best humor comes from him. Did I forget anyone? Oh yeah, people seem to find Ricky Nelson too stiff, but it's required to pull off his young and suave gunslinger character.

Granted, it's not the best Western ever, but it's a lot of fun to watch and it adeptly avoids the star studded curse.



-The Gnome