Rio Bravo

Sherriff "John T." (John Wayne) is saddled with a drunken deputy "Dude" (Dean Martin) just at a time when local landowner "Burdette" (John Russell) is besieging the jail to extricate his murderous brother. Luckily, his friend "Pat" (Ward Bond) drives his wagon train through the town and he's got the gunslinging "Colorado" (Ricky Nelson) on board. Initially reluctant to get involved in someone else's fight, the turn of events change his mind providing Duke with a new ally. Then, when he thinks things can't get any worse, the stagecoach comes in with a dodgy wheel and wanted card-sharp "Feathers" (Angie Dickinson) - a woman who knows exactly which buttons to press to turn the sheriff into a gibbering wreck. With tensions mounting, we retreat to the safety of their prison for a sing-song with Martin and some acerbic antics from the real star of the film - Walter Brennan. He's the cantankerous old "Stumpy" who is tasked with keeping an eye on their prisoner whilst fixing their beans... Wayne and Martin work well together and though Nelson is a bit wooden, his eye candy value just about works - that and his lively rendition of "Cindy" that gets even Wayne's toes a-tapping. It all builds well to a lively and explosive denouement with some diney-mite and a perfectly aimed sawn-off shotgun topping this off nicely. It's a solid story with engaging characters and well worth a watch - even if westerns aren't necessarily your thing.

The good outweighs the bad in Hawks macho movie. 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