Review of Rio Bravo (1959) by William B — 22 Mar 2014

A classic Howard Hawks/John Wayne western.

Good plot, good action, solid performances. Better plot than most westerns. Some little things don't always make sense or gel, but there are no glaring plot holes.

Don't just a shoot-em-up western, there is character development too, especially in the case of Dean Martin's character, and even some romance, though this is dealt with a touch superficially.

Good action scenes, as you would expect from Howard Hawks and John Wayne.

John Wayne is his usual cool, swaggering, albeit one-dimensional self. Probably the best performance comes from Dean Martin, as his character has the most depth, and demons.

As if one singer in the cast wasn't enough, we have Ricky Nelson too. Wasn't expecting much from him, but he is fine in his role as the Colorado kid.

Having Martin and Nelson in the movie means the producers are obliged to have a musical interlude. It is fairly gratuitous, but I didn't mind it. Good music, well played and sung.

Angie Dickinson provides the love interest, and does so very well.

Only blemishes are two of the supporting cast: Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez as Carlos and Walter Brennan as Stumpy. You'd swear Gonzalez-Gonzalez's performance inspired the character of Manuel in Fawlty Towers. So clumsy and stereotypical it is irritating. At least Manuel was funny.

Walter Brennan's Stumpy talks far too much and complains far too much, about nothing. Very irritating. Hawks should have dialed him down a bit.

A classic western.