Review of Rio Bravo (1959) by Tom E — 23 Jan 2008

I love John Wayne movies, and this is one of his best. It's no Red River or The Searchers, mind you; this was meant as a reaction to the not so subtle politics of High Noon, which may be a better film, but isn't any fun.

This one is great fun, but there's veggies to eat too. The opening sequence where Dude is introduced, and we see him take drink money out of a spittoon, with no dialogue for nearly 5 minutes, is captivating and says all we need to know about the character.

The Duke doesn't show much range here, and there's not as much chemistry between him and Angie Dickinson as there was with his perfect foil, Maureen O'Hara, but it works. Walter Brennan is great as the old codger, and Dean Martin is so good as Dude that we forget he can sing, until they give us a good tune- My Rifle, Pony and Me.

Ricky Nelson is a bit grating as Colorado, but he's kept in check. If the movie's guilty of anything, it is overlong. The Technicolor is beautiful, especially in the hi-def transfer, but they're holed up in that sheriff's office for nearly 150 minutes.

The story is cribbed from High Noon and 3:10 to Yuma; they're bringing a bad man to justice and are outnumbered. They're waiting for the marshal, and there's no overlying theme about doing the right thing when no one will stand by you, or jabs at McCarthy, it's just the Duke, his rifle, and pals, and they make for good company.

By the 2 hour point you feel like Stumpy, grating at Dude's dislike of bathing. Thankfully at that point the Big Gunfight happens, and though it's a little anticlimactic with all the other exciting gunplay in the film, it satisfies.

Probably the Duke's best "light" western, deserving of its reputation.