The Old West, Howard Hawks-Style
Rio Bravo is only the second film I've seen starring John Wayne (the other being The Searchers), and even now I still don't exactly know what to make of him as an actor. My eccentric but beautiful friend put the whole thing rather inelegantly: "He's a shitty actor, but everyone likes him because he's JOHN WAYNE." Yes, he is John Wayne, and while I am not quite of the mind to use that particular adjective to describe his thespian talents, he is probably more praised as a strong personality than as a technically astute actor. Which does not mean that I had problems watching him in this movie. I actually liked this movie better than I did The Searchers. Maybe it is because I got more used to John Wayne. Or maybe it is just because the film itself is better. Rio Bravo was directed by Howard Hawks, who directed entries in many different genres, from screwball comedy (His Girl Friday), film noir (The Big Sleep), to westerns such as Red River and this film. Hawks is noted for the rapid-fire dialogue, dark humour and displays of the battle between the sexes. Rio Bravo contains all three of these elements, although John Wayne is not the first thing I think of when I think rapid-fire dialogue. The result, regardless, is pleasant, amusing fluff which should not be taken seriously for one second.
The film stars the unlikely quintet of John Wayne, Dean Martin (!), Ricky Nelson (!!), Walter Brennan, and Angie Dickinson. Wayne, Martin and Brennan are the sheriff and the deputies, respectively, who are in an unfortunate situation. They have just jailed a man who shoots a guy dead as the film begins, and his brother, with many hired hitmen, attempts to break him out. Wayne is, of course, the stubborn tough guy, who believes he can make do with the resources he has, which includes a drunk (Martin) who guards the city-line, and a crippled old coot (Brennan) who stays in the jail guarding the killer. Wayne's friend offers men to help him, including a young sharp-shooter played by Nelson, but Wayne rejects the help, believing that these people will get into more trouble than is worth. And he`s right, when the killer's brothers men kill the friend. But Ricky Nelson soon enters the fray, anyhow, and becomes another deputy sheriff. Angie Dickinson gets involved as well, as a woman who used to be married to a wanted con-man, and who Wayne tells to take the next stagecoach out of town or else be arrested. She doesn't leave, however, and the two begin a relationship of bickering and banter which soon turns to love.
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