Saturday, May 4, 2013

352. Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo
1959
Directed by Howard Hawks











The one remarkable thing about this movie is that we get a great song by Dean Martin.  Other than that, this movie kind of represents a dying breed of film.  John Wayne beats the baddies (usually Native Americans) and every thing works out for the good guy.  Of course, in the fifties there have been notable exceptions in the western genre.  Still, I feel like this was a bit of a swan song.

Like I said, John Wayne is fighting the bad guys once more in Rio Bravo.  This time, however, we get some great characters who are a lot more interesting than your average western guy.  It is quite obvious throughout the film that this is a Hawks movie, so the focus is on great dialogue and character development rather than scenery and shoot outs.

So overall not a great western but hearing Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson sing is always a treat.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Only two close ups in the entire movie.

Gary Cooper apparently hated the film.



3 comments:

  1. I actually love this movie. I loved it as a child and recently viewed it again. Some stuff was slightly hokey but Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson pleased me all over again. Still love it.

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  2. I agree with you, Amanda. This felt like a swansong over a genre gone stale. It would take an Italian to get this animal moving again sometime later in the sixties.

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  3. Gary Cooper didn't like it because it was flipping the finger to High Noon

    I don't mind all the westerns. I know they're ten-a-penny, but they're all pretty good, very watchable. But, yes, I can't think of anything new in here.

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