Cult Clash: Rio Bravo (1959)

by Pete Roberts

The story goes that after seeing the film High Noon (1952) one day at a theater, Howard Hawks and John Wayne decided to go out and make a better Western that showed the comraderie between a group of men faced with imposing danger. What Hawks created was Rio Bravo, a highly entertaining Western masterpiece that mixed his trademark humor with the Western mythos. Rio Bravo starred John Wayne as an upstanding lawman named John T. Chance.

At the opening of the film we meet Chance's good friend Dude (Dean Martin). Dude is not in a good state, in fact the first action we see is him begging for change so he can get a shot of whiskey. Dude is a down-on-his luck drunk and everyone in town knows it. A troublemaker named Joe Burdett (Claude Akin) offers Dude some money, then tosses some coins in a spitoon to humiliate him. Dude needs a drink so desperately he gets down to grab the money, but before he can do it, Chance kicks the spitoon away and looks down at him with disgust. Joe Burdett tries to shoot them, but Chance gets the drop and arrests him. Chance brings Burdett to the town jail where he and his deputy Stumpy (Walter Brennan) lock him up. While Burdett is secure, Chance and Stumpy try to help Dude stay off the sauce and get him cleaned up. Dude is completely addicted and he can't stop his hands from shaking. The biggest problem facing Chance is that Burdett's gang will do anything to get Joe out, so Chance, Dude and Stumpy have to be on their toes every minute. The following day, one of Chance's old friends, Pat Wheeler, comes through town with his group of cattle hands. This is where we meet Colorado (Ricky Nelson) a young kid that happens to be the son of one of Chance's aquaintances.

There's a love interest in almost every Western, and in Rio Bravo, Chance is distracted from his job by a sexy little thing (Angie Dickinson) who's suspected of being wrapped up in a crime. The group nickname her "Feathers". Chance and Colorado find out she's not a criminal after all, and pretty soon, Chance falls head over heels in love. However we only see this in the form of Chance's frustration with her, especially since Feathers does her best to get under Chance's skin. Burdett's men use every chance they can to bushwhack Chance and Dude. While in town, Chance is taken off guard and outgunned.

Luckily, Colorado notices this from inside the hotel lobby and tells Feathers to toss a plant through the window when he says so. When Feathers throws the plant, Burdett's men are distracted just enough so Colorado can throw Chance a gun. They both open fire and take Burdett's men down. Now, Colorado has made it clear that he can handle himself well, so he is deputized. While the men hold up in the jail waiting for the State Marshall to arrive to pick up Joe Burdett, we get to hear some sweet music from Colorado, Dude and Stumpy. They sing some old time tunes, allowing us a break from the tension caused by their dangerous situation.

When this film was made, Ricky Nelson was a huge sensation (from his time on Ozzie and Harriet) second to Elvis in the teen heartthrob world. Dean Martin was also a big star and part of The Rat Pack. This sing-along sequence is one of my favorites in the film. It pops up and you just get caught up in it so easily. There's something about surprise musical pieces in movies that just add a great deal of pleasure to the experience.

Another thing that makes Rio Bravo so special is the rhythm of the dialogue between the actors. It sounds so natural as the characters argue and bicker with each other, it makes the film genuine and realistic and also provides humor, especially from the Mexican hotel owner Carlos, Feathers and Walter Brennan as the old loudmouth codger Stumpy. Dean Martin is as cool as ever even while playing a mean drunkard. Several times in the film he loses his temper, but he's always there to help Chance at every step of the game.

Howard Hawks didn't create a lot of flash with his direction, instead he opts for a simple approach, keeping the camera at eye level and shooting the film more like a stageplay set in a Western town. The action that happens in the film is shot quickly. Look for the sequence where Dude shoots one of Burdett's men and trails him into the saloon. This is one of the best scenes in a movie filled with great scenes. Rio Bravo may have been made in 1959, but it's truly a timeless film that every Western fan will surely enjoy.