Why I like
Rio Bravo
When I first saw Rio Bravo, I don't know how old I was. But I knew that John Wayne played in alot of westerns, Rick Nelson and Dean Martin were singers, and Angie Dickenson played a cop on TV in the 70's. But as I watched this film first once and then as many times as I could catch it on Turner, I was attracted more and more by the sheer believability of the characters.
To me, that is the quality that makes it or breaks it for a motion picture.
Russel Crow was believable in Gladiator. You felt his love for his Caesar, and then you felt his absolute disdain for the replacement.
James Stewart was believable in It's A Wonderful Life. My angst built throughout the picture while his did, as his dreams one by one were dashed by life events and a demon banker.
Jeff Bridges is believable in The Big Lebowski. Laid back, but determined to get reparations for his micturated-upon rug, The Dude makes me wish I was an unemployed layabout with a passion for bowling and white Russians (and with such friends as Donny and Walter).
In Rio Bravo, every main character contributes to drawing me into the story - as if I am sitting at the bar with them, or walking down the street with them, or sitting in the jail with them.
Dean Martin's character, Dude, is a recovering alcoholic (due to a woman who came through on the stage a while back) deputy fighting his own personal battles as well as the local bullies. His skill with a revolver makes him an invaluable asset in the un-named town in the County of Presidio, Texas.
As the story unfolds, and you start to feel comfortable with the Dude character, he helps draw you in with facial expressions and body language that are outward signs of the emotions he's experiencing inside.
Fellow Deputy Stumpy, played wonderfully by Walter Brennan, walks with a severe limp, and is charged with keeping watch over the prisoner, who happens to be the town bully's no-good brother. The character is quick-witted, sympathetic, loyal, and feels unappreciated. Again, his comments and gestures during the picture all contribute to his being thought of as some lovable uncle with enough BA in him that you don't want to mess with him.
Wayne's character, Sheriff John T Chance (cool 60's film name, eh?!?), is a man's man. A leader with compassion, he - throughout this hour and a half picture - deals benevolently and decidedly with his drunken deputy, the loss of a good friend, a talkative girl half his age who falls in love with him, and of course the town bully with thirty or forty paid killers in his back pocket.
I could go on and on about the characters (the fact that this was Burt Ward's final major role is interesting by itself), but I recently read also that Hawks and Wayne both wanted to do a picture where the sheriff was up against some pretty bad odds, but DIDN'T go around asking everyone for help. As opposed to 1952's High Noon, with Gary Cooper as the town sheriff.
In his famous "Playboy Magazine" interview for the May 1971 issue. John Wayne stated he considered "High Noon":
the most un-American thing I've ever seen in my whole life
Howard Hawks shared Wayne's views about "High Noon". According to a Turner Classic Movies article, by Jeff Stafford, Hawks stated:
I didn't think a good sheriff was going to go running around town like a chicken with his head cut off asking for help, and finally his Quaker wife had to save him.
The two men came together in 1958 to remake "High Noon" as a revisionist Western called "Rio Bravo".
Hawks originally wanted a young sensation named Elvis Presley to play the Colorado role, but Elvis wanted top billing and top salary and neither Hawks nor Wayne were having any of that.
Dimitri Tiomkin (It's a Wonderful Life, Red River, High Noon, Dial M For Murder, The Guns of Navarone), does the musical score. This picture is one of my all-time favorites, and I think I need to watch it again.
God bless you all <><
