Rio Bravo (1959)

John Wayne plays Sheriff John T. Chance, who’s forced to throw hot-headed bully Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) in jail on a murder charge.

He knows that will lead to trouble. Joe’s brother Nathan (John Russell) is a rich rancher who pretty much rules these here parts.

And before you know it, Nathan Burdette has the town under siege, demanding his brother be released.

So Sheriff Chance is forced to wait for the marshal to arrive to escort Joe Burdette to trial.

To stand up against Nathan Burdette and his hired guns, Chance has the help of one deputy who’s a drunk (Dean Martin as Dude) and one who has a gimpy leg (Walterr Brennan as Stumpy).

An old friend named Wheeler (Ward Bond) offers help and is fatally shot in the back for his trouble. That prompts a young gun named Colorado (Ricky Nelson) to pin on a deputy’s badge too.

But the sheriff and his three deputies still face bleak odds.

That’s also something a pretty gambler named Feathers (Angie Dickinson) realizes. But she can’t force herself to leave town.

You see, she’s fallen for the sheriff.

John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance, ready to protect his jail and his prisoner in Rio Bravo (1959)

Dean Martin as Dude decides this is one drink he doesn’t need in Rio Bravo (1959)

Review:

A solid Western, for sure. But I’ve never quite understood it’s reputation as a classic. Or even as one of Wayne’s best Westerns.

It’s slow-moving. For all the talk about danger, there isn’t a ton of tension. Brennan steals the show from Martin and Nelson when it comes to the supporting cast.

And the “romance” between Dickinson and Wayne comes off as awkward and forced, not surprising considering he was 51 and she was 26.

Hawks and Wayne made this film in part in response to “High Noon,” in which Gary Cooper’s Marshal Will Kane goes around town, asking for help dealing with Frank Miller and his men when they arrive in town.

Hawks and Wayne thought that was nonsense — that a sheriff worth his salt wouldn’t want to put the citizens he was hired to protect in harm’s way when trouble comes. In fact, Wayne’s Sheriff Chance expresses just that viewpoint when friend Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond) offers assistance.

Speaking of Bond, this marked his final feature film. He and Wayne appeared in more than 20 films together. Bond was starring in the “Wagon Train” TV series at the time. He died from a heart attack in 1960 at age 57. He had served as the best man at Wayne’s wedding; Wayne said the eulogy at Bond’s funeral.

Meanwhile, Hawks made just five more films, two of which –“El Dorado” in 1967 and “Rio Lobo” in 1970 — were virtual remakes of this film, with a duty-bound sheriff (always played by Wayne) trying to hold a man in jail, knowing his friends and associates are hellbent to break him out.

Angie Dickinson as Feathers, discussing gambling and life with Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) in RIo Bravo (1959)

John Russell as power Nathan Burdette, trying to convince the sheriff (John Wayne) to release his brother from jail in Rio Bravo (1959)

Directed by:
Howard Hawks

Cast:
John Wayne … Sheriff John T. Chance
Dean Martin … Dude
Ricky Nelson … Colorado Ryan
Angie Dickinson … Feathers
Walter Brennan … Stumpy
Ward Bond … Pat Wheeler
John Russell … Nathan Burdette
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez … Carlos Robante
Estelita Rodriguez … Consuela Robante
Claude Akins … Joe Burdette

Runtime: 141 min.

Ricky Nelson as Colorado Ryan, the young gun who eventually winds up wearing a deputy’s badge in Rio Bravo (1959)

Walter Brennan as Stumpy, trying his best to keep the sheriff and the other deputies in line in Rio Bravo (1959)

Memorable lines:

Pat Wheeler: “A game-legged old man and a drunk. That’s what you got (helping you)?”
Sheriff John T. Chance: “That’s what I got.”
Wheeler: “Well, if I ever saw a man with the bull by the tail, you’re it.”

Dude: “Any particular reason for going out (and doing the rounds) tonight?”
Sheriff John T. Chance: “We usually do. If we don’t, they’ll think we’re scared.”
Dude: “Well, aren’t we?”

Sheriff John T. Chance, declining help from Wheeler and his men: “All I’d be doing is giving them more targets to shoot at. A lot of people would get hurt. Joe Burdette isn’t worth it. He isn’t worth one of those that would get killed.”

Claude Akins as Joe Burdette, the man Sheriff Chance jails, knowing there will be repurcussions in Rio Bravo (1959)

Pedro Gonzalez as Carlos, operator of the saloon and hotel where Feathers is staying in Rio Bravo (1959)

Sheriff John T. Chance to Joe Burdette: “If any trouble starts around this jail, before anyone can get to you, you’re going to get accidentally shot.”
Stumpy: “I can pratical guarantee that.”

Sheriff John T. Chance to Dude: “Sorry don’t get it done. That’s the second time you hit me. Don’t ever do it again.”

Feathers: “Take a look at me, Colorado. Take a good look. Would you say my head is soft? Would you say I’m an idiot?”
Colorado: “No ma’am.”
Feathers: “You’d be a liar then.”

Feathers, upon learning that Chance and his deputies plan to hole up in the jail: “That means I won’t see you for three or four days. That’s a long time you know?”
Chance: “You’ll live through it.”
Feathers: “You do the same.”

John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance with his grumbling deputy Stumpy (Walter Brennan) in Rio Bravo (1959)

Ward Bond as Pat Wheeler, offering his assistance to old friend Sheriff Chance (John Wayne) in Rio Bravo (1959)

Estelita Rodriguez as Consuela Robante, fearful Burdette’s men will harm Carlos in Rio Bravo (1959)

Dean Martin as Dude, tempted to reach into a spitoon to get money for a drink in Rio Bravo (1959)

Angie Dickinson as Feathers, the tough lady gambler who winds up caring what happens to the town sheriff in Rio Bravo (1959)

John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance discusses his situation with old friend Pat Wheeler in Rio Bravo (1959)