Rio Bravo was on TV yesterday. I hadn’t seen it in years, but it was as good as I remembered it. Howard Hawks directed and it starred John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan and the very lovely Angie Dickinson.
John Wayne needs all the help he can get when he has a killer in the town jail, but help can be hard to come by. Dean Martin is the town drunk, but he used to be good and we know he can be good again. Walter Brennan is a crusty old complainer but he’s fiercely loyal. Ricky Nelson is an untested young gunfighter. Angie Dickinson? She plays Feathers, and she’s John Wayne’s love interest. None of the other characters get to have love interests in this film. Too bad for them.
I loved the climax of the film when Walter Brennan throws sticks of dynamite at the bad guys and John Wayne explodes them by shooting them. There’s even time for a song, as Dean Martin sings My Rifle My Pony and Me and then Ricky Nelson sings Cindy Cindy. Perfect.
Great film.
27th Street 
I’ve only seen the clip of “Rifle, Pony and Me” on the Youtubes but I’ve heard it’s a good movie.
Have you by any chance seen “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”? I’ve only seen three of the Dukes films but this one’s my favourite.
I think The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a fine film….great theme song too by Gene Pitney.
This isn’t my favorite John Wayne film, but I still own it. 😉
According to the late David Niven, the first time Walter Brennan auditioned for a Howard Hawkes movie he asked Hawkes “With or without?”
“With or without what?” queried Hawkes
“Teeth” answered Brennan.
They don’t make ’em like that anymore eh?!!!
I LOVE that story 4D!!
I think this calls for opening up a free for all on the best or at least favorite western ever made. I like John Wayne movies but I dont think any of them would really rank top 5 when you start tossing Lee Marvin and Clint into the mix. Sal throws down the gauntlet…
I think The Searchers is the best western ever made.
There’s a little something for everyone!
Captain, if you haven’t seen this one, it falls into the must see soon category. This film was Hawks’ response to High Noon. It would be interesting to spend an evening watching them both, one after the other (then enjoying a heated discussion over a double scotch)
The Admiral LOVES Dino. I ended up getting a copy of this for her for Christmas this year as it was one of her fave films. Thanks for the review – it sounds like something I might like too!