Rio Bravo Review.

Thanks Kalya at Jedi Filmaker and Jamie at Through Two Blue Eyes for recommending Rio Bravo.
Cad Bane's chick at Pandas, Lightsabers and Cameras, oh my!! requested that we review old movies and Rio Bravo is an old movie.


Thoughts: I watched Rio Bravo and really liked, it is my 5th favorite western right now. The plot was good, the characters were interesting, there was good humor and some action at the end. Although the concept is not the most original but is told in very unique way. The movie also had some really funny moments, especially from the supporting character Carlos Robante played by Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez. All of the supporting characters were really interesting and memorable, particularly Walter Brennan as Stumpy. And the main characters Dean Martin as Dude and John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance were fantastic. This is probably Dean Martin's best performance and John Wayne's performance was one of his best performances. The only thing I did not like Rio Bravo was when the characters started singing. I know that Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson were famous for singing but I find it usually messes up the pacing of the film although the song was decent.

Tomorrow I am going to post the review for the first Harry Potter Movie, sorry for the delay.


Directed by: Howard Hawks
Genre: Western,
Release Date: March 18, 1959
Running Time: 141 minutes
MMPA rating: PG

The Good: Great cast, Interesting characters, Unique compared to other westerns, Good shoot-out at the end, Right amount of humor, Well written dialogue,

The Bad:




Plot: The following plot summery is copied from Wikipedia.com.
In the town of Rio Bravo, Texas, sheriff's deputy Dude (Dean Martin), who has acquired the contemptuous nickname "Borrachón", enters a saloon to get a drink. Joe Burdette (Claude Akins), brother of rancher Nathan Burdette, tosses a silver dollar into a spittoon at Dude's feet. As Dude reaches for the spittoon, Presidio County, Texas Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) appears and kicks the spittoon away, looking at Dude with pity. Dude whacks Chance with a piece of wood, knocking the sheriff out cold. Joe begins punching Dude as two men hold Dude, then shoots an unarmed bystander dead when he tries to intervene.
Joe leaves the saloon and heads to his brother's saloon, where a bloody Chance arrests Joe for the murder of the bystander. When another patron draws his gun on Chance, causing a stalemate, Dude shoots the gun out of the patron's hand, Chance slugs Joe with his rifle, and the sheriff and his deputy drag Joe off to jail.
While the funeral for the unarmed man is being held, Chance's friend Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond) and his supply train arrive, with him is a young gunslinger, Colorado Ryan (Rick Nelson), riding guard. Wheeler informs Chance that Nathan Burdette's men stopped him before entering the town, meaning that the town is "bottled up" to prevent Chance from getting Joe to Presidio or any assistance in. Inside the jail, Stumpy (Walter Brennan), Chance's other deputy, keeps watch over the jail and Joe. Chance takes a package to the proprietor of the hotel, Carlos Robante (red lingerie for his wife, Consuelo (Estelita Rodriguez). A mysterious woman, Feathers (Angie Dickinson) arrives for a night. Chance tries to help her leave town the next day but the stage wheel is busted (possibly by Burdette men) and cannot leave.
Dude and Chance patrol the town, Dude trying to get off the bottle, when Carlos stops the sheriff, saying Wheeler was talking too much about Chance needing help. Chance implores Wheeler to stop, as it will draw attention from the wrong people. Wheeler and Chance discuss Dude; about three years earlier Dude was a top-notch gunman until he "met a girl on the stage", who was no good (Chance was nearly killed when he tried to tell Dude) and they left together. Six months later Dude came back without her, drunk (hence his name, "Borrachón"), but Dude has stopped drinking due to the crisis. Wheeler offers Colorado for assistance but Colorado politely declines, saying he wants to "mind his own business". Watch the movie to see what happens.


Plot: 8.8/10- Rio Bravo took a classic western concept about a Sheriff in a western town and made it original and fresh.

Action: 7.0/10- Rio Bravo is not an action packed western but there was good shoot-out at the end of the movie.


Acting: 8.6/10- The cast includes many actors like John Wayne, Dean Martin and Walter Brennan and they were all excellent.


Special effects: N/A

Soundtrack: 8.0/10- Rio Bravo's soundtrack is one of the best western soundtracks.


Comedy: 8.2/10- There was a good deal of humor in Rio Bravo.

Overall: 8.7/10- Overall Rio Bravo is a fantastic western.


Closing comments: With such great actors and plot it is hard not to recommend Rio Bravo.

Recommended for: Western fans, John Wayne fans, Dean Martin fans,


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