| Rio Bravo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | "Rio Bravo" by B.H. McCampbell |
| Produced by | Howard Hawks |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Russell Harlan |
| Edited by | Folmar Blangsted |
| Music by | |
Production company | Armada Productions[1] |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 141 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
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| Budget | $1,214,899[3] |
| Box office | $5.75 million (US and Canada rentals)[4] |
Rio Bravo is a 1959 AmericanWestern film directed and produced byHoward Hawks and starringJohn Wayne,Dean Martin,Angie Dickinson,Ricky Nelson,Walter Brennan, andWard Bond. Written byJules Furthman andLeigh Brackett, based on the short story "Rio Bravo" by B.H. McCampbell, the film stars Wayne as a Texan sheriff who arrests the brother of a powerful local rancher for murder and then has to hold the man in jail until aU.S. Marshal can arrive. With the help of a lame old man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter, they hold off the rancher's gang.Rio Bravo was filmed on location atOld Tucson Studios outsideTucson, Arizona, inEastmancolor, with film processing provided byTechnicolor.[5]
In 2014,Rio Bravo was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by theLibrary of Congress and selected for preservation in theNational Film Registry.[6][7]
Joe Burdette, the spoiled younger brother of wealthyland baron Nathan Burdette, taunts town drunk Dude by tossing money into aspittoon. The sheriff, John T. Chance, stops Dude from reaching into the spittoon, prompting Dude to lash out and knock Chance unconscious. Joe starts to beat up Dude for fun, then shoots and kills an unarmed bystander who had tried to intervene. Chance recovers, follows Joe into Nathan's personal saloon, and, with help from a penitent Dude, arrests Joe for murder.
Chance's friend Pat Wheeler attempts to enter town with a wagon train of supplies and dynamite, but has to force his way through Nathan Burdette's men. Chance reveals that he, Dude (who used to be a deputy before he became a drunk), and his lame old deputy Stumpy are all that stand between Nathan's small army and Joe, whom they wish to free. Chance notices young gunslinger Colorado Ryan in Wheeler's wagon train, but Colorado promises he doesn't want to start any trouble.
That night, Carlos Robante, the owner of the local hotel, warns Chance that Wheeler is trying to recruit fighters. Chance tries to stop Wheeler, not wanting anyone to get hurt on his account. Wheeler asks if Colorado could help, but Colorado declines, feeling that it's not his fight. Chance then notices a rigged card game at the hotel. Recognizing one of the players as "Feathers", the widow of a cheating gambler, Chance confronts her. However, Colorado reveals that another player is the cheater.
Out in the street, Wheeler is gunned down. Chance and Dude pursue the killer into Nathan's saloon, and Chance allows Dude to prove himself and confront the killer. Dude has everyone in the Saloon put their gun on the floor and starts looking for someone with muddy boots while facing the taunting of Nathan's men, when he realizes none of them fit the match, he walks to the bar to get a drink in despair. Arriving at the bar he suddenly sees the glass of beer which has become red due to the blood falling inside of it. He then kills the murderer who was hiding in the ceiling and earns the respect of Nathan's men like this. Colorado and the rest of Wheeler's men are forced to stay in town to await a court order releasing Wheeler's possession, and the wagons are left behind the Burdette warehouse. After Feathers secretly stays up all night with a shotgun to guard Chance, an irritated Chance orders Feathers to leave town for her safety. She refuses, and the two begin to bond.
Nathan himself rides into town. Stumpy, having old grudges against Nathan for taking his land, threatens to shoot Joe if any trouble starts around the jail. In response, Nathan has his saloon musicians repeatedly play "El Degüello",a.k.a. "The Cutthroat Song". Colorado realizes the song means Nathan will show no mercy, and warns Chance.
Chance gives Dude back his old guns, some clothes and a black hat he left behind when he became a drunkard. Dude also gets a shave, trying to start afresh. Unfortunately, Stumpy doesn't recognize Dude when he returns, and shoots at him, shattering Dude's nerves. The next day, Dude is still shaky and is ambushed by Burdette's men, who threaten to kill him unless Chance lets Joe go. Colorado and Feathers distract the men long enough for Chance to get his rifle, and he and Colorado shoot down the men and free Dude. Dude thinks about quitting and letting Colorado take his place, but when he hears "El Degüello" being played, he resolves to see the thing through to the end.
Dude and Chance return to the hotel so Dude can take a bath. Burdette's men capture Carlos' wife Consuelo and deliberately make her scream, which lures Dude and Chance into a trap. Dude tells Chance to take the men to the jail, under the pretext that Stumpy would let Joe out. However, Stumpy opens fire, as Dude secretly predicted. In the chaos, some men drag Dude off to Nathan, who demands a trade—Dude for Joe. Chance agrees, but brings Colorado as backup. Dude and Joe brawl during the trade, and a firefight ensues. Stumpy throws some sticks of dynamite from the wagons into the warehouse where Burdette and his men are holed up; Chance and Dude detonate them with their guns, abruptly ending the fight.
With both Burdettes and their few surviving gunmen in jail, Chance finally spends some time with Feathers and admits his feelings for her. Colorado volunteers to guard the jail, allowing Stumpy and Dude to enjoy a night out in the town.
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Malcolm Atterbury andHarry Carey Jr. also receive screen credits in the film's opening, but their scenes were deleted from the final film.[11]
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Exteriors for the film were shot atOld Tucson Studios, just outsideTucson.[12] Filming took place in the summer of 1958, and the movie's credits gave 1958 for the copyright; the film was released in March 1959.
Rio Bravo is generally regarded as one of Hawks' best, and is known for its long opening scene which contains no dialogue. The film received favorable reviews, and was successful, taking inUS$5.75 million, the highest grossing Western of 1959.[13][14]
A brief clip fromRio Bravo was among the archive footage later incorporated into the opening sequence of Wayne's last film,The Shootist, to illustrate the backstory of Wayne's character.
As was often the case in a John Wayne Western, Wayne wore his "Red River D" belt buckle in the movie.[15] It can be clearly seen in the scene when Nathan Burdette comes to visit his brother Joe in the jail where he is being held for the U.S. Marshal, about 60 minutes into the film; and again in the scene where Wayne, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson deal with three of Burdette's men in front of the hotel.
The story was credited to "B.H. McCampbell." According toTodd McCarthy's 1997 biography,Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood, this was actually Hawks' eldest daughter, Barbara Hawks McCampbell (McCampbell being her married name). Her contribution was the idea of using dynamite in the final shootout.[16]
The musical score was composed byDimitri Tiomkin. His score includes the hauntingly ominous "El Degüello" theme, which is heard several times.[17] The Colorado character identifies the tune as "The Cutthroat Song". He relates that the song was played on the orders of GeneralAntonio López de Santa Anna to the Texans holed up inthe Alamo, to signify that no quarter would be given to them. The tune was used in Wayne's filmThe Alamo (1960). ComposerEnnio Morricone recalled that directorSergio Leone asked him to write "Dimitri Tiomkin music" forA Fistful of Dollars. The trumpet theme is similar to Tiomkin's "Degüello" (the Italian title ofRio Bravo wasUn dollaro d'onore,A Dollar of Honor).[18]
Because the film starred acrooner, Martin, and ateen idol, Nelson, Hawks included three songs in thesoundtrack. Before the bigshowdown, in thejail house, Martin sings "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" (which contains new lyrics by Webster to a Tiomkin tune that appeared inRed River), accompanied by Nelson, after which Nelson sings a brief version of "Get Along Home, Cindy", accompanied by Martin and Brennan. Over the closing credits, Martin, backed by theNelson Riddle Orchestra, sings a specially composed song, "Rio Bravo", written by Tiomkin with lyrics byPaul Francis Webster. Nelson later paid homage to both the film and his character, Colorado, by including the song "Restless Kid" on his 1959LP,Ricky Sings Again.
Members of theWestern Writers of America chose "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[19]
The film was made as a response toHigh Noon,[20] which is sometimes thought to be anallegory forblacklisting in Hollywood, as well as a critique ofMcCarthyism.[21] Wayne later calledHigh Noon "un-American" and said he did not regret helping run the writer,Carl Foreman, out of the country.[22] Director Howard Hawks went on the record to criticizeHigh Noon by saying, "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."[23] According to film historianEmanuel Levy, Wayne and Hawks teamed up deliberately to rebutHigh Noon by telling a somewhat similar story their own way: portraying a hero who does not show fear or inner conflict and who never repudiates his commitment to public duty, while only allying himself with capable people, despite offers of help from many other characters. Chance also cites concerns for the safety of those that offer to help and his fears are confirmed when the first such offer results in the character being quickly killed.[24] InRio Bravo, Chance is surrounded by allies—a deputy who is brave and good with a gun, despite recovering from alcoholism (Dude), a young untried but self-assured gunfighter (Colorado), a limping, crippled old man who is doggedly loyal (Stumpy), a Mexican innkeeper (Carlos), his wife (Consuelo), and an attractive young woman (Feathers)—and repeatedly turns down aid from anyone he does not think is capable of helping him.[23]
In the United Kingdom,Rio Bravo was not originally even reviewed forSight & Sound;[25]Leslie Halliwell gave the film two out of four stars in hisFilm Guide, describing it as a "cheerfully overlong and slow-moving Western" that was nevertheless "very watchable for those with time to spare".[26] The film was taken more seriously by British critics such asRobin Wood, who rated it as his top film of all time and wrote a book on it in 2003 for theBritish Film Institute, publishers ofSight & Sound.Pauline Kael called the film "silly, but with zest; there are some fine action sequences, and the performers seem to be enjoying their roles."[27]Rio Bravo was the second highest-ranking Western (63rd overall) in the 2012Sight & Sound critics' poll of the greatest films ever made.[28] In 2008, theAmerican Film Institute nominated this film for itsTop 10 Western Films list.[29]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 96% of 50 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Rio Bravo finds director Howard Hawks – and his stellar ensemble cast – working at peak performance, and the end result is a towering classic of the Western genre."[30]
DirectorQuentin Tarantino calledRio Bravo his "favorite 'hangout' movie".[31] He once said that if his date doesn't like the film, there will be no relationship.[32]
Howard Hawks went on to direct two loose variations ofRio Bravo with the idea of a sheriff defending his office against belligerent outlaws. John Wayne starred in both films, released asEl Dorado in 1966 withRobert Mitchum playing a variation of Dean Martin's original role, andRio Lobo in 1970.[33][34]
The 1976 filmAssault on Precinct 13 directed byJohn Carpenter was inspired by the story and setting ofRio Bravo.[35]
In 2002, aflume rideRio Bravo, named after the film, opened atParque Warner Madrid.[38] Earlier, in 1998, a similar flume ride with the same name and theme was planned forWarner Bros. Movie World on theGold Coast,Australia; however, it was ultimately opened under the nameWild Wild West, based on the 1999 film of the same title.[39]
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