Rio Bravo (1959 film)
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| Rio Bravo | |
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Produced by | Howard Hawks |
| Written by | B.H. McCampbell (short story) Jules Furthman Leigh Brackett |
| Starring | John Wayne Dean Martin Ricky Nelson Angie Dickinson Walter Brennan Ward Bond John Russell |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Russell Harlan |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | March 18, 1959 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 141 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Rio Bravo is a 1959 western film, directed by Howard Hawks. It stars John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, with Angie Dickinson, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Estelita Rodriguez and Walter Brennan.
Rio Bravo is generally regarded as one of Hawks's best, and is notable for its lack of close-up shots. It features a long opening scene with absolutely no dialogue.[1] The film received favorable reviews, and was financially successful, earning over US$5.5 million. Some have criticised the film for its lack of pace, and unrealistic affair between the 26-year-old Angie Dickinson and the 51-year-old Wayne.[citation needed]
The script was written by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett and the musical score was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin. His score contains the haunting tune "De Guella" (also spelled "degüello"), which is played several times to build tension.[2] When a character asks for the name of this tune, he is told that it is the "Cutthroat Song", played on the orders of Antonio López de Santa Anna to the Texans holed up in the Alamo to signify that no quarter would be given. The tune was used in the following year, over the opening credits of Wayne's film, The Alamo.
Because the film starred a crooner, Martin, and a teen idol, Nelson, Hawks included three songs in the soundtrack. Before the big showdown, in the jail house, Martin sings "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" 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 the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, sings a specially composed song, "Rio Bravo." Nelson later paid homage to both the film and his character, Colorado, by including the song "Restless Kid" on his 1959 LP, Ricky Sings Again.
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[edit] Plot
Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne) arrests a murderer, Joe Burdette (Claude Akins), the brother of powerful rancher Nathan Burdette (John Russell). The rancher's men then surround the town and try to break Burdette out of jail. The only help Chance has is his deputies, Dude (Martin), an alcoholic, and Stumpy (Brennan), a cripple. Tensions are further strained by the presence of a young gunslinger, Colorado Ryan (Nelson), and the arrival of a mysterious woman, Feathers (Dickinson), who becomes romantically involved with Chance.
[edit] Trivia
- Harry Carey, Jr. was hired for Rio Bravo, but angered Hawks by calling him "Howard" rather than "Mr. Hawks." Carey was paid and received a screen credit, but his scenes were cut.
- Ward Bond, a long time friend of Wayne, was also in the cast. He took time off from his starring role as a wagon master in the long running TV series, Wagon Train, to play a wagon master.
- The film was shot just outside Tucson, Arizona, at a location that is now the Old Tucson amusement park.
- The film was made as a response to High Noon, which had been an allegory for blacklisting in Hollywood, as well as a critic to McCarthyism. Wayne teamed up with director Howard Hawks to tell the story his way. Hawks was offended by High Noon as he didn't believe the marshal, played by Gary Cooper, would ask the townsfolk for help. Wayne was a conservative and a firm supporter of blacklisting. It is commonly believed that Cooper alone defeated the outlaws and didn't need help from others but Will Kane's Quaker bride saves the Marshal's life by shooting and killing one of them. However it is true that in Rio Bravo Wayne is surrounded by allies - a drunk deputy, a young gunfighter, an old man and an attractive young woman - and he definitely needs their help.
[edit] Remakes
The film has been informally remade twice as a Western, although on each occasion under a different title. Both of these remakes were directed by Hawks, both starred John Wayne and in each case, the script was written by Leigh Brackett.
- The first remake, El Dorado, was released in 1967. In this film, Robert Mitchum played the Dean Martin role, Arthur Hunnicutt the Walter Brennan character and James Caan the Ricky Nelson role. Hawks again named the Nelson/Caan character after a state (in this case, Mississippi) and in a wry, humorous twist on the original film, Hawks made him inept with firearms, but skilled with a knife.
- The second remake, Rio Lobo, was made in 1970. This was a looser remake and had scenes from the American Civil War before moving, some time later, to a town under siege, which was central to the original film. This film starred John Wayne, Christopher Mitchum (Robert Mitchum's son), Jack Elam, and Jennifer O'Neill.
- Assault on Precinct 13, John Carpenter's 1976 film, though not a remake of Rio Bravo, was inspired by the film. Carpenter borrowed some elements from the earlier film's plot but set his film in 1970s Los Angeles. He also paid homage to the original film by using the pseudonym "John T. Chance", the name of Wayne's character in Rio Bravo, for his editing credit.
[edit] References
- ^ Butler, J. February 22, 2004. Rio Bravo editing, University of Alabama Telecommunication and Film Department (retrieved August 13, 2006).
- ^ The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association (retrieved on November 22, 2006).
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- Rio Bravo at the Internet Movie Database
