Rio Bravo (1959)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Jules Furthman (screenplay) and
Leigh Brackett (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 April 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

and Dean and Ricky sing, too! "Rio Bravo" "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" "Cindy"

Plot:

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a cripple, a drunk, and a young gunfighter...

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Sheriff | Jail | Texas | Gunslinger

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

John Wayne	...	Sheriff John T. Chance
Dean Martin	...	Dude ('Borachón')
Ricky Nelson	...	Colorado Ryan
Angie Dickinson	...	Feathers
Walter Brennan	...	Stumpy
Ward Bond	...	Pat Wheeler
John Russell	...	Nathan Burdette
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez	...	Carlos Robante (as Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez)
Estelita Rodriguez	...	Consuela Robante
Claude Akins	...	Joe Burdette
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Jake (stage driver)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Harold (scenes deleted)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sheb Wooley	...	Cowboy (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:G | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (certificate #19034) | South Korea:15 (2007) | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | UK:U (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company:

Armada Productions

Trivia:

The movie had an interesting preview trailer. In the trailer, Ricky Nelson finishes playing his guitar, then he turns to the camera and talks about the exciting nature of the film. After some clips are shown, they cut back to Nelson who lists the cast members. When he does not mention his own name, we hear the voice of Dean Martin say off camera "What about Rick Nelson"?

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the final gunfight, when Stumpy throws the Dynamite for Dude, and Dude says, "I didn't allow for the wind ", his lips never move.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John T. Chance: Joe, you're under arrest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Angel: Dad (#3.10)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Cindy

The traditional western that all others are judged by

It is my pleasure to make comments on Rio Bravo, considering all the hype that already has been written about it. True, it is not socially redeeming, nor does it make a political statement, it's just darn fun, i.e. entertaining. What's wrong with that? I couldn't care less if it is a redemption by Hawks for "High Noon"! I know one thing is for certain, when you watch John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, and the rest of the cast, you can tell that they had a really good time making the film, this, I believe is plain to see. Add a top notch script and very fine acting, good scenery, a love angle, and enough action to satisfy, and it adds up to a classic movie no matter how you judge it. 10 for 10.