Rio Lobo (1970)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Leigh Brackett (screenplay)
Burton Wohl (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Western | Romance | War

Tagline:

Give 'Em Hell, John.

Plot:

After the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the traitor whose perfidy caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Texas | Traitor | Colonel | Civil War

Cast

John Wayne	...	Col. Cord McNally
Jorge Rivero	...	Capt. Pierre Cordona aka Frenchy
Jennifer O'Neill	...	Shasta Delaney
Jack Elam	...	Phillips
Christopher Mitchum	...	Sgt. Tuscarora Phillips
Victor French	...	Ketcham (boss of Rio Lobo)
Susana Dosamantes	...	Maria Carmen (Tuscarora's girlfriend)
Sherry Lansing	...	Amelita
David Huddleston	...	Dr. Ivor Jones (Rio Lobo dentist)
Mike Henry	...	Rio Lobo Sheriff 'Blue Tom' Hendricks
Bill Williams	...	Blackthorne Sheriff Pat Cronin
Jim Davis	...	Rio Lobo Deputy
Dean Smith	...	L / Cpl. Bide
Robert Donner	...	Whitey Carter (Rio Lobo deputy)
George Plimpton	...	4th Gunman

Also Known As:

San Timoteo

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Iceland:12 | West Germany:12 (new rating) | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:G | Australia:M | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Company:

Batjac Productions

Trivia:

When John Wayne visits Bill Williams in the sheriff's office, there is a wanted poster on the wall for Hondo Lane, the character Wayne played in Hondo (1953).

Goofs:

Continuity: When McNally, Cardona and Shasta are in Cardona's room and Shasta is just waking up after fainting, she sits up and the covers fall down to her waist, then they show a distant scene and the covers are around her neck, then a close up scene and the covers are around her waist again.

Quotes:

Sheriff 'Blue Tom' Hendricks: Don't you worry Mr. Ketcham, we'll get you out.
Phillips: Just try and get him out, just you try!
Ketcham: Don't try anything Tom, don't do anything, he's crazy, he want's to kill me!
Phillips: He's right!
[Fires shotgun in the air, then jabs it into Ketchams back]
Phillips: Got another barrel, get in there!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Jitters (1989)

Bad

This is one of Wayne's worst films. Not because of him, but because of bad acting and Hawks worst direction. I can't believe two established veterans of movies like Wayne and Hawks allowed this ridiculous waste of film to be made. There are long stretches of movie with no music, only accenting the really poor acting. Everyone is bad (sans Wayne and Elam) but no one is as bad as Jennifer O'Neil, who will make you cringe every time she's on screen. How she got any work after this film is a mystery. And this is a remake of Rio Bravo/El Dorado? I didn't see it. Bad film.