Rio Bravo (1959 film)
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Rio Bravo (1959) is a Western movie, 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 also features a long opening scene with absolutely no dialogue.[link] 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.
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", which is played several times to build tension. When a character asks for the name of this tune, he is told that it is the "Mexican Death Song", played on the orders of Antonio López de Santa Anna to the Texans, who were holed up in the Alamo. The tune was used in the following year, over the opening credits of Wayne's film, The Alamo.
As the film starred a crooner, Martin, and a teen idol, Nelson, Hawks included three songs in the soundtrack. During the jail scenes, Nelson sings a brief version of "Get Along Home, Cindy" and later he joins Martin in a duet, when the pair sing "My Rifle, My Pony and Me". Finally Martin, backed by the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, sings a specially composed song, "Rio Bravo" over the closing credits. 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.
Plot
Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne) has arrested a murderer, Joe Burdette (Claude Akins), brother of powerful rancher Nathan Burdette (John Russell). The rancher's men surround the town and try to break Burdette from 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.Trivia
Harry Carey, Jr. was hired to act in Rio Bravo, but angered Hawks by calling him "Howard" rather than the preferred "Mr. Hawks." Carey was paid his salary and received a screen credit, but his scenes were cut from the film. 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.
Quentin Tarantino frequently cites Rio Bravo as his favorite film.
The film was made as a right-wing response to High Noon, which had been an allegory for blacklisting in Hollywood. John Wayne and his friend Ward Bond had actively supported blacklisting since 1947. Wayne therefore teamed up with director Howard Hawks to tell the story his way. Hawks was offended by High Noon as he didn't believe the marshall, played by Gary Cooper, would ask the townsfolk for help. It is ironic that Cooper was alone and didn't need help from others, while in Rio Bravo Wayne is surrounded by allies - the drunk deputy played by Dean Martin, the young gunfighter played by Ricky Nelson, the old man played by Walter Brennan and the young girl played by Angie Dickinson - and he definitely needs their help.
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 took over the "Dean Martin" role, Arthur Hunnicutt took over the "Walter Brennan" role and James Caan took over the "Ricky Nelson" role. Hawks again named the Nelson/Caan character after a state, although on this occasion, it was Mississippi. In a wry, humourous twist on the original film, Hawks made the Caan character inept in the use of 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 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 1970's 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. Carpenter's film was remade in 2005.
External links
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