CineTV Contest #51 - Favorite Western Movie: Rio Bravo
One of my favorite Westerns is High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) where Gary Cooper in his role as Sheriff Will Kane must face four dangerous killers, asks for help from his fellow citizens, who deny him and he must face them alone.
This film has its counterpart in the film Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959) in which we are told a story of friendship through the confrontation between a sheriff, (John Wayne as John T. Chance), an alcoholic ( Dude, played by Dean Martin ), an elderly disabled former deputy sheriff ( Stumpy, played by Walter Brennan ) and an impulsive young man ( Colorado Ryan, played by one of the youth idols of the time: Ricky Nelson), against a landowner who wants to rescue his imprisoned brother Joe Burdette ( Claude Akins ), no matter the price.
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At the beginning of the film it is already possible to observe, without any dialogue, how the conflict that serves as motivation for all the actions that we will later see is created, and clearly pays homage to silent films. Chance does not let Dude pick up a coin from a spittoon, pointing out to us in this part the moral baseness to which Dude has reached, and that he needs the help of his best friend. Dude has reached this alcoholic state because of a woman who abandoned him.
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Joe Burdette thinks his wealth exempts him from justice, and Chance and his allies have to protect themselves from an army sent by Joe's brother, landed landowner Nathan Burnette ( played by John Russell ) .
Sheriff Chance to counter the impending attack that will aim to free Joe Burdette has the help of the old curmudgeon and lame Stumpy, Dude, a man given to drink because of a woman, and ultimately Colorado Ryan, a young man agile with a revolver.
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Resistance is futile, but the sheriff refuses to hand Joe over and awaits the arrival of the authorities while Nathan Burdette increases his pressure on Rio Bravo. They will have no choice but to remain united inside the town jail.
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Dean Martin (Dude) and Ricky Nelson (Colorado Ryan) sing in the film My rifle, my pony and me under the sound of Walter Brennan's (Stumpy) harmonica, looking for a bit of fun in the face of such an adverse situation.
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Dude is kidnapped by the group of evildoers who demand Burnette's release to free the kidnapped man, both Chance and Stumpy and Colorado Ryan must act quickly and eliminate these outlaws once they manage to free their companion.
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Love is not lacking in this film and it is represented by a young and sexual Angie Dickinson in the role of Feathers, a disreputable hustler who wins Chance's heart. The sheriff, Chance, does not lose his composure at any time, but in front of Feathers, the woman who attracts him, he does not know how to behave.
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Who drives the film forward is the drunken Dude played by a great Dean Martin. Hawks from the first sequence without a single dialogue manages to situate us and summarize who is who in the film; Dude is a character who creates situations that combine drama, emotion, comedy thus driving the narrative of the film. Sheriff Chance protects and gives a chance to his weaker friend, so he manages to increase his self-esteem.
Stumpy (Walter Brennan) is a secondary character who makes us laugh with his interventions, lowering the drama and tension of the scenes.
Colorado Ryan played by singer Ricky Nelson is a young man who shows maturity and emotional independence by trying to stay out of a conflict that does not concern him, although in the end he ends up involved and empathized with the group.
The film takes place physically in the saloon, the jail and the main street of the town), we hear the trumpet music composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, which reinforces the atmosphere of suffocation that is felt in the film as it sounds tirelessly outside the jail the song of the throat-cutting, the same song played by the Mexicans during the hours before the assault of the Alamo, as Colorado Ryan explains to Chance. This can be translated as a message from Nathan Burnette: there will be no mercy for these men of the law.
This theme song clearly influenced Ennio Morricone in the musical composition of the main theme of Sergio Leone's film A fistful of dollars.
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The value of friendship is seen in many ways in Sheriff Chance's relationship with Dude: he prepares a cigarette for the shaky friend, gives him a chance to regain his self-respect by letting him capture the sniper hiding in the Burdette saloon, and also doesn't hesitate for a second to hand over his prisoner in exchange for Dude when the latter was kidnapped by Nathan Burnette's henchmen.
John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 is loosely based on the premise of this western film. The same director Howard Hawks later made two remakes of this film: El Dorado and Rio Lobo.
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The film is directed by Howard Hawks, one of the best in the history of cinema with works such as Scarface, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Bringin Up Baby, His Girl Friday, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and The Thing From Another World.
The screenplay is by Leigh Brackett, and Jules Furthman based on a story by B. H. McCampbell.
Rio Bravo is a western that combines drama, comedy, action, and romance. It's a play with heart and soul, and like all good Westerns there's a lot of dust, gunfights, bad guys and good guys. The film is very enjoyable and meets one of the fundamental objectives of cinema: to entertain. This is a cult film that is a must for any movie buff.
This is my participation in the initiative CineTV Contest #51 - Favorite Western Movie Link here
A big greeting to everyone, I hope you liked my post, I wish all the participants of this weekly initiative good luck
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Without a doubt, this movie is all about the old west, it is a very good choice, although I am not a big fan of the genre, I cannot deny that I love the music they include, and the song that Dude and Colorado Ryan perform as a duo It is one of those that I like the most, not only for its beautiful voices, but for the nostalgic sound of the harmonica. I loved your review.
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Thanks for stopping by and appreciating the publication, it's good to share with the community and that we discover something we like about a film even if it's not of the genre we like. Greetings!