Rio Bravo (film): Difference between revisions
→Plot: clarification and correction of several points in the plot including the ending where the dialogue and sequence is corrected. For instance, the addition of Dude saying that Stumpy was alone is important to understanding the ambush at the jail. |
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Dude and Chance patrol the town, when Carlos stops the sheriff, saying Wheeler was talking too much about Chance needing help. Chance implores Wheeler to stop, as it will draw attention from the wrong people. Wheeler and Chance also discuss Dude; about three years earlier Dude was a top-notch gunman until he "met a girl on the stage" who was no good and they left together. Six months later Dude came back without her, drunk (hence his nickname, "Borrachón", "big drunk"), but Dude has stopped drinking due to the crisisd Wheeler suggests that Colorado could be of assistance but Colorado politely declines, saying he wants to "mind his own business.". Colorado also promises not to start any trouble without telling the sheriff first. Feathers leaves the poker game a winner, Chance follows her up to her room and confronts her as a card cheat, with his evidence three missing aces from the deck of cards being used in the game, and a handbill indicating she was wanted for card cheating. Feathers confesses she is the girl in the poster but denies cheating, and challenges Chance to search her for the missing cards. Colorado arrives saying another participant in the game is the real cheat and plans to confront him with Chance's acquiescence. Colorado is proven right, and the real card cheat is sent out on the next stage. Chance admits he was wrong but refuses to apologize. |
Dude and Chance patrol the town, when Carlos stops the sheriff, saying Wheeler was talking too much about Chance needing help. Chance implores Wheeler to stop, as it will draw attention from the wrong people. Wheeler and Chance also discuss Dude; about three years earlier Dude was a top-notch gunman until he "met a girl on the stage" who was no good and they left together. Six months later Dude came back without her, drunk (hence his nickname, "Borrachón", "big drunk"), but Dude has stopped drinking due to the crisisd Wheeler suggests that Colorado could be of assistance but Colorado politely declines, saying he wants to "mind his own business.". Colorado also promises not to start any trouble without telling the sheriff first. Feathers leaves the poker game a winner, Chance follows her up to her room and confronts her as a card cheat, with his evidence three missing aces from the deck of cards being used in the game, and a handbill indicating she was wanted for card cheating. Feathers confesses she is the girl in the poster but denies cheating, and challenges Chance to search her for the missing cards. Colorado arrives saying another participant in the game is the real cheat and plans to confront him with Chance's acquiescence. Colorado is proven right, and the real card cheat is sent out on the next stage. Chance admits he was wrong but refuses to apologize. |
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As Wheeler is walking back to the hotel, he is shot dead by a Burdette man hiding in the stable. Colorado offers to help but is angrily turned away by Chance who says "you had a chance to get in this and you didn't want it." Chance and Dude flush out the shooter, who escapes into Nathan's saloon after Dude wounds him. Dude believes the man had muddy boots, but everyone in the bar has clean boots. |
As Wheeler is walking back to the hotel, he is shot dead by a Burdette man hiding in the stable. Colorado offers to help but is angrily turned away by Chance who says "you had a chance to get in this and you didn't want it." Chance and Dude flush out the shooter, who escapes into Nathan's saloon after Dude wounds him. Dude believes the man had muddy boots, but everyone in the bar has clean boots. Twopatrons suggest Dude is a drunk who needs a drink and one man throws a silver dollar into a spittoon. The bartender puts a beer on the bar in front of Dude. Dude notices blood dripping into the beer and takes one shot into the loft, killing Wheeler's murderer. Before they leave, Dude then gets revenge on the patron who threw the dollar coin in the spittoon by making him get it. |
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Chance goes back to the hotel to sleep, and unbeknownst to him, Feathers stands guard at the door to keep him safe, then returns to her room when he awakens. Chance asks Feathers why she did that but she does not say. Chance insists that she should leave on the stage coach. Nathan ([[John Russell (actor)|John Russell]]) later arrives in town with his men, intent on seeing his brother Joe. Dude is standing guard and confiscating all guns before entering town, and Nathan agrees to turn in their guns until they leave. Nathan sees Joe, and after a few angry words between the land baron and Chance, is told in no uncertain |
Chance goes back to the hotel to sleep, and unbeknownst to him, Feathers stands guard at the door to keep him safe, then returns to her room when he awakens. Chance asks Feathers why she did that but she does not say. Chance insists that she should leave on the stage coach. Nathan ([[John Russell (actor)|John Russell]]) later arrives in town with his men, intent on seeing his brother Joe. Dude is standing guard and confiscating all guns before entering town, and Nathan agrees to turn in their guns until they leave. Nathan sees Joe, and after a few angry words between the land baron and Chance, is told by Stumpy, in no uncertain termsthat if he attempts to overrun the jail his brother would be "accidentally" shot before they reached him. Nathan then leaves to visit his saloon, instructing the band there to play the ''Deguello'' (the "cut-throat" song) non-stop. |
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Carlos says Feathers will not get on the stage coach, and when Chance goes to see her she tells the sheriff that she does not want to leave, then gives Chance a kiss. After Colorado visits the jail to tell Chance the meaning of the song Nathan is playing, Chance gives Dude his guns back (the ones he had before he left town, sold by Dude but bought by Chance) as well as some clothes he left behind. Dude takes a bath, changes clothes and gets a shave, then returns to the jail while Chance and Feathers get better acquainted. Suddenly a shot rings out and Chance races to the jail, only to find Stumpy had shot at a stranger (a cleaned up Dude) in front of the jail. Dude and Stumpy exchange angry words, then Chance tells Dude they've been "pampering him too much" and to get some sleep. |
Carlos says Feathers will not get on the stage coach, and when Chance goes to see her she tells the sheriff that she does not want to leave, then gives Chance a kiss. After Colorado visits the jail to tell Chance the meaning of the song Nathan is playing, Chance gives Dude his guns back (the ones he had before he left town, sold by Dude but bought by Chance) as well as some clothes he left behind. Dude takes a bath, changes clothes and gets a shave, then returns to the jail while Chance and Feathers get better acquainted. Suddenly a shot rings out and Chance races to the jail, only to find Stumpy had shot at a stranger (a cleaned up Dude) in front of the jail. Dude and Stumpy exchange angry words, then Chance tells Dude they've been "pampering him too much" and to get some sleep. |
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The next morning, while Dude is standing guard at the town entryway, four Burdette men attack him from behind and tie him up in a stable. Leaving one to take Dude's place, three of them approach Chance on the street in front of the hotel with a fake injury. They draw guns and corner him (Chance's rifle is out of reach), and demand that he release Joe. Inside the hotel, acting on Colorado's instructions, Feathers throws a flowerpot through a window a moment after Colorado steps out on the porch, distracting the Burdette men. Colorado throws Chance's rifle to him and the two men shoot the three Burdette hands. Chance shoots the fourth who is riding away on his horse and races down the street, finds Dude tied up in the stable and frees him. Dude, frustrated by his performance and recovering from his extended drunkenness, resigns as deputy. Colorado agrees to join Chance as deputy and then Dude reconsiders quitting after hearing the ''Deguello'' song, reminding him why he was there. |
The next morning, while Dude is standing guard at the town entryway, four Burdette men attack him from behind and tie him up in a stable. Leaving one to take Dude's place, three of them approach Chance on the street in front of the hotel with a fake injury. They draw guns and corner him (Chance's rifle is out of reach), and demand that he release Joe. Inside the hotel, acting on Colorado's instructions, Feathers throws a flowerpot through a window a moment after Colorado steps out on the porch, distracting the Burdette men. Colorado throws Chance's rifle to him and the two men shoot the three Burdette hands. Chance shoots the fourth who is riding away on his horse and races down the street, finds Dude tied up in the stable and frees him. Dude, frustrated by his performance and recovering from his extended drunkenness, resigns as deputy. Colorado agrees to join Chance as deputy and then Dude reconsiders quitting after hearing the ''Deguello'' song, reminding him why he was there. |
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The group decides to hole up in the jail, as it will take several more days for the United States Marshal to arrive to take Joe to Presidio. Dude and Chance go to the hotel to round up additional supplies, but Carlos and Consuela are captured by Burdettermen stranger e,and trick Chance into charging down thestairs, falling over a rope tied at the |
The group decides to hole up in the jail, as it will take several more days for the United States Marshal to arrive to take Joe to Presidio. Dude and Chance go to the hotel to round up additional supplies, but Carlos and Consuela are captured by Burdettermen stranger e,and trick Chance into charging down thestairs, falling over a rope tied at the bottom of the stairs. Dude and Feathers also are captured. Chance is given a choice--take the men to the jail to let Joe out, or the men will arrange a trade with Stumpy for Dude and Chance. Dude implores Chance to let Joe out, saying that Stumpy is alone and has no food or water to hold out very long. Chance agrees, and three men go to the jail. Dude's story was a ruse, as Colorado is with Stumpy and they shoot the three Burdette men. The remaining Burdette men at the hotel take Dude and Burdette later offers to trade him for Joe. Chance agrees, and the trade is made at a warehouse. But Dude bum-rushes Joe and they scuffle while a gunfight erupts. Dude knocks Joe out and Stumpy (who followed them over after being told to stay behind) shoots two men who run out of the barn to get behind Chance and Colorado. Colorado warns that the wagon that Stumpy is sitting next to contains dynamite. Stumpy brings a box of dynamite when he moves and throws some at the building Burdette's men are in and Dude and Chance set off the dynamite with gunfire. The exploding dynamite in front of the building causes Burdette to surrender. With the Burdette men in jail, Chance goes to Feather's room and sees her wearing a pair of black tights that she intends to wear while she sings in the saloon Chance tells her that he will arrest her if she appears in public in the tights and she takes this as an admission that he loves her. After changing out of them, she holds them in her hand in front of Chance and asks him if you wants her to keep them to wear just for him. Chance throws them out the window where they land by Dude and Stumpy who are walking by in the street outside. Chance and Feathers kiss. (The original script has Feathers throw the tights out the window.) |
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In the full version, Dude and Stumpy talk after Stumpy picks up the tights andInside the jail, Stumpy ([[Walter Brennan]]), Chance's other deputy, keeps watch over the jail and Joe. Chance takes a delivered package to the proprietor of the hotel, Carlos Robante (red lingerie for his wife, Consuela ([[Estelita Rodriguez]]). A mysterious woman nicknamed Feathers ([[Angie Dickinson]]), is shown playing poker. She arrived on a stage coach whose wheel has broken (possibly by Burdette's men), which delays its departure. |
In the full version, Dude and Stumpy talk after Stumpy picks up the tights andInside the jail, Stumpy ([[Walter Brennan]]), Chance's other deputy, keeps watch over the jail and Joe. Chance takes a delivered package to the proprietor of the hotel, Carlos Robante (red lingerie for his wife, Consuela ([[Estelita Rodriguez]]). A mysterious woman nicknamed Feathers ([[Angie Dickinson]]), is shown playing poker. She arrived on a stage coach whose wheel has broken (possibly by Burdette's men), which delays its departure. |
Revision as of 00:08, 14 February 2013
Rio Bravo | |
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File:Riobravoposter.jpg | |
Directed by | Howard Hawks |
Written by | B.H. McCampbell (short story) Jules Furthman Leigh Brackett |
Produced by | Howard Hawks |
Starring | John Wayne Dean Martin Ricky Nelson Angie Dickinson Walter Brennan Ward Bond John Russell |
Cinematography | Russell Harlan |
Edited by | Folmar Blangsted |
Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | March 18, 1959 (U.S. release) |
Running time | 141 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $5.2 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
Rio Bravo is a 1959 American Western film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson. The supporting cast includes Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, and Ward Bond. The script was written by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett, based on a short story by B.H. McCampbell.
Plot
In the town of Rio Bravo, Texas, sheriff's deputy Dude (Dean Martin), who has acquired the contemptuous nickname "Borrachón", enters a saloon to get a drink. Joe Burdette (Claude Akins), brother of rancher Nathan Burdette, tosses a silver dollar into a spittoon at Dude's feet. As Dude reaches for the spittoon, Presidio County, Texas Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) appears and kicks the spittoon away, looking at Dude with pity. Dude whacks Chance with a piece of wood, knocking the sheriff out cold. With two men holding Dude upright, Joe begins punching him, then shoots and kills an unarmed bystander who tries to intervene.
Joe leaves the saloon and heads to his brother's saloon, where a bloody Chance arrests Joe for the murder of the bystander. When another patron draws his gun on Chance, causing a stalemate, Dude shoots the gun out of the patron's hand, Chance slugs Joe with his rifle, and the sheriff and Dude, who becomes his deputy, drag Joe off to jail.
While the funeral for the unarmed man is being held, Chance's friend Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond) and his supply train stop in town, with a young gunslinger, Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson), riding guard. Wheeler informs Chance that Nathan Burdette's men stopped him outside of the town, meaning that the town is "bottled up" to prevent Chance from getting Joe to Presidio or any assistance in. Insideg the jail, Stumpy (Walter Brennan), Chance's other deputy, keeps watch over the jail and Joe. Chance takes a delivered package to the proprietor of the hotel, Carlos Robante (red lingerie for his wife, Consuela (Estelita Rodriguez). A mysterious woman nicknamed Feathers (Angie Dickinson), is shown playing poker. She arrived on the stagecoach whose wheel has broken (possibly by Burdette's men), which delays its departure.
Dude and Chance patrol the town, when Carlos stops the sheriff, saying Wheeler was talking too much about Chance needing help. Chance implores Wheeler to stop, as it will draw attention from the wrong people. Wheeler and Chance also discuss Dude; about three years earlier Dude was a top-notch gunman until he "met a girl on the stage" who was no good and they left together. Six months later Dude came back without her, drunk (hence his nickname, "Borrachón", "big drunk"), but Dude has stopped drinking due to the crisisd Wheeler suggests that Colorado could be of assistance but Colorado politely declines, saying he wants to "mind his own business.". Colorado also promises not to start any trouble without telling the sheriff first. Feathers leaves the poker game a winner, Chance follows her up to her room and confronts her as a card cheat, with his evidence three missing aces from the deck of cards being used in the game, and a handbill indicating she was wanted for card cheating. Feathers confesses she is the girl in the poster but denies cheating, and challenges Chance to search her for the missing cards. Colorado arrives saying another participant in the game is the real cheat and plans to confront him with Chance's acquiescence. Colorado is proven right, and the real card cheat is sent out on the next stage. Chance admits he was wrong but refuses to apologize.
As Wheeler is walking back to the hotel, he is shot dead by a Burdette man hiding in the stable. Colorado offers to help but is angrily turned away by Chance who says "you had a chance to get in this and you didn't want it." Chance and Dude flush out the shooter, who escapes into Nathan's saloon after Dude wounds him. Dude believes the man had muddy boots, but everyone in the bar has clean boots. Twopatrons suggest Dude is a drunk who needs a drink and one man throws a silver dollar into a spittoon. The bartender puts a beer on the bar in front of Dude. Dude notices blood dripping into the beer and takes one shot into the loft, killing Wheeler's murderer. Before they leave, Dude then gets revenge on the patron who threw the dollar coin in the spittoon by making him get it.
Chance goes back to the hotel to sleep, and unbeknownst to him, Feathers stands guard at the door to keep him safe, then returns to her room when he awakens. Chance asks Feathers why she did that but she does not say. Chance insists that she should leave on the stage coach. Nathan (John Russell) later arrives in town with his men, intent on seeing his brother Joe. Dude is standing guard and confiscating all guns before entering town, and Nathan agrees to turn in their guns until they leave. Nathan sees Joe, and after a few angry words between the land baron and Chance, is told by Stumpy, in no uncertain termsthat if he attempts to overrun the jail his brother would be "accidentally" shot before they reached him. Nathan then leaves to visit his saloon, instructing the band there to play the Deguello (the "cut-throat" song) non-stop.
Carlos says Feathers will not get on the stage coach, and when Chance goes to see her she tells the sheriff that she does not want to leave, then gives Chance a kiss. After Colorado visits the jail to tell Chance the meaning of the song Nathan is playing, Chance gives Dude his guns back (the ones he had before he left town, sold by Dude but bought by Chance) as well as some clothes he left behind. Dude takes a bath, changes clothes and gets a shave, then returns to the jail while Chance and Feathers get better acquainted. Suddenly a shot rings out and Chance races to the jail, only to find Stumpy had shot at a stranger (a cleaned up Dude) in front of the jail. Dude and Stumpy exchange angry words, then Chance tells Dude they've been "pampering him too much" and to get some sleep.
The next morning, while Dude is standing guard at the town entryway, four Burdette men attack him from behind and tie him up in a stable. Leaving one to take Dude's place, three of them approach Chance on the street in front of the hotel with a fake injury. They draw guns and corner him (Chance's rifle is out of reach), and demand that he release Joe. Inside the hotel, acting on Colorado's instructions, Feathers throws a flowerpot through a window a moment after Colorado steps out on the porch, distracting the Burdette men. Colorado throws Chance's rifle to him and the two men shoot the three Burdette hands. Chance shoots the fourth who is riding away on his horse and races down the street, finds Dude tied up in the stable and frees him. Dude, frustrated by his performance and recovering from his extended drunkenness, resigns as deputy. Colorado agrees to join Chance as deputy and then Dude reconsiders quitting after hearing the Deguello song, reminding him why he was there.
The group decides to hole up in the jail, as it will take several more days for the United States Marshal to arrive to take Joe to Presidio. Dude and Chance go to the hotel to round up additional supplies, but Carlos and Consuela are captured by Burdettermen stranger e,and trick Chance into charging down thestairs, falling over a rope tied at the bottom of the stairs. Dude and Feathers also are captured. Chance is given a choice--take the men to the jail to let Joe out, or the men will arrange a trade with Stumpy for Dude and Chance. Dude implores Chance to let Joe out, saying that Stumpy is alone and has no food or water to hold out very long. Chance agrees, and three men go to the jail. Dude's story was a ruse, as Colorado is with Stumpy and they shoot the three Burdette men. The remaining Burdette men at the hotel take Dude and Burdette later offers to trade him for Joe. Chance agrees, and the trade is made at a warehouse. But Dude bum-rushes Joe and they scuffle while a gunfight erupts. Dude knocks Joe out and Stumpy (who followed them over after being told to stay behind) shoots two men who run out of the barn to get behind Chance and Colorado. Colorado warns that the wagon that Stumpy is sitting next to contains dynamite. Stumpy brings a box of dynamite when he moves and throws some at the building Burdette's men are in and Dude and Chance set off the dynamite with gunfire. The exploding dynamite in front of the building causes Burdette to surrender. With the Burdette men in jail, Chance goes to Feather's room and sees her wearing a pair of black tights that she intends to wear while she sings in the saloon Chance tells her that he will arrest her if she appears in public in the tights and she takes this as an admission that he loves her. After changing out of them, she holds them in her hand in front of Chance and asks him if you wants her to keep them to wear just for him. Chance throws them out the window where they land by Dude and Stumpy who are walking by in the street outside. Chance and Feathers kiss. (The original script has Feathers throw the tights out the window.)
In the full version, Dude and Stumpy talk after Stumpy picks up the tights andInside the jail, Stumpy (Walter Brennan), Chance's other deputy, keeps watch over the jail and Joe. Chance takes a delivered package to the proprietor of the hotel, Carlos Robante (red lingerie for his wife, Consuela (Estelita Rodriguez). A mysterious woman nicknamed Feathers (Angie Dickinson), is shown playing poker. She arrived on a stage coach whose wheel has broken (possibly by Burdette's men), which delays its departure.
Dude and Chance patrol the town, when Carlos stops the sheriff, saying Wheeler was talking too much about Chance needing help. Chance implores Wheeler to stop, as it will draw attention from the wrong people. Wheeler and Chance also discuss Dude; about three years earlier Dude was a top-notch gunman until he "met a girl on the stage" who was no good and they left together. Six months later Dude came back without her, drunk (hence his nickname, "Borrachón", "big drunk"), but Dude has stopped drinking due to the crisis. Wheeler suggests that Colorado could be of assistance but Colorado politely declines, saying he wants to "mind his own business." Colorado also promises not to start any trouble without telling the sheriff first. Feathers leaves the poker game a winner, Chance follows her up to her room and confronts her as a card cheat, with his evidence three missing aces from the deck of cards being used in the game, and a handbill indicating she was wanted for card cheating. Feathers confesses she is the girl in the poster but denies cheating, and challenges Chance to search her for the missing cards. Colorado arrives saying another participant in the game is the real cheat and plans to confront him with Chance's acquiescence. Colorado is proven right, and the real card cheat is sent out on the next stage. Chance admits he was wrong but refuses to apologize.
As Wheeler is walking back to the hotel, he is shot dead by a Burdette man hiding in the stable. Colorado offers to help but is angrily turned away by Chance who says "you had a chance to get in this and you didn't want it." Chance and Dude flush out the shooter, who escapes into Nathan's saloon. Dude believes the man had muddy boots, but everyone in the bar has clean boots. Two suggest Dude is a drunk who needs a drink, one patron throws a silver dollar into a spittoon. Dude notices blood dripping into a drink on the bar and takes one shot into the loft, killing Wheeler's murderer. Dude then gets retribution on the patron who threw the dollar coin in the spittoon by making him go get it.
Chance goes back to the hotel to sleep, and unbeknownst to him, Feathers stands guard at the door to keep him safe, then returns to her room when he awakens. Chance asks Feathers why she did that but she does not say. Chance insists that she should leave on the stage coach. Nathan (John Russell) later arrives in town with his men, intent on seeing his brother Joe. Dude is standing guard and confiscating all guns before entering town, and Nathan agrees to turn in their guns until they leave. Nathan sees Joe, and after a few angry words between the land baron and Chance, is told in no uncertain terms if he attempts to overrun the jail his brother would be "accidentally" shot before they reached him. Nathan then leaves to visit his saloon, instructing the band there to play the Deguello (the "cut-throat" song) non-stop.
Carlos says Feathers will not get on the stage coach, and when Chance goes to see her she tells the sheriff that she does not want to leave, then gives Chance a kiss. After Colorado visits the jail to tell Chance the meaning of the song Nathan is playing, Chance gives Dude his guns back (the ones he had before he left town, sold by Dude but bought by Chance) as well as some clothes he left behind. Dude changes clothes and gets a shave, then returns to the jail while Chance and Feathers get better acquainted. Suddenly a shot rings out and Chance races to the jail, only to find Stumpy had shot at a shadow (Dude) in front of the jail. Dude and Stumpy exchange angry words, then Chance tells Dude they've been "pampering him too much" and to get some sleep.
The next morning, while Dude is standing guard at the town entryway, four Burdette men attack him from behind and tie him up in a stable. Approaching Chance on the street in front of the hotel with a fake injury, they draw guns and corner him (Chance's rifle is out of reach), and demand that he release Joe. Inside the hotel, acting on Colorado's instructions, Feathers throws a flowerpot through a window a moment after Colorado steps out on the porch, distracting the Burdette men. Colorado throws Chance's rifle to him and the two men shoot the four Burdette hands. Chance races down the street, finds Dude tied up in the stable and frees him. Dude, frustrated by his performance and recovering from his extended drunkenness, resigns as deputy. Colorado agrees to join Chance as deputy and then Dude reconsiders quitting after hearing the Deguello song, reminding him why he was there.
The group decides to hole up in the jail, as it will take several more days for the United States Marshal to arrive to take Joe to Presidio. Dude and Chance go to the hotel to round up additional supplies, but Carlos and Consuela are captured by Burdette men, and trick Chance into charging down the stairs, falling over a rope tied at the bottom of the stairs. Dude and Feathers also are captured. Chance is given a choice--take the men to the jail to let Joe out, or the men will arrange a trade with Stumpy for Dude and Chance. Dude implores Chance to let Joe out, saying that Stumpy is alone and has no food or water to hold out very long. Chance agrees, and three men go to the jail. Dude's story was a ruse, as Colorado is with Stumpy and they shoot the three Burdette men. The remaining Burdette men at the hotel take Dude and Burdette later offers to trade him for Joe. Chance agrees, and the trade is made outside Burdette's warehouse. But Dude bum-rushes Joe during the trade and they scuffle while a gunfight erupts. Dude knocks Joe out and Stumpy (who followed them over after being told to stay behind) shoots two men who run out of the warehouse to get behind Chance and Colorado. Colorado warns that the wagon that Stumpy is sitting next to contains dynamite. Stumpy brings a box of dynamite when he moves and throws it near the building Burdette's men are in and Dude and Chance set off the dynamite with gunfire. The exploding dynamite in front of the building causes Burdette to surrender. With Burdette and his men in jail, Chance goes to Feathers room and sees her wearing a pair of black tights that she intends to wear while she sings in the saloon. Chance tells her that he will arrest her if she appears in public in the tights and she takes this as an admission that he loves her. After changing out of them, she holds them in her hand in front of Chance and asks her if you wants her to keep them and wear them just for him. Chance takes them and throws them out the window where they land by Dude and Stumpy who are walking by in the street outside. Chance and Feathers kiss. (There is some confusion over this scene because the original script has Feathers throw the tights out the window.)
In the full version, Dude and Stumpy talk after Stumpy picks up the tights and drapes them around his neck. Some versions seen on television either cut or edit the scene with Dude and Stumpy. The voice of Dean Martin is heard singing during the last scene and the credits at the end of the movie.
Cast
- John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance
- Dean Martin as Dude ('Borrachón' "drunk")
- Ricky Nelson as Colorado Ryan
- Angie Dickinson as Feathers
- Walter Brennan as Stumpy
- Ward Bond as Pat Wheeler
- John Russell as Nathan Burdette
- Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez as Carlos Robante
- Estelita Rodriguez as Consuela Robante
- Claude Akins as Joe Burdette
- Malcolm Atterbury as Jake (stage driver)
- Harry Carey Jr. as Harold (scenes deleted)
Production
Exteriors for the film were shot at Old Tucson Studios, just outside Tucson, Arizona.[2] Filming took place in the summer of 1958, and the movie's credits give 1958 as the year of production, although the film would not be released until 1959.
Rio Bravo is generally regarded as one of Hawks' best, and is notable for its scarcity of close-up shots. Only four appear in Rio Bravo. In the opening scene, wherein Joe shoots an unarmed man: Joe's revolver is shown in close-up, when he rolls a cigarette, when Dude pours a shot of whiskey back into the bottle; and a close-up of a beer glass where a drop of blood falls in, alerting Dude to a gunman in the bar waiting above him in ambush. [citation needed] The long opening scene has no dialogue.[3] The film received favorable reviews, and was successful, taking in over US$5.5 million.[citation needed]
The musical score was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin. His score includes the hauntingly ominous "El Degüello" theme, which is heard several times.[4] The Colorado character identifies the tune as "The Cutthroat Song". He relates that the song was played on the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna to the Texans holed up in the Alamo, to signify that no quarter would be given to them. The tune was used in the following year, over the opening credits of Wayne's film, The Alamo. Composer Ennio Morricone recalled that director Sergio Leone asked him to write "Dimitri Tiomkin music" for A Fistful of Dollars. The trumpet theme is similar to Tiomkin's "Deguella" (the Italian title of Rio Bravo was Un dollaro d'onore, "A Dollar of Honor").
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" (which contained new lyrics to a Tiomkin tune that appeared in Red River) 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.
A brief clip from Rio Bravo was among the archive footage later incorporated into the opening sequence of Wayne's last film, The Shootist, to illustrate the backstory of Wayne's character.
High Noon debate
The film was made as a response to High Noon, which is sometimes thought to be an allegory for blacklisting in Hollywood, as well as a critique of McCarthyism.[5] Wayne would later call High Noon "un-American" and say he did not regret helping run the writer, Carl Foreman, out of the country.[6] Wayne teamed up with director Howard Hawks to tell the story his way. In Rio Bravo, Chance is surrounded by allies - a deputy recovering from alcoholism (Dude), a young untried gunfighter (Colorado), an limping "crippled" old man (Stumpy), a Mexican innkeeper (Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez), his wife (Estelita Rodriguez), and an attractive young woman (Feathers) — and repeatedly turns down aid from anyone he doesn't think is capable of helping him, though in the final shootout they come to help him anyway. "Who'll turn up next?" Wayne asks amid the gunfire, to which Colorado replies: "Maybe the girl with another flower pot."
Critical reception
The 2002 Sight & Sound poll of film critics and directors did not place Rio Bravo in its top ten, but it did find it to be the best film directed by Howard Hawks, with 7 votes,[7] surpassing seven of his other films, including His Girl Friday (5 votes),[8] Red River (4),[9] To Have and Have Not (3),[10] and Bringing Up Baby (2).[11] In the same poll, Rio Bravo placed ahead of High Noon, a film to which it has been compared. High Noon received 1 vote.[12]
In August 1976, Leslie Halliwell described the film as a "[c]heerfully overlong and slow-moving western [... but ...] [a]ll very watchable for those with time to spare", giving it ** (2 stars out of 4), a rare high rating.[13]
Remakes and inspirations
Remakes
Howard Hawks went on to make two loose variations of Rio Bravo, on both occasions 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. All involve lawmen working against an entrenched criminal element, partially by "holing up" in their jailhouse.
- The first remake, El Dorado, was released in 1966. 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 with a plot much further off the original mold, starting with the absence of a lawman-turned-drunkard character. This began with a Confederate train robbery of a Union gold shipment during the American Civil War, then moved to a post-war Texas county thoroughly controlled by a rich, arrogant rancher. The heroes, with the exception of an old man similar to Brennan's and Hunnicutt's characters in the previous pictures (Jack Elam here), were complete outsiders. Along with Wayne and Elam, this movie starred Mexican film star Jorge Rivero (as Frenchie), Christopher Mitchum (Robert Mitchum's son) and Jennifer O'Neill.
Inspirations
- Feathers's dialogue was occasionally inspired by the character of "Slim" (Lauren Bacall) in the 1944 "To Have and Have Not", as when, after the first kiss, she says: "...it's better when two people do it," recalling the phrase "it's even better when you help;" and again later when she says, "I'm hard to get - you're going to have to say you want me," recalling Slim's "I'm hard to get, Steve - all you have to do is ask me."
- L'homme à l'étoile d'argent (The Man with the Silver Star), a 1969 comic from the French comic series Lt. Blueberry was directly inspired by Rio Bravo. The plot is virtually the same. Blueberry plays the role of sheriff John T. Chance; McClure, a whiskey-adoring old man, combines the roles of Dude and Stumpy; Dusty plays the role of Colorado; Miss March, the teacher, plays the role of a less morally challenged Feathers; and instead of the Burdettes, here we have the Bass brothers.
- John Carpenter's 1976 film Assault on Precinct 13, though not a remake of Rio Bravo, was inspired by the film. Carpenter borrowed some elements from the earlier film's plot but set it 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, for his editing credit. This film was also remade in 2005 by Jean-Francois Richet, starring Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne, Maria Bello, Drea de Matteo, John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy, and Ja Rule, moving the film's setting to Detroit.
- Ghosts of Mars, a 2001 film also by Carpenter, retains many of the elements that were developed in Rio Bravo and Assault on Precinct 13 but takes place in a science fiction setting.
- The Nest, a 2002 film by Florent Emilio Siri, starred Samy Naceri, Benoît Magimel, Nadia Farès, Pascal Greggory, and Sami Bouajila.
- In the director's cut of Natural Born Killers (directed by Oliver Stone and written by Quentin Tarantino) actor Woody Harrelson says the line: "Let's make a little music, Colorado," before shooting Robert Downey Jr.
See also
- John Wayne filmography
- El Dorado (1966)
- Rio Lobo (1970)
Footnotes
- ^ "1959: Probable Domestic Take", Variety, 6 January 1960 p 34
- ^ Commemoration: Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo, Warner Bros. DVD supplement.
- ^ 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).
- ^ Blacklist.
- ^ Manfred Weidhorn. "High Noon." Bright Lights Film Journal. February 2005. Accessed 12 February 2008.
- ^ Rio Bravo, 2002 Sight & Sound poll.
- ^ His Girl Friday
- ^ Red River
- ^ To Have and Have Not
- ^ Bringing Up Baby
- ^ High Noon by Fred Zinnemann, 2002 Sight & Sound poll.
- ^ Leslie Halliwell. Halliwell's Film Guide to 8,000 English Language Films, Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, 1977; Granada, 1979.
References
- Byman, Jeremy (2004). Showdown at High Noon. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4998-4.
- McCarthy, Todd (2000). Howard Hawks. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3740-7.
- Roberts, Randy (1997). John Wayne. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-8970-7.
- Wood, Robin (2006). Howard Hawks. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3276-5.
- Wood, Robin (2003). Rio Bravo. London: BFI Pub. ISBN 0-85170-966-4.
External links
- Rio Bravo at IMDb
- Template:Amg movie
- Rio Bravo at the TCM Movie Database
- Rio Bravo at Rotten Tomatoes