Rio Bravo review

 Number 253 on the top 1000 films of all time is Howard Hawks' 1959 Western 'Rio Bravo.'

John Chance (John Wayne) is the sheriff on a boarder town who has to hold the wanton criminal Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) in custody until he is collected by US Marshals. However, Joe's brother and the rest of his gang are coming to get him back. Chance has to hold them off with the help of the alcoholic dude (Dean Martin,) the lame old Stumpy (Walter Brennan),) and the young gunslinger Colorado (Ricky Nelson.)

This film was Wayne's return to the Western genre after a dip in his career. Considering only a decade later, he won the Best Actor Oscar you could argue it was a very successful return.

But was Rio Bravo a successful film? It was watchable enough. I'm not sure whether it brought anything new to the Western genre. You had the men in white fighting off the men in black. You had the Mexican characters relegated to side parts. You had the insipid female lead Feathers (Angie Dickinson.) And you had lots of of gunfights. It was everything we've seen before. Yes, it was entertaining, but it didn't blow me away.

John Wayne was your standard, cut-and-dry hero. There was no depth to his character beyond that. The cheesy romance between him and Feathers didn't help either. And it certainly didn't help that Wayne was double Angie Dickinson's age.

The supporting cast where the film really shone. I've never seen Dean martin act before, but he was quite convincing, as the alcoholic seeking redemption. He made Dude a sympathetic character. Three-time Oscar winner, Walter Brennan brought a lot of energy and life to Stumpy. He was a joy to watch, as well as some more important light-hearted relief.

Of course you can't make a film with one of the era's biggest crooners and one of the biggest teen idols without having a scene of them singing together. While this was pretty shoe-horned in, it was still great to watch.

Rio Bravo certainly didn't bring anything new to the Western genre, but some of the supporting cast gave great performances.