Some posters who dislike this movie are unable to separate John Wayne the actor from John Wayne's right wing politics, as if that had anything to do with his performances.
Ironically, Wayne himself sought out Kirk Douglas for several of his movies despite Douglas's well known liberal sensibilities.
Anyone who doesn't think Wayne was a fine actor should view some of his early westerns of the 1930's to see how carefully he developed his craft. You think John Wayne was always John Wayne? He invented his screen persona. He must have practiced that measured cadence of speech until he couldn't do it any other way because it just isn't there till the 1940's. His deliberate body language was also something he created. The 1930's John Wayne didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. Good acting is not just the ability to disappear chameleon-like into a part; good acting is playing your part so interesting or compelling enough that people will part with 2 hours of their lives to watch you. You think Wayne wasn't a good actor? How many actors could walk into a scene and command authority with their mere presence? Brando? Pacino? Deniro? Pitt? Rio Bravo is not a great John Wayne movie like "Red River" or "The Searchers". In those movies, Wayne is the whole show despite being surrounded by fine actors. Wayne isn't digging deep here. He playing a sheriff who's comfortable in his skin and his job and only seems unsure of himself when Angie Dickinson's around. The part requires authority, and Wayne displays it effortlessly. Rio Bravo is a great, enjoyable movie because Wayne, though still an important part of the movie, allows everyone else to upstage him in their scenes with him. Just look at one of the best scenes, the singing interlude in the jail-house. Wayne is the only one who doesn't sing; just lets his co-stars do what they do best and enjoys the moment.
Dean Martin does the real acting here. He and Ricky Nelson also get to display their musical talent. Walter Brennan does the best Walter Brennan impression ever caught on film. Angie Dickinson; was this her first major role? She really sank her teeth into this one. She was brave, funny and sexy. Of the major actors, Ricky Nelson seemed a bit miscast. He's not bad; he just doesn't radiate the menace that you'd expect from a gunfighter. Steve McQueen or Burt Reynolds would have been better choices. Both were young, up and coming TV actors in 1959.
Rio Bravo is not strictly a western; it's a character study that just happens to take place in a western setting. It resembles the old TV show Gunsmoke. You kind of wish there'd been a sequel.
Other posters have mentioned that Howard Hawks and John Wayne made this in reaction to "High Noon". The big knock against "High Noon" is that in the old west, there is no case where a town showed cowardice in the face of gunmen. Quite the contrary. The Jesse James Gang and the Dalton Gang both came to an abrupt end when armed citizenry shot them to pieces. Settling in the old west was act of courage in itself and everyone was as familiar with a gun as with a shovel. In "Rio Bravo", every member of that town is brave and rallies behind the Sheriff. In that sense, "Rio Bravo" is more realistic than "High Noon".
I'm not rating Rio Bravo a 10 because it's doesn't transcend the genre the way "Shane" or "The Searchers" did. It's just good entertainment and I watch it whenever it shows up.
Ironically, Wayne himself sought out Kirk Douglas for several of his movies despite Douglas's well known liberal sensibilities.
Anyone who doesn't think Wayne was a fine actor should view some of his early westerns of the 1930's to see how carefully he developed his craft. You think John Wayne was always John Wayne? He invented his screen persona. He must have practiced that measured cadence of speech until he couldn't do it any other way because it just isn't there till the 1940's. His deliberate body language was also something he created. The 1930's John Wayne didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. Good acting is not just the ability to disappear chameleon-like into a part; good acting is playing your part so interesting or compelling enough that people will part with 2 hours of their lives to watch you. You think Wayne wasn't a good actor? How many actors could walk into a scene and command authority with their mere presence? Brando? Pacino? Deniro? Pitt? Rio Bravo is not a great John Wayne movie like "Red River" or "The Searchers". In those movies, Wayne is the whole show despite being surrounded by fine actors. Wayne isn't digging deep here. He playing a sheriff who's comfortable in his skin and his job and only seems unsure of himself when Angie Dickinson's around. The part requires authority, and Wayne displays it effortlessly. Rio Bravo is a great, enjoyable movie because Wayne, though still an important part of the movie, allows everyone else to upstage him in their scenes with him. Just look at one of the best scenes, the singing interlude in the jail-house. Wayne is the only one who doesn't sing; just lets his co-stars do what they do best and enjoys the moment.
Dean Martin does the real acting here. He and Ricky Nelson also get to display their musical talent. Walter Brennan does the best Walter Brennan impression ever caught on film. Angie Dickinson; was this her first major role? She really sank her teeth into this one. She was brave, funny and sexy. Of the major actors, Ricky Nelson seemed a bit miscast. He's not bad; he just doesn't radiate the menace that you'd expect from a gunfighter. Steve McQueen or Burt Reynolds would have been better choices. Both were young, up and coming TV actors in 1959.
Rio Bravo is not strictly a western; it's a character study that just happens to take place in a western setting. It resembles the old TV show Gunsmoke. You kind of wish there'd been a sequel.
Other posters have mentioned that Howard Hawks and John Wayne made this in reaction to "High Noon". The big knock against "High Noon" is that in the old west, there is no case where a town showed cowardice in the face of gunmen. Quite the contrary. The Jesse James Gang and the Dalton Gang both came to an abrupt end when armed citizenry shot them to pieces. Settling in the old west was act of courage in itself and everyone was as familiar with a gun as with a shovel. In "Rio Bravo", every member of that town is brave and rallies behind the Sheriff. In that sense, "Rio Bravo" is more realistic than "High Noon".
I'm not rating Rio Bravo a 10 because it's doesn't transcend the genre the way "Shane" or "The Searchers" did. It's just good entertainment and I watch it whenever it shows up.