Rio Bravo

RIO BRAVO (COLOUR, 1959)

Director: 

Howard Hawks

Cast: 

John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, Claude Akins, John Russell and Pedro Gonzalez

Ages: 

7 and up

Plot: 

Small-town sheriff John T. Chance, with the help of a drunk, Dude (Martin), manages to capture local bad guy Joe Burdette (Akins), brother of a rancher named Nathan (Russell). Many of Joe’s gang, including his brother, want him out of jail and captures Dude. To help him, John hires shady lady/card player Feathers (Dickinson), Colorado Ryan (Nelson), who used to help out John’s old friend Pat Wheeler (Bond), jail guard Stumpy (Brennan) and hotel owner Carlos (Gonzalez). When they decide to trade Joe back for Dude, the two parties start a battle against one other.

From left: Ricky Nelson, John Wayne and Dean Martin 

Why it’s good: 

Because it is the most classically classy western with a really splendid cast, from John Wayne as a sheriff, Dean Martin the comedian as a drunk, early rock star Ricky Nelson as Colorado Ryan and Angie Dickinson as the extremely shady card player.

But most of all, it is the opposite of the values presented in "High Noon" (1952), another classic western. "High Noon" presents the view that leaders should ask for help while this film says that leaders should not beg for help but rather allow other people to help them. This film says that in brilliant Technicolor.

Laying their messages aside, it has a rather slow pace which could be quickened somehow. But the slow pace showcases the acting skills and story plot of this film. John Wayne isn’t really fast or dynamic, but still a moving piece of a movie star.

The singing is also a close equal of the action. Stumpy and Colorado sing ‘My rifle, my pony and me’ and ‘Do not forsake me, oh my darling’ - two great pieces of music you might want to hear over and over again.

Parent’s guide: 

It was G-rated by the Canadian censorship. There are some violent action sequences, where Joe Burdette’s gang pushes Dude into a bucket of water. Pat Wheeler is shot in a warehouse while one man falls off the ceiling in a bar.

Trivia: 

During filming, Ricky Nelson celebrated his 18th birthday. As a gift, John Wayne and Dean Martin gave him a 300 lb. sack of steer manure, which they then threw Nelson into as a rite of passage.

If you like this…: 

Check out the extremely loose remakes, "El Dorado" (1966) and "El Lobo" (1970). Both of them are made by the John Wayne-Howard Hawks team. They were also together for Red River (1948), co-starring Montgomery Clift and Walter Brennan again.

Shane

SHANE (COLOUR, 1953)

Director: 

George Stevens

Cast: 

Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Brandon De Wilde, Van Heflin, Ben Johnson, Jack Palance, Edgar Buchanan, Paul McVey, Emile Meyer and Elisha Cook, Jr.

Ages: 

7 and up

Plot: 

Shane (Ladd) is a drifter and ex-gunfighter who one day wants to cross through a settlement in the old west. He meets the Starrett family, which comprises of Marian (Arthur), her son Joey (De Wilde) and husband (Heflin), who have had trouble with the powerful Ryker clan, led by Rufus (Meyer), who wants the land for himself. The clan also includes of hired gunfighter Jack Wilson (Palance) and Chris Calloway (Johnson) and the clan associates itself with store owner Sam Grafton (McVey). The townsmen pool their resources together and help each other and protect each other from the Ryker clan. Rufus, upon learning this, asks Jack to kill one of them, Stonewall Torrey (Cook) and burns the house of Fred Lewis (Buchanan), another man who wants to take action. Now, Shane convinces himself he should help this town before moving on.

Alan Ladd as Shane (Left) and Brandon De Wilde (Right) in the western Shane.  

Why it’s good: 

It is one of the world’s slowest, atmospheric and moodiest westerns. Before this, westerns usually had action, leaving little space for a dramatic landscape. This one, though, can manage to do just that

As the film advances, Shane becomes more heroic. Morally and physically, Shane is quite a hero in both categories.

The supporting roles are played by extremely great actors. Marian is played by Jean Arthur who had just escaped the wrath of veteran director Frank Capra. Brandon De Wilde as the young Joey is an absolute genius, with a best supporting Oscar nomination in hand. Van Heflin plays Joe, Marian’s husband, Jack Palance plays Jack Wilson the hired gun and Emile Meyer plays the role of Rufus, the ultimate bad guy.

But the actors do not give this film its ultimate pleasure. The pleasure shines through the laws of Western film-making, the world disappearing into a place in the past, with its atmosphere still there in fruitfulness.

Parent’s guide: 

Bits of Western violence, a bar fight goes on at Grafton’s store. It involves punching and the use of wooden chairs. Later, Heflin uses a long stick and charges into the bar. In the end, Shane has a shootout with Rufus and Jack Wilson. In one scene, one of the men in the Ryker clan shoots Stonewall Torrey as he walks pass.

Trivia: 

This was Jean Arthur’s final film. George Stevens wanted, originally, for Shane to be played by Montgomery Clift and Marian’s husband to be played by William Holden. Unfortunately, they went for other projects.

If you like this…: 

Alan Ladd’s Proud Rebel (1958) is another good western.