A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 5 nominations
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez
- Carlos Robante
- (as Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez)
Malcolm Atterbury
- Jake (Stage Driver)
- (scenes deleted)
Harry Carey Jr.
- Harold
- (scenes deleted)
Sheb Wooley
- Cowboy
- (scenes deleted)
Fred Aldrich
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Frank Balderrama
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Walter Barnes
- Charlie
- (uncredited)
George Bell
- Barfly
- (uncredited)
Audrey Betz
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHoward Hawks did not want to cast Ricky Nelson, whom he considered to be both too young and too lightweight, and deliberately gave him the fewest possible number of lines for a third-billed star. However, he later admitted that having Nelson's name on the poster had probably added $2 million to the film's box office performance.
- GoofsJohn T. Chance wears a wedding ring throughout the movie even though he was not a married man in the story. However, John Wayne was married at the time in real life, but did not take his ring off during filming.
- Quotes
Feathers: I thought you were never going to say it.
John T. Chance: Say what?
Feathers: That you love me.
John T. Chance: I said I'd arrest you.
Feathers: It means the same thing, you know that.
- Alternate versionsOn the Insp version, Colorado and Dude only sing My Rifle, My Pony, and Me. The part where Colorado, Dude, and Stumpy sing Cindy after is cut.
- ConnectionsEdited into La classe américaine (1993)
Featured review
it's time for a cowboy to dream
"Every man should have a little taste of power before he's through."
Rio Bravo boasts a stellar cast in John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson. It's a classic Western film that strays from themes related to the genre. Instead of the stereotypical outlaw vs. sheriff theme, Rio Bravo forces the audience to analyze each character and how their unique backstories explain their actions.
One of Rio Bravo's defining features is that, unlike other Westerns, there isn't an overwhelming protagonist. Instead, each of the characters are seen grappling with their own issues and finding their place in the story.
All four of our main characters are deputies in the town. John Wayne plays the sheriff and acts as the calm and steady voice of reason in the story. Dean Martin plays Dude, a has-been who delved into alcoholism after he was left by a woman. There's Stumpy, the crippled grandpa and a young, talented new guy. The interactions between all the other characters is quite interesting, especially the chemistry between Chance and Dude.
Methodically speaking, this is a really good movie whether you like Westerns or not. The writing is really good, and the direction especially is remarkable. Each scene is intricately set up. I want to bring special attention to the opening scene. There's no dialogue, and we don't fully find out what transpired until later. The opening scene really pulled me in, and set this up to be a really solid film.
Unfortunately, the run-time is a bit long. As the movie progresses, Feathers and Stumpy started really annoying me. There's a shootout scene that's really good, but the closing scene is anticlimactic and I wish the movie had ended better for the sake of the story.
Despite all the praise I can offer Rio Bravo, I just don't think it warrants over a 7 rating. The scenes with Feathers are too drawn out, and I think we'd have a better story if her character was removed completely. Nonetheless, this is definitely a good Western to see if you appreciate character development, dramas, and John Wayne.
Rio Bravo boasts a stellar cast in John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson. It's a classic Western film that strays from themes related to the genre. Instead of the stereotypical outlaw vs. sheriff theme, Rio Bravo forces the audience to analyze each character and how their unique backstories explain their actions.
One of Rio Bravo's defining features is that, unlike other Westerns, there isn't an overwhelming protagonist. Instead, each of the characters are seen grappling with their own issues and finding their place in the story.
All four of our main characters are deputies in the town. John Wayne plays the sheriff and acts as the calm and steady voice of reason in the story. Dean Martin plays Dude, a has-been who delved into alcoholism after he was left by a woman. There's Stumpy, the crippled grandpa and a young, talented new guy. The interactions between all the other characters is quite interesting, especially the chemistry between Chance and Dude.
Methodically speaking, this is a really good movie whether you like Westerns or not. The writing is really good, and the direction especially is remarkable. Each scene is intricately set up. I want to bring special attention to the opening scene. There's no dialogue, and we don't fully find out what transpired until later. The opening scene really pulled me in, and set this up to be a really solid film.
Unfortunately, the run-time is a bit long. As the movie progresses, Feathers and Stumpy started really annoying me. There's a shootout scene that's really good, but the closing scene is anticlimactic and I wish the movie had ended better for the sake of the story.
Despite all the praise I can offer Rio Bravo, I just don't think it warrants over a 7 rating. The scenes with Feathers are too drawn out, and I think we'd have a better story if her character was removed completely. Nonetheless, this is definitely a good Western to see if you appreciate character development, dramas, and John Wayne.
helpful•71
- dan_pap
- Jul 7, 2019
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $24,701
- Runtime2 hours 21 minutes
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