In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Sunday 24 March 2013

Rio Bravo (1959)

Sitting down to watch John Wayne in a Howard Hawks Western means you’re in for a good time, but I admit I’m not in love with this one as much as the film world seems to think I should be.
Wayne as Sherriff is fantastic as always. Dean Martin had a tough job but he did it well. Ricky Nelson looked at home with a guitar but less so with a gun; it was early in his acting career and he was still inexperienced. The Feathers character (Angie Dickinson) was a square peg in a round hole; she didn't bring enough to the clique to warrant inclusion.
Everything else works and by the end we know why each unequivocal decision was made.

3½ sing-songs in the jail-house out of 5

2 comments:

cuckoo said...

Characters like Stumpy annoy the fuck out of me.

Actually most of these folks annoy me.

If not for Dean Martin I'd write it off. Never was a Wayne fan. I think he's a chump. XD

3 dollars in the spittoon out of 5

Dr Faustus said...

Yea, Stumpy was an irritating prick. He’s one of those characters that are supposed to be a prick but it doesn't make them any less of a pain in the ass knowing it.

I like Wayne. He's a big ol' loveable guy. I can see that chumpness you mean in him but I see it as a kind of charm. It’s another facet of his character that I enjoy. I don’t mean just his character in this film, I mean in him regardless of the role or film.