An OK Howard Hawk's Western but one of those examples of the genre that was beginning to endlessly copy itself.

Its kind of interesting that by the end of the 1950s, non-major movie releases were somewhat more mature in content but...
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An OK Howard Hawk's Western but one of those examples of the genre that was beginning to endlessly copy itself.

Its kind of interesting that by the end of the 1950s, non-major movie releases were somewhat more mature in content but were beginning to be populated by lots of folks that would end up on the Johnny Carson couch by the 1970s. "Rio Bravo" is one of those kinds of films. It has the age-old theme of a sheriff who needs help to avenge the murder of his friend at the hands of a nasty gang. There's just a lot that has been done and done before - the stoic John Wayne, the recovering alcoholic deputy (Dean Martin) who sobers up on beer and hits John Wayne almost once too often, Walter Brennen as the salty jail house guard, and Ricky Nelson as the hot shot young gun. And a "risky" woman with an actual heart of gold (Angie Dickinson).

Modern for the time in terms of mild innuendo, old-fashioned in terms of predictable storyline - its a mixture that's sort of tired in both respects. It is sort of fun to see Deano and Ricky Nelson sing some jail house songs.