Rio Bravo
Movie, 1959, The '50s and before, Set in A Texas jail
Rio Bravo is #7 of 34 in release order and #7 of 34 in chronological order in the Westerns.
The story
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.
Rio Bravo recap
Rio Bravo (1959) has Sheriff John T. Chance holding a rich man's killer brother in jail while the family's hired guns close in on the town. Howard Hawks directs. Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) shoots an unarmed man in a saloon, and Chance (John Wayne) locks him up to wait for the U.S. marshal. Joe's brother Nathan (John Russell), a rancher, seals off the town. Chance's help is Dude (Dean Martin), a deputy who has been a drunk since a woman left him, and Stumpy (Walter Brennan), an old man with a bad leg who guards the cell. Chance's friend Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond) is shot for offering help, and his young gunhand Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson) joins after Feathers (Angie Dickinson), a gambler staying at the hotel, is threatened. Burdette's men have a band play "El Degüello", the no-quarter tune, again and again. Dude shakes off the bottle while Chance and Feathers spar romantically. Hawks reworked the story twice more, as El Dorado (1966) and Rio Lobo (1970).
Rio Bravo ending explained
Rio Bravo ends with a prisoner swap that turns into a gunfight at Burdette's warehouse. Burdette's men capture Dude and offer him for Joe. During the exchange Dude tackles Joe, and Chance's side pins the gang in the warehouse; Stumpy throws dynamite that Chance sets off with rifle shots, and Nathan Burdette surrenders. Both brothers go to jail. Dude is back to his old self, and Chance finally tells Feathers he wants her to stay. Hawks made the film partly as an answer to High Noon.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Rio Bravo
Rio Bravo is streaming on Fawesome in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes 96%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Searchers, before The Magnificent Seven.
- Chronological order: after The Searchers, before The Magnificent Seven.
Cast
- John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance
- Dean Martin as Dude
- Ricky Nelson as Colorado Ryan
- Angie Dickinson as Feathers
- Walter Brennan as Stumpy
- Ward Bond as Pat Wheeler
- John Russell as Nathan Burdette
- Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez as Carlos Robante
- Estelita Rodriguez as Consuela Robante
- Claude Akins as Joe Burdette
- Malcolm Atterbury as Jake
- Harry Carey Jr. as Harold
Directed by Howard Hawks.