Rio Bravo

This is what the Duke was all about. It's one of my top 100 movies of all time, an essential, a must see & own. John Wayne, as always, portrays himself; Dean Martin is Dude, a drunk trying to recover; Ricky Nelson is Colorado, a young gunslinger; &, finally, Walter Brennan is Stumpy, an over the hill cripple. Angie Dickinson is the female lead who's sexy with a past that borders on outlaw. With the exception of Ricky Nelson the acting is great. Ricky was cast in this movie because he was a hot item in rock & roll, casting simply took advantage of his then current status. Mr. Nelson wasn't an actor & his portrayal of Colorado is one of the most wooden in Hollywood history.
Walter Brennan all but steals the film as Stumpy. He's cantankerous, ornery & resentful; those are his good qualities. Dean Martin as Dude plays a not so unusual role as a drunk who has seen better days; a role he had played before in other movies.
A great supporting cast includes John Russell ("The Lawman" TV series), Gonzalez Gonzalez & Ward Bond ("Wagon Train" TV series). The film is directed by the great Howard Hawks, who had many outstanding movies to his credit.
GREAT MOVIE!!!!!!!

Western sitcom featuring "The Duke"

"Rio Bravo" is considered a classic Western by many but it's hard understand why. It's certainly unusual. The film has a "sitcom" atmosphere with "The Duke", playing the Sheriff of a border town, presiding over a bunch of second-rate actors in a light-hearted story about a bad guy and his gang of thugs trying to spring his brother from jail.

"Rio Bravo" focuses on its characters, the rather banal plot is secondary. There is much gently comic interplay between Wayne and his deputies Walter Brennan, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson. Angie Dickenson as Wayne's love interest is merely a male fantasy though she tries her best. Dino, playing a character called "Dude", even gets an opportunity to croon a couple of western songs. Clearly this is not a film to be taken too seriously.

If you're looking for the "lighter" side of "The Duke" then this film will be of interest. Others may be wondering what all the fuss is about. The film proceeds at a leisurely pace and draws to a pretty flat conclusion.

One of the Dukes' best

Very entertaining. Great chemistry beween Wayne and Dickinson. Excellent supporting cast in Dean Martin and Walter Brennan. Ricky Nelson shines as "Colorado".