What a trivial and superficial story. And the phoney acting! Compare this to a Italo-Western -

This Western movie works in large part because of the interaction of the main three characters: John Chance the town sheriff, Dude as an alcoholic cowboy trying to get clean, and Stumpy as an elderly cripple who serves in the sheriff's office. They argue and spar throughout the movie, adding much comic relief to an otherwise conventional story.Joe Burnett is a powerful local rancher who kills an innocent bystander during a fight he provoked, and is arrested and taken to the town jail for it, where the sheriff and the deputized Dude and Stumpy hold him in wait for the marshal. They hold off the rancher's brother and his hired hands, while in the meantime an old friend of Chance comes to town with his group, as well as a woman named Feathers who is a card player and possible cheater. The questions are whether Chance and company can hold off the hired hands, and whether Dude can stay clean and competent as he withdraws from his alcoholism, and how good is Stumpy with his health problems anyway. Also what is the story with Colorado, the young man who came with the supply train, and will he get involved? Not until after watching the movie did I learn about this movie being a deliberate answer to "High Noon", where that sheriff kept going to the townspeople begging them for help, only they were too cowardly. Chance is different; he refuses outside help but gets it anyway. A more convincing scenario when you think about it.

The Howard Hawks' answer to "High Noon" (also great, go check it out!). Its a great tale about male comradeship, professionalism and standing your ground against injustice, even when the odds are against you.The plot is fairly simple: The local sheriff (portrayed by John Wayne) locks up the criminal Joe Burdette whose brother Nathan Burdette, a rich and ruthless rancher, promises everyone who is willing to get his brother out of jail a good prize, resulting in the local sheriff department practically being under siege by the local thugs. Sheriff John T. Chance's job is then to hold out with his two deputies, a recovering alcoholic (brilliantly portrayed by Dean Martin) and an old man talkative man with a limp (portrayed by Walter Brennan, he adds a lot of comic relief into the story) until the Marshall arrives to take Joe Burdette with him. Later they get help from another young gun man (portrayed by Ricky Nelson, who's a good addition to the trio). Chance has to enforce law and order all while dealing with his deputies alcoholism, with non professionals offering their help and with a mysterious woman who later becomes his love interest (portrayed by Angie Dickinson, in a typical hawksian woman role).What makes this movie is so great is the great dialogue, strong performances (especially Dean Martin and John Wayne), likable characters and the great portrayal of their interactions and relationships with each other. You end up really caring about them and see them deal with their personal struggles, like you would with characters in a long running TV show, the only difference being that it happens in 2 and a half hours without feeling rushed. There are several small subplots that all add up in the end in a satisfying way, feel relevant and bring more depth into the characters.In my opinion Howard Hawks' masterpiece with a strong message. Stand your ground and do what you believe is right, even if it seems impossible. And if no one is fit to help, then do it yourself. No one is responsible for your actions, except for yourself. Good can overcome evil.One of my all time favorites and in my opinion the best western of all time. Highly recommended. A must see for people who are interested in westerns, movies from the 50's, Howard Hawks and/or John Wayne. 10/10

I don't get it! I really don't.This film has got to be one of the most tired and lethargic big-budget Westerns ever produced this side of the goddamn Rio Grande. I ain't kiddin'! Like, how could this film ever get away with being so over-rated for all of these years? Everything about Rio Bravo was tired-tired-tired, including the 52 year-old John Wayne, who looked like he was about ready to nod off at any minute in this one.At 140 l-o-n-g minutes, I must say that Rio Bravo definitely pushed the limits when testing one's overall patience and tolerance. I believe that at least 30 minutes could've easily been cut from Rio Bravo's running time and no one would've noticed the diff, one way, or the other.Considering the so-called "star-power" that was jam-packed into Rio Bravo, you'd honestly think that this film would've just snapped, crackled, and popped with pure "Western"-style vitality and vibrancy. But, no, sadly enough, Rio Bravo was so tired and slow-paced that, at times, it got mighty close to falling flat on its face.The unusual thing about Rio Bravo was that (since 95% of its action took place indoors) it lacked an authentic, Western-type, outdoor adventure to hold the viewer's interest. This struck me as very odd and this was the main factor that contributed to Rio Bravo's tired and somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere.Naturally with Rio Bravo being the tired Western production that it was, it could only be expected to feature a tired romance, as well. Right? This tediously tiresome love affair took place between 2 people who were, quite obviously, 30 years apart in age. And because there was no on-screen chemistry, whatsoever, happening between these 2 actors (Wayne & Dickinson), the whole affair was just plain tired to the 10th power, going, pretty much, nowhere, fast.Rio Bravo's highlight (if you really wanna call it that) was the duet of sorts that was sung between Pop Idol, Ricky Nelson and Swooner-Crooner, Dean Martin. Needless to say, this particular rendition of the ballad "My Rifle, My Bow and Me", which was effortlessly sung by these 2 singers was very much like the rest of Rio Bravo - T-I-R-E-D!Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.... What more can I say!?