John Wayne’s Patriotic Return to Westerns: Rio Bravo
In 1959, John Wayne marked a significant resurgence in his Western movie career with Rio Bravo. Following The Searchers, directed by John Ford, Wayne had attempted to diversify from the genre, but his subsequent films did not achieve the same level of acclaim.
Responding to ‘High Noon’
Wayne’s return to the Wild West, collaborating with director Howard Hawks, came in the form of Rio Bravo, a direct counterpoint to the 1952 film High Noon. High Noon had been interpreted by some as an allegory for the Hollywood blacklist and the targeting of suspected communists within the film industry.
Wayne considered High Noon to be “un-American,” and Hawks reportedly disliked the portrayal of the sheriff seeking assistance from numerous individuals. In contrast, Rio Bravo presented Wayne’s character as a fearless and dedicated lawman who selectively enlists only the most competent allies.
Plot Synopsis and Cast
Rio Bravo, featuring Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson alongside Wayne, centers on a Texan sheriff who arrests a rancher for murder. The sheriff must then detain the prisoner in jail until the arrival of the U.S. Marshal. Throughout this period, he and his small group, consisting of a recovering alcoholic, a young gunfighter, and a man with a physical disability, must defend the jail against the prisoner’s gang.
Angie Dickinson on Working with John Wayne
Angie Dickinson played the lead female role, Feathers. At 27, she starred opposite the 51-year-old Wayne. This age difference sparked some critical commentary at the time. Dickinson, now 92, has reflected fondly on her experience working with Wayne, who passed away in 1979.
In a past interview with Culture Map Austin, Dickinson stated that John Wayne is the primary reason Rio Bravo remains relevant decades later. She elaborated, “It’s one of the roles where he is so different, in that he’s, how can we say, adorable? He’s not defending the fort, so to speak. I think it’s a side of him we didn’t see in a lot of his movies. He’s enjoying this young woman. And while he’s enchanted with her, he’s also adorable with Walter Brennan. And he’s charming and loving with Dean Martin, and with Ricky Nelson. So we see a warmth and a cuteness about him that we don’t see in many of his other movies.”
Discussing her portrayal of a strong female character who challenges Wayne’s character, Dickinson commented, “Oh, it was in the writing. The writing is not only underrated but ignored in this movie, because it looks so natural. You forget those words were all written [by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett]. It was romantic. Billy Wilder called Rio Bravo a suspense movie, but the suspense was also there in the romance.”
Addressing the Age Gap
Dickinson, whose legs were famously insured by Lloyds of London for publicity purposes after being cast, also addressed the age difference between herself and Wayne. When asked if it hindered the portrayal of a believable on-screen romance, she responded, “No, it never entered my mind. It just didn’t occur to any of us. I think it was a maturity that we all had, that [was] what was most important. The age didn’t matter because we were all mature people. I was never an ingénue.”
Wayne and Ward Bond’s Final Film Together
Rio Bravo marked the 22nd and final on-screen collaboration between Wayne and Ward Bond. Bond passed away from a heart attack at the age of 57 in 1960. Years later, footage from Rio Bravo, along with other films, was incorporated as flashback sequences in Wayne’s final movie, The Shootist (1976).