RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST ARTICLES FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES
By Lee Pfeiffer
Last year, the Harris Poll reported that John Wayne ranked among America's top ten favorite actors. This may seem like an incredible feat for a man who's been six-feet under since 1979, but the Duke's popularity continues to grow as evidenced by the tidal wave of DVD titles and tributes afforded him this year on what would have been his 100th birthday. Unlike many actors of the past, Wayne is not being rediscovered by a new generation. In fact, he's never been out of style. While younger generations have to be educated about the work of legends such as Bogart and Cagney, it seems people become acquainted with Wayne's image while still in the womb. Warner Brothers and Paramount have teamed up for a major Wayne DVD promotion that will put a dent in any collector's wallet if they hope to acquire all the latest releases and it's bound to evoke mixed emotions in many fans. (Henny Youngman once defined "mixed emotions" as having your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new Mercedes.) On the one hand, all of the new releases are "must-haves" for serious collectors. On the other hand, there are so many titles being released simultaneously that not only your eyeballs but your wallet will be overtaxed if you try to absorb them all at once. Tops on the list is WB's "Ultimate Collector's Edition" of Howard Hawks' 1959 classic Rio Bravo. The film is available in several different scaled-down versions, but we'll pretend those don't exist. If you like the movie, there is only one choice and it's the Ultimate Edition.
Hawks was a master director whose soft-spoken, quiet nature endeared him to his actors and crew. He could direct virtually any genre and was responsible for some of the best screwball comedies of all time. He teamed with John Wayne for the 1948 classic Red River, giving Wayne his first real opportunity to stretch as an actor by casting him in the unsympathetic role of a tyrannical cattle baron. By the mid-1950s, however, Hawks was disillusioned with Hollywood. The same industry that he had made millions for had turned its back on him after his costly flop Land of the Pharoes. Hawks went into self-imposed exile in Europe. By the time he returned to America, much of the entertainment landscape had changed. Hawks noted that TV was awash with western series and felt this might be the time to return to the genre on the big screen. He was initially opposed by Jack Warner, who felt that the abundance of TV westerns had diminished audience's enthusiasm for paying to see horse operas in theaters. However, when Hawks promised to deliver John Wayne as the star, he got the green light.
Hawks went against the grain to cast Dean Martin as a drunken deputy sheriff who triest to redeem himself by aiding Wayne in fending off an army of gunslingers trying to spring a prisoner from their jail. Martin had only recently broken up with Jerry Lewis and had widely been expected to be relegated to a lounge act in Vegas. He had given a great performance in The Young Lions, his first major dramatic role, but the film had not been released at the time Hawks signed him for Rio Bravo. His instincts were rewarded by Martin giving a first-rate dramatic performance that helped catapult him into leading man status. Hawks also saw star-making potential in 26 year-old Angie Dickinson, who he felt represented the kind of leading lady associated with his films: tough, wise-cracking and more at home among men than women. Hawks cast Ricky Nelson, then the world's top teenage singing sensation as the soft-spoken but fast-drawing young gunslinger, Colorado.He rounded out the principals by casting perennial favorite Walter Brennan as the cantankerous Stumpy, Wayne's other deputy and comic foil.
The result of Hawks' efforts would prove to be one of the biggest hits of 1959 and a film that regenerated interest in the master director's career. It also helped revitalize the western genre and placed John Wayne back atop the box-office charts after a series of financially disappointing vehicles. The film has a leisurely pace and runs far longer than a standard western. Yet, it is compelling throughout thanks to the richly-drawn characters and the genuine chemistry between all cast members. For this reviewer, Rio Bravo represents John Wayne at his cinematic peak. He was fifty years old and had refined the Wayne image and myth to perfection. He carries himself with the grace and ease of a man comfortable in his own skin. Clad in the "lucky hat" he wore since Stagecoach (albeit with the brim turned up), his familiar red shirt and vest, Wayne makes you believe he really is the sheriff of this troubled town. Wayne and Hawks were intrigued by the storyline and felt this film was their answer to High Noon, which they both hated for showing the sheriff as a panicky figure and the townspeople who refuse to help him as cowards who undermined the image of the brave frontiersman.
Rio Bravo works so well on so many levels that they are impossible to catalog here. From Dimitri Tiomkin's wonderful score to the abundance of great character actors, it's a riveting experience from beginning to end. It's so riveting, in fact, that Hawks would virtually remake the film in 1966 as El Dorado and again in 1970 with Rio Lobo, both starring Wayne. The Duke once said that the storylines of his films with Hawks were so similar that when the director would pitch a new film to him, he would saracastically ask if he played the sheriff or the drunk this time around. Some years ago, I was chatting with actor Christopher Lee in London and discussing old movies. We both agreed that the true star of Rio Bravo was Walter Brennan, who steals every scene as the grumpy deputy, Stumpy. Lee pointed out that in today's film industry the film's leading men would be loathe to relegate the best lines of the film and most of the laughs to a character actor. Yet, the film works so well because Wayne and Martin clearly adored and respected Brennan- and the film is all the better for it. (This discussion ultimately led to a Walter Brennan imitation contest between Christopher Lee and myself that I concede the legendary British actor won, hand's down - much to my amazement1)
Warner Bros. Ultimate Editon DVD of the film is packed with outstanding features including:
- Commemoration: Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo a wondeful and informative new documentary about the making of the film that is loaded with rare production stills. The documentary also features insights from directors Peter Bogdanovich, John Carpenter (who remade the movie as Assault on Precinct 13) and Walter Hill as well as Angie Dickinson, who is sadly the last remaining principal player
- Old Tucson: Where the Legends Walk another new documentary that examines the Arizona movie studio set in the desert where so many great films have been made. I visited there some years ago and can highly recommend that any lover of westerns take the same pilgrimage. It's as close to taking a time machine to the old west as you're likely to experience.
- Newly restored picture and audio
- Feature length commentary by critic Richard Schickel and John Carpenter
- Schickel's 2001 documentary, The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks that features rare, late-career interviews with the director and provides a fascinating look at the influence of his career on the film industry
- Wayne trailer gallery. This is rather skimpy, considering the wealth of films Duke made for the studio. It features the trailer for Bravo and a handful of rare, over-the-top trailers from Wayne's ten-gallon hat days in the 1930s.
- Reproductions of the film's original 8 card lobby set- a great touch!
- Reproduction of the movie's original pressbook that was sent to theaters with ideas about how to promote the movie.
- Best of all, a complete reprint of the 1959 Dell comic book tie-in in which the artist takes amusing artistic license (The Walter Brennan character has a handle-bar mustache!)
I have only one gripe and it has nothing to do with the quality of the release. None of the new features provide any recognition or credit for the people who created them. As someone who has toiled to bring documentaries to DVD, I like to recognize the individuals who create these features - but the Bravo set seems to follow a disturbing trend among the major studios of simply providing the logo of the production company that did the work. No individual camera people, editors, musicians, etc are credited. C'mon, guys- would it be asking to much to provide these folks with the dignity of a screen credit? It wouldn't add a dime to the production budget. On the Rio Bravo set, the creative team behind the new features must be feeling as neglected as Whistler's father.
We've seen a tremendous number of great DVD releases from the major studios so far this year, but Rio Bravo is certainly at the top of the list. Don't miss adding it to your collection.
ORDER RIO BRAVO DVD DISCOUNTED FROM AMAZON!