Rio Bravo
2h 21m
Directed by Howard Hawks • 1959 • United States
Starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson
Both one of the essential westerns and one of the all-time great hangout movies, this classic tale of friendship and camaraderie is pure Howard Hawks in its wonderfully relaxed, loose-limbed look at a band of unlikely heroes thrown together by fate and united in a dangerous pursuit. There’s a showdown at Rio Bravo when courageous Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne) throws the brother of evil cattle baron Nathan Burdette in jail for murder. When Burdette’s men lay siege to his jailhouse, Chance must hold on until the arrival of a U.S. Marshal with the help of his drunken deputy Dude (Dean Martin), cranky old man Stumpy (Walter Brennan), greenhorn gunfighter Colorado (Ricky Nelson), and sharp-witted gambler Feathers (Angie Dickinson).