From what I've learned, Rio Bravo (1959) was a film made in response to High Noon (1952) - a film that's regarded as one of the all-time great movies. It's an interesting debate in the ideological conservative versus liberal realm. I don't know if it was a John Wayne vs. Gary Cooper "showdown" but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Film and politics converged in the 1950s and the result was interesting to say the least.
I thoroughly enjoyed Rio Bravo (Walter Brennan was a joy to watch) and the musical scene with Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson in particular left an impression. In today's context, it's difficult to ever imagine a musical scene in movies without it feeling out of place or downright lame. Although, if we tried hard enough maybe we could. Singing in film was a norm in the so-called golden age (Classic Silver Age) of film.
Rio Bravo is among the greatest of Western films and one of its enduring allure is its ability to leave you smiling.
I was 11-12 when I saw Rio Bravo with my best friend of those days, and I assure you that we took the movie very seriously. No smiling at all. It was religious. Of course we were boys and Italian. No idea how that movie was/is perceived in North America. We were a bit moulded by it maybe. We adored John Wayne the Big Hero (I guess more than Gary Cooper), and Dean Martin the Redeemed Hero, and of course we identified ourselves with the young man that played the guitar.
ReplyDeleteWe kept repeating later what John Wayne said of him: “E’ talmente in gamba che non ha bisogno di dimostrarlo.” Of corse they were speaking Italian. No idea about the original words.
We liked the deep values of conservative America. I still do. But 1968 and the Vietnam war arrived, and Reagan and Bush, and things became more complicated. Not for my friend though. He is still there, in his John Wayne phase in some way.
I din not see Rio Bravo but I did see High Noon, in English and much later in French (Le train sifflera trois fois). That theme song is still with me.
ReplyDeleteWell, you can't be expected to understand politics at 11.
ReplyDeleteInteresting the routes you took - he staying and you taking a different course.
PC, watching a western in French? Would that be in Quebecois? Heh.
"with the young man that played the guitar."
ReplyDeleteThat man would be Ricky Nelson who died tragically in 1985. I still remember that for some reason. I was 13.
No Commentator, way back then all dubbing was done in France, nah!
ReplyDeleteI checked Ricky Nelson. Yes, the poor guy, good actor and singer, died in a plane crash.
ReplyDeleteFrankly I don't like the idea of assimilating those great Westerns and actors to politics. It’s like polluting dreams. Although this is so silly, I know there is a relation, even direct. Some actors like John Wayne and James Stewart being staunch supporters of anti-communist action, it was sorta clear even for me at that time they were defenders of traditional American values, what now I would label as Republican. I’ve read Stewart eventually became even a spy for Hoover's FBI.
(The big fight at that time was war on communism. Probably even John Lennon was killed for that reason.) I recently saw Stewart on a movie on the history of FBI. Recently I mostly see old movies. I liked both actors *very* much.
I am far from a conservative person, and some of my writings are a bit … avant-gard, I have no better word, but I accept different views with which confrontation is particularly interesting. I appreciate honesty, no matter the ideas.
I completely agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI know Wayne and Stewart tend to get ridiculed by smug liberals but they were true to their values - like Ted Williams the great baseball player.