4K News #360: Rio Bravo (1959).

Directed by Howard Hawks
Starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Claud Akins, John Russell

Warner Bros. is bringing their new restoration of Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959) to 4K disc in July. Haven’t seen any info on a new DVD or Blu-Ray. This is my favorite Western and it has never been all that stellar-looking on video, so I’m really stoked about this. Hope and pray it doesn’t have that sickly yellow tint that infects so many restorations of older films lately. 

Thanks to Dick Vincent for the news.

Read Full Post »

Jim Ridley On Rio Bravo.

Nashville Scene used to boast a film writer named Jim Ridley. He’s about my age and he passed away a few years ago. Came across a compilation of his writing over the weekend called People Only Die Of Love In The Movies. In it, there’s his short piece on Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959).

You may know by now that Rio Bravo is my favorite Western. I’m not gonna say it’s the best necessarily, but if I was headed to the electric chair and I got to watch one Western before they threw the switch, that’d be the one I’d pick (and not because of its long-ish running time).

Anyway, Mr. Ridley nailed Rio Bravo. What makes it special. What it is about it that’s so different. After reading his piece, I thought I would’ve loved to have met him for coffee or lunch somewhere just to geek out on Rio Bravo. That woulda really been something.

Here’s a couple gems from his review (from Nashville Scene, November 2, 2006):

“After the big-budget thud of Land Of The Pharaohs, Howard Hawks emerged from a three-year sabbatical, including a stay in Paris and a purposeful study of TV drama, to create his 1959 rifle opera: a laid-back yet hard-headed response to the sanctimonious High Noon — which pissed off the director because no lawman worth his badge would ask civilians to risk their hides doing his job. The result is an irresistible ode to loyalty, cool under fire and masculine honor — which in the Hawks universe extends even to Angie Dickinson’s stand-up saloon girl.”

“Perhaps the most purely enjoyable Western ever made, Rio Bravo only deepens with age and repeated viewing, right down to the genial juxtaposition of Martin’s slouch and Wayne’s saunter. It’s doubtful another American movie has ever taken so much interest in the way its characters walk — or understood why it matters.”

Mr. Ridley, I’m sure sorry we never got to talk Rio Bravo. Would’ve been a blast.

Read Full Post »

Making Movies: Rio Bravo (1959).

Came across this in an old issue of American Cinematographer. John Wayne watches Dean Martin shoot one of his scenes in Rio Bravo (1959).

And another. This time, it’s Wayne with Ward Bond.

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns DVD News #216: The Black Whip (1956).

Directed by Charles Marquis Warren
Starring Hugh Marlowe, Coleen Gray, Adele Mara, Angie Dickinson, Sheb Wooley, Strother Martin

There’s been a lot of buzz around here lately about The Hollywood Scrapheap, a “salvage operation for Hollywood’s most neglected movies.” Their selection is terrific, and reports of the quality have been encouraging.

I was excited to learn they have The Black Whip (1956)— a Regalscope picture from Charles Marquis Warren, shot by Joseph Biroc — listed among their upcoming releases. They’re promising a chance to see its full Regalscope framing. Can’t wait!

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns Blu-ray News #212: Gun The Man Down (1956).

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Written by Burt Kennedy
Starring James Arness, Emile Meyer, Robert J. Wilke, Harry Carey, Jr., Michael Ernest, Frank Fenton, Angie Dickinson, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez

John Wayne’s Batjac Productions made some terrific smaller films in the mid-50s. Gun The Man Down (1956) is one of them.

Burt Kennedy followed his script for Seven Men From Now (1956), the first of the Scott/Boetticher/Kennedy movies, with this solid revenge tale. James Arness, under contract to Batjac, got the lead. Andrew V. McLaglen directed — this was his first picture. Angie Dickinson was given an “introducing” credit, even though she’d appeared in a handful of things, including Tennessee’s Partner (1955). And William H. Clothier made it all look like a million bucks.

It’s coming to Blu-ray in July from Olive Films. Like anything written by Kennedy in the 50s, this is highly recommended.

Read Full Post »

50s Westerns Blu-ray News #173: Rio Bravo (1959) Returns To Blu-ray And Brings Cahill (1973) And The Train Robbers (1973) With It.

Rio Bravo (1959)
Directed by Howard Hawks
Starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond

My favorite Western, Rio Bravo (1959), has been missing from Blu-ray for some time now (I’d heard it had something to do with music or story rights). Was really happy to find out it was being reissued. However, I’d heard the old Blu-ray wasn’t anything to write home about, and there’s no news yet on if this new edition is remastered or not (I’m assuming not). A new 2K transfer was done not long ago, but there’s been no mention of it for the Blu-ray.

Regardless, Rio Bravo is a terrific movie and certainly worth adding to your high-definition shelf. When it arrives June 2, I’d love to toast my copy with a bit of Duke bourbon (haven’t located it in North Carolina yet).

The Train Robbers (1973)
Directed by Burt Kennedy
Starring John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson

Also coming to Blu-ray are a couple of later Wayne pictures. The Train Robbers (1973) is a lot of fun, Burt Kennedy at the top of his game. Wayne and Ben Johnson are terrific together, of course. As a kid, the train stuck in the sand, on the big Panavision screen, was a striking image that really stuck with me.

Cahill: U.S. Marshal (1973)

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Starring John Wayne, George Kennedy, Neville Brand, Clay O’Brian, Marie Windsor, Harry Carey Jr., Paul Fix, Hank Worden

In some ways, Cahill: U.S. Marshal (1973) isn’t a very good movie. But as a John Wayne extended-family reunion, it can’t be beat (take a quick look at that cast). Wayne’s interplay with Neville Brand is worth the price of admission, and it’s always good to see Marie Windsor in anything.

These three titles are available separately (highly recommended, at a great price) from Warners, and as part of a John Wayne Westerns Collection set.

Thanks to Dick Vincent for the tip.

Read Full Post »

“Hey, Dude! How Do Ya Like Them Apples?” Rio Bravo (1959) Heads To The National Registry.

Who would’ve thought? The government actually got something right. Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959) has been selected for preservation in the Library Of Congress. That means their board has deemed it “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

We coulda told them that years ago.

Thanks for the news, Blake.

Read Full Post »

Screening(s): A Weekend Of Wayne.

The Cary, a newly-renovated theater in downtown Cary (naturally), North Carolina, has put together a weekend of John Wayne pictures, which includes many of his best. If anybody’s planning on going to some of these, let me know.

All of a sudden, I’m kinda glad I live here.

The Searchers (1956)
Thursday, November 6, 7 PM

Donovan’s Reef (1963)
Thursday, November 6, 9:30 PM

Rio Bravo (1959)
Friday, November 7, 7 PM

Stagecoach (1939)
Friday, November 7, 9:30 PM

Red River (1948)
Saturday, November 8, 7 PM

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Saturday, November 8, 9:30 PM

The Alamo (1960)
Sunday, November 9, 2 PM

The Cary
122 E. Chatham Street
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 462-2051

Thanks for the tip, Jennifer.

Read Full Post »

DVD Review: Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend (1957).

Directed by Richard L. Bare
Produced by Richard Whorf
Written by John Tucker Battle and D.D. Beauchamp
Director Of Photography: Carl Guthrie, ASC
Art Director: Stanley Fleischer
Music by Roy Webb
Film Editior: Clarence Kolster, ACE

CAST: Randolph Scott (Capt. Buck Devlin), James Craig (Ep Clark), Angie Dickinson (Priscilla King), Dani Crayne (Nell Garrison), James Garner (Sgt. John Maitland), Gordon Jones (Pvt. Wilbur “Will” Clegg), Trevor Bardette (Sheriff Bob Massey), Don Beddoe (Mayor Sam Pelley), Myron Healey (Rafe Sanders), John Alderson (Clyde Walters), Harry Harvey, Sr. (Elam King), Robert Warwick (Brother Abraham).

__________

Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend (1957) sticks out like a sore thumb in Randolph Scott’s filmography. It sits right in the middle of the Ranown cycle (coming between The Tall T and Decision At Sundown) — a cheap little black-and-white contract killer shot on the backlot in 19 days by a crew (and sometimes cast) more accustomed to TV than features. It’s known more today for the early work it gave Angie Dickinson and James Garner than for Scott’s participation.

James Garner: “The movie couldn’t decide if it was a comedy or a drama, maybe because [director Richard L.] Bare had gotten his start directing the ‘Joe McDoakes’ comedy shorts in the 1940s.”

Bare made a name for himself in shorts like the McDoakes pictures, directed a few features, then really found his place in early TV. He directed episodes of both Cheyenne and Maverick (he discovered James Garner in a bar on Sunset), and would go on to direct everything from The Twilight Zone to Green Acres (over 150 episodes of that one).

Richard L. Bare: “I was glad to see that my few years in TV had not knocked me out of the box for feature assignments. It was a story of three ex-soldiers who dressed up like preachers to avenge the death of Scott’s brother.”

The soldiers are Scott, a pre-Maverick James Garner and Gordon Jones, and their journey takes to them to the rather lawless prairie town of Medicine Bend. Ep Clark (James Craig) runs the town and quickly winds up in Randy’s sites.

Richard L. Bare: “We were shooting a scene that called for the three of them [Scott, Garner, Gordon Jones] to swim in a lake [on the WB backlot] and come to shore. Scott said to me, ‘I’m not going in that water.’ I said, ‘Randy, the other guys are going to do it.’ He said, ‘Not me, not in that filth.’ So what I did was put Scott’s double in the water, and in the foreground I put Scott out of view behind a huge log, and when I called action, a prop man dumped fresh water on Scott, and Garner, Jones and Scott’s double swam to shore and ran to the log, and Scott’s double disappeared behind the log and Scott, all wet, popped up. And it worked just fine.”

It’s a bit convoluted and goofy, and often played for humor. The action scenes are well done, and the film has the look and feel of a longer-than-usual Warner Bros. TV Western, which works just fine. Garner’s inexperience shows (“…my acting still wasn’t very good”). He lacks that supreme cool that came later. Angie Dickinson was two years away from Rio Bravo (1959), and comparing the two films, it’s amazing how much she developed as an actress during that time. (How much of that was Hawks’ doing?) Randolph Scott is, of course, Randolph Scott, and he handles the lighter, humorous stuff with ease. As he masquerades as a Quaker, his delivery makes the most of each line of dialogue. It’s fun to be in on his ruse.

Warner Archive has given Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend a level of respect it’s probably never received before. It looks great, framed to the proper 1.85, with the contrast dialed-in just right. The audio’s got plenty of punch, letting Roy Webb’s score really shine. You might come to this one with high curiosity and low expectations. My advice: enjoy it for what it is. Recommended.

SOURCES: The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur; Confessions Of A Hollywood Director by Richard L. Bare; Last Of The Cowboy Heroes by Robert Nott

Read Full Post »

Happy Birthday, Angie Dickinson.

Here’s wishing Angie Dickinson a happy birthday. Of course, I’m gonna offer up a photo of her on the set of my favorite Western, Rio Bravo (1959).

Howard Hawks gives the film such a cool, friendly vibe, and the performances are so good, that I feel like I’ve known its characters all my life.

Read Full Post »