Home Tonight: A Western Masterpiece With John Wayne That We’ll Never Get Tired Of Watching Again And Again

If you love Westerns, you’ve probably already seen this classic of the genre, a kind of standard measure directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne: Rio Bravo. But the good news is, if you’re subscribed to the Max platform, you can watch it again and again!

The story is very simple: Sheriff John T. Chance and his two deputies (one suffering from alcoholism and the other elderly and disabled) must stop the brother of a rich local rancher, despite pressure from the rancher’s men, before the arrival of a federal sheriff. They will be helped by a young gunman named Colorado Ryan, who has just arrived in the city with a caravan.

If the casting caused a lot of talk at the time, it is because one of the assistants is played by Dean Martin, who, despite his important role and a very good performance in Comme un torrent, was still considered a comedy actor (he began in a duet with Jerry Lewis, with whom worked for many years) and the second young rocker Ricky Nelson (who plays Colorado). The producer also thought of Elvis Presley for the role.

This urban camera, which does not have to bother with the usual spectacle of chases and shootings, uses this removed time to explore the psychology of the main characters, because Hawke, faced with the revival of the Western series, understands that the public of that era focuses less on the story than on the characters. That’s why the film, for example, takes time to explore Dean Martin’s character’s redemption arc and struggle with alcoholism, or the complexity of Angie Dickinson’s Feathers.

The theatrical success of Rio Bravo led John Wayne to turn to Westerns, and he did little else until the end of his career nearly two decades later. Dean Martin will get the recognition he’s been missing, starring in the lead roles, and Ricky Nelson will receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Newcomer. Not bad for one movie!