Rio Bravo

This is so much like El Dorado, a subsequent film by Howard Hawks, that it can be hard to tell them apart. John Wayne is the sheriff, Ricky Nelson is the young gun who joins him, and Dean Martin is his old friend, a drunk. The problem is that these parts were played by James Caan and Robert Mitchum in the first one, and let’s face it, Ricky Nelson is no James Caan, and Robert Mitchum is lots better than Dino. It reaches a height of ludicrousness when little Ricky (he was only 17) sang a song. He was a teen heartthrob, and cast only for that reason. But I’m sure he brought in a lot of money at the box office. See El Dorado instead.