The Genesis of Rio Bravo (2)
Repeated examinations of these television series revealed that almost all of them open with a gripping epilogue powerful enough to hold the audience when it breaks for commercials. This was one of the elements that Hawks tried to employ in the opening scene of Rio Bravo.
Kane's response is self-contained, quite conscious, and nonviolent. In contrast, Chance's response is the opposite: intuitive, somewhat primitive, and with lax inhibition, warranting Dude's reminder about the depth of violence.
Hawks wanted a fresh start and focused on a western, feeling he knew the western best, despite having done only two westerns by that time: Red River (1948) and Big Sky (1952). It has often been noted that Rio Bravo came to life as a reaction to the very famous and successful movie High Noon (1952) by Fred Zinnemann. Hawks not only disliked the movie but also frequently expressed his displeasure. His objections were predominantly focused on principles and individuality, themes that are depicted in Rio Bravo. He said, “I didn't think a good sheriff was going to go running around town like a chicken with his head off asking for help, and finally, his Quaker wife had to save him." Carl Foreman, who was liberal in his social and political views, wrote the script for High Noon. In fact, it was felt that the movie was a reaction to McCarthyism, how a relentless and revengeful power would broadly intimidate people and suppress their civil rights. There is another movie that provokes an almost identical response from Hawks, 3:10 to Yuma (1957), "The sheriff caught a prisoner. The prisoner taunted him and made him perspire and worry and everything by saying, "Wait until my friends catch up with you." I said, "That is a lot of
nonsense; the sheriff would say "you better hope your friends do not catch up with you
'cause you will be the first man to die."
A distinct feature Furthman brought with him was his vast memory for scenes he had done in the past, and Hawks was extremely good at taking advantage of this to touch off some of his own scenes.
Hawks uses this line twice in Rio Bravo, first when Dude (Dean Martin) tells Nathan Burdette (John Russell) that if anything happens, Joe (Claude Akins) will be the first to be killed, then Chance tells Nathan Burdette again that if anything happens around the jail, Joe is gonna get accidentally shot. 3:10 to Yuma, based on a story by Elmore Leonard, had unmistakable similarities to High Noon. In both films, an individual with moral obligations must stand up against a criminal in a society that has become too vanquished to defend itself. Additionally, there is an obvious resemblance in relationships between Cooper, Heflin, and their wives.
Comparing two scenes from High Noon and Rio Bravo clearly highlights the contrasting points of view in the movies. In High Noon, Marshal Kane (Gary Cooper), quite desperate in his search to find help, returns to the office, where his mere disappointment breaks him.
down to the point that he cries.
His objections were predominantly focused on principles and individuality, themes that are depicted in Rio Bravo.
In Rio Bravo, at the end of the scene where Dude shoots the Wheelers' killer, Chance, again woeful of being bottled up, out of his utter angst, ferociously beats one of the men with his rifle, saying, Nobody runs in here either." Indicating he had lied at the beginning. Kane's response is self-contained, quite conscious, and nonviolent. In contrast, Chance's response is the opposite: intuitive, somewhat primitive, and with lax inhibition, warranting Dude's reminder about the depth of violence.
Carl Foreman, who was liberal in his social and political views, wrote the script for High Noon. In fact, many people felt that the movie reacted to McCarthyism.
As for the script, Hawks had few options. He had not done any movie in four years and could not withstand another flop like the last film, so he decided to work with two confident writers who had worked with them before, Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett. Furthman had been quite pivotal in the scripts of several of his major successful movies, including To Have and Have Not (1944) and The Big Sleep (1946). He seemed to be very influential in creating the so-called Hawksian woman, a character fully developed in To Have and Have Not and Only Angels Have Wings (1939), marking their first collaboration. A distinct feature Furthman brought with him was his vast memory for scenes he had done in the past, and Hawks was extremely good at taking advantage of this to touch off some of his own scenes.
Comments