Rio Bravo

I don’t have a real handle on Westerns. 

Is it true that there are only seven basic plots?  I’ve seen a smattering of them and love aspects about the genre and tolerate the others. 

Take my viewing of Rio Bravo. There are some great moments, I mean some really great moments, but the story is in no way in any hurry to get to them. I have to take my shoes off, put my feet up and sit back because it’s not going anywhere fast. 

There’s a lot of gun totin’ and posturing for superiority as well as plenty of shootin’ the breeze to build comaraderie. Is this the way guys like their movies? 

Before I really ask that question, I should remind myself how much I love the banter over tea in a costume drama. Maybe they’re not so different after all. The dialogue in Rio Bravo is alive and kicking and keeps me entertained, even if I can’t quite see where it’s heading; or even if it has a destination. 

The character studies are simple and broad, though Angie Dickinson’s Feathers is all over the place and I have to put in some effort to following her lines of thinking. Her decision processes echo Jean Arthur’s Bonnie in Only Angels Have Wings, which is a good thing. “Don’t know why I didn’t get on that boat/stagecoach.” 

This is still my favorite scene, but now I have many more to fondly recall from memory.

To Have and to Have Not

It passes the venetian blinds test, as well as the corrupt system one, but this movie is just too darn hot (and hopeful) to be a noir. The morality level is teetering on flag waiving, sans an impromptu La Marseillaise sing along and even though Bogart's Harry doesn't get to the point of sticking his neck out for the cause, he will to help a beautiful girl. And boy, are they steamy together. The undercurrents and the no-one's-fooling-anyone secret smiles are all there on display. I'm almost too shy to watch, because this first blush of romance shouldn't have to be shared with me.

So instead of two people who's avarice brings about their downfall, this bypasses noir, as together, the heat melts their hard shells and they become putty in each others hands. I'm not going to re-write that! 

My favorite line is when he kisses her back and she says, "It's even better when you help." :D  Who can I give credit to for that? 

Hemingway? 

Faulkner? 

Furthman? 

Whoever you are, bravo!