Rio Lobo

This has to be unique in the history of Hollywood. Leading director and screen legend Howard Hawks loved this film so much that they made three variations of the same movie. By the time Rio Lobo was made, the theme was getting a bit thin, but it's still grand entertainment.

The first part of the film is set during the Civil War with John Wayne pursuing Confederates who are stealing army payrolls. He does catch up with them and the Civil War ends. He befriends his erstwhile enemies and asks for their help in locating the informer who was giving them information.

That all sets the scene for the third variant of Rio Bravo/El Dorado theme. Playing the old codger part is Jack Elam who by now had quit being a screen menace and was doing comedy and doing it well. The two younger sidekicks are the former Confederate enemies, Jorge Rivero and Chris Mitchum.

Rio Lobo had the presence of two stars of the Mexican cinema, Jorge Rivero and Susana Dosamantes. Dosamantes played Mitchum's girlfriend and Jennifer O'Neill played the Angie Dickinson part although Wayne was now deciding he was too old for the romance. She pairs off with Rivero.

In a small bit part is Sherry Lansing who left acting soon after Rio Lobo and really hit the big time, going into the production end of the movie business and becoming head of first 20th Century Fox and later CEO of Paramount.

The two principal villains are Victor French who played the neighbor on Little House On The Prarie and Mike Henry who was one of several screen Tarzans.

It's a good John Wayne western and that takes in a whole lot of territory pilgrim.

As you might have noticed in some of my other reviews of John Wayne films, I am not exactly a huge fan of his later films (during the last 10 years of his life)--though there are exceptions, such as THE SHOOTIST. It's because the films look like they were just churned out--with occasionally silly scripts and Wayne playing more a caricature of himself than acting like he did in earlier films. Plus, in many of these films the supporting cast just seemed second-rate. This movie is a prime example of a second-rate cast. While Wayne is fine, there just isn't a lot of real support from anyone--no ensemble cast of Harry Carey (Junior OR Senior), Ward Bond, James Arness or even John Agar! Now considering some of these people were dead when the film was made, I could certainly understand the decision NOT to put them in the film. But, couldn't they have gotten some better actors instead? The only one worth watching was Jack Elam (who was GREAT) but he was only in the last half of the film and could have used a lot more screen time as the crazy old man. Although I've seen this movie 3 or 4 times, I can't even remember WHO the two supporting Confederate soldiers were or even what they looked like--and that's very unusual for me. The three ladies, though pretty, were also equally bland.

So, overall this is a decent time passer for the average viewer (you can take it or leave it) and important for fans of John Wayne.

OK, put down the film criticism texts and just watch this fun movie for what it is. Feels like a TV movie, but several cuts above one. The opening train robbery sequence is pretty damn breathtaking for a "bad" movie. Bet some action directors have studied that one. "Lobo" is collection of a lot of good Hawks-ian moments recycled, sort of like a retrospective of his bag of tricks ie. "Yer necks broken," etc. The Duke aging, beat up, but still The Duke. Sherry Lansing pretty hot looking in her one role. Jack Elam the scene stealer. Too bad they didn't have the money to cast the other parts better--Mitchum or Martin would have helped a lot. Duke looks a little lonely. Plot sorta strung together, but Hawks was concentrating more on characters in his Bravo/Dorado/Lobo "trilogy." "Smart" dialog, while not up to 30s & 40s banter, still has clever moments by today's standards. Clever rifle bit at the end shows old timers' practical knowledge of things, like weapons. If you like old westerns, you'll like this one. Not among his greatest, but low end Hawks is better than no Hawks. I've seen much thinner stuff win awards.

After an excellent start with the train ambush, the movie loses steam and never really picks up, an unhappy way for a great director like Hawks to bow out. But I did not get too bored and was happy enough to stick it out to the end, even though the writing is too flat and derivative with echos of half a dozen better movies. Rivero lacks the charisma that could have helped to save things but I do not think O'Neill is as bad as some reviewers claim – not expressive enough with her dialogue at this stage but I think you can see the spark that gave her a respectable career in movies. But, as usual, Wayne saves the day. Even in a disappointing movie like this, that enormous screen presence reminds you just what a great star he was.

After the Civil War, Cord McNally (John Wayne) searches for the traitor whose perfidy caused the defeat of McNally's unit, a shipment of gold to be stolen, and the loss of a close friend.

I loved the beginning with the train robbery. Every part of it was executed perfectly, and the first ten minutes or so are probably the highlight of the film. And then the idea that the yanks and rebels could be friends was questionable but nice... and the shift from the war and the heist to tracking down a traitor, great. But it seemed to have a good deal of turns and subplots that were not quite necessary.

The worst was Jennifer O'Neill, who played Shasta. I would gladly give this film another star if it was not for her. Every line was delivered so poorly. I guess Howard Hawks feared John Wayne was too old for the role... I thought Wayne was great. It was O'Neill that was the weak link. She just has no acting ability to speak of.

Also, a special nod to Jack Elam, who was the comic relief. His wit and delivery (almost) make up for O'Neill, and on that count I have revised my 6 stars in 2015 to 7 stars in 2016 upon a second viewing. This may not be the best known Hawks-Wayne collaboration, but it certainly has its strong points.