John Wayne acted opposite his fair share of dynamic and talented female leads. But according to the Duke himself, no co-star impressed him more than Angie Dickinson. Although she was 24 years Wayne’s junior, Dickinson hit it off with the legend of cinematic Westerns immediately. She first met the Duke while portraying his onscreen wife, during his cameo playing himself in the 1958 comedy movieI Married a Woman. The pair would later act alongside each other in Melville Shavelson’s 1966 war movieCast a Giant Shadow. However, neither of these collaborations can compare with the legendaryRio Bravo.
Howard Hawks’ best moviehas only grown in stature since it came out at the end of the 1950s. This classic Western serves to demonstrate that no one could conjure up onscreen chemistry with John Wayne quite like Dickinson could. As Walter Brennan’s character observes in the movie’s closing moments, “Sheriff’s got himself a girl.”The actor’s gruff and surly cowboy persona didn’t usually suit romantic endingstomost John Wayne movies.It’s to Dickinson’s credit that she was able to make it work inRio Bravo, although the actor herself is more inclined to praise Wayne’s own performance.
John Wayne’s Rio Bravo Trilogy, Ranked
John Wayne Western Rio Bravo kicked off an unofficial trilogy of movies including El Dorado and Rio Lobo; here are the three ranked worst to best.
Rio Bravo Was John Wayne & Angie Dickinson’s Best Movie Together
It’s Also One Of The Best Western Movies Ever Made
There’s no question thatRio Bravofeatures Dickinson’s best appearance in a movie alongside the Duke. Yet it’s important to place their collaboration in context. WhileDickinson’s gutsy and often scene-stealing performancebeyond her years as Feathers is certainly a highlight of the film, it’s far from the whole story.Rio Bravois not only one of John Wayne’s best Westerns, but is widely considered one of thegreatest Western movies ever made. It even inspired a trilogy, as Howard Hawks went on to direct two adaptations ofRio Bravo’s core concept with 1966’sEl Doradoand 1970’sRio Lobo.
Dickinson’s character doesn’t appear until the second act, by which time we’ve already been wowed byRio Bravo’s brilliant opening scene, which was a key influence on Quentin Tarantino’s careerin cinema three decades later. Once the classic saloon bar brawl is out of the way, Wayne and his castmates Dickinson, Brennan, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson get down to business, drawing a fairly rudimentary plotline into one of the most versatile and entertaining Westerns of all time. It balances action, romance, and true drama, all anchored by incredible performances across the board.
Why John Wayne & Angie Dickinson Worked So Well Together On-Screen
The Pair Loved Working With Each Other
While many assume that the Duke’s favorite female lead wasMaureen O’Hara, who starred with Wayne in five movies altogether, his own words tell a different story. Michael Munn’s bookJohn Wayne: The Man Behind the Mythquotes him as stating, “We were damned lucky to have Angie Dickinson. She had beauty, sex appeal, and brains.” Wayne goes on to pay Dickinson the ultimate professional compliment, by adding, “She was one of the best actresses I ever worked with.” It’s clear thatthe Duke enjoyed working with Dickinson, which elevated his performance when the pair were on-screen together.
Meanwhile, Dickinson was equally effusive in her praise for Wayne 13 years ago, when she toldAustin CultureMapthat the actor was “adorable” when he worked with her. “I think it’s a side of him we didn’t see in a lot of his movies,” she explained, referring to his character’s romance with Feathers inRio Bravo. Dickinson has a point, because few other actors, if any, were able to bring that side out of the Duke like she was. While Wayne had experience with romantic comedies prior toRio Bravo, he’s at his very best opposite Dickinson.
How Rio Bravo Compares To John Wayne & Angie Dickinson’s Other Movies Together
It’s The Movie They Shared The Most Screen Time In
While John Wayne and Angie Dickinson may have worked together on three movies,Rio Bravois far and away the movie in which they share the most screen time.Rio Bravosees the pair exercise incredible chemistry together as their characters develop a romantic interest in one another, which again was a rarity for the veteran actor typically known for playing gruff gunslingers. Comparatively speaking, their time together onI Married A WomanandCast A Giant Shadowamounted to little more than cameos.
John Wayne and director Howard Hawks made five movies together, including the entireRio Bravotrilogy and the widely celebrated action-adventure Western classicRed River.
Rio Bravois also easily the highest-rated moviethat Wayne and Dickinson have ever starred in together. While Rio Bravo stands as a benchmark film in the Western genre,I Married A Womanamounts to little more than a forgettable, if not outright bad comedy.Cast A Giant Shadowis a somewhat ambitious biopic starring Kirk Douglas in which Wayne and Dickinson have guest star roles, but it’s also regarded as a thin, unimpressive movie that comes up short of its title and subject, the real life of Colonel David “Mickey” Marcus who led the Israeli Defense Forces in 1948.
How Rio Bravo Holds Up 66 Years After The John Wayne & Angie Dickinson Western Came Out
It Remains One Of The Most Highly-Regarded Classic Westerns
Rio Bravohas aged extremely well, as contemporary critics appear to regard it even higher now than the general sentiment upon its release. TheAmerican Film Institutenominated it as a Top 10 Western in 2008, and in 2014 it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress en route to its selection for the National Film Registry, an honor reserved for only the most impactful movies in American cinema. Its influence has been seen in countless Westerns since, and John Carpenter even cited it as the inspiration for his 1976 classicAssault On Precinct 13.
April 4th, 1959
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Critics and moviegoers agree almost universally thatRio Bravoremains eminently rewatchable, thanks in large part to the ensemble cast. Wayne and Dickinson are certainly highlights, but the movie also features great performances from musicians Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, along with well-known Western veterans Ward Bond and John Russell. Academy Award winner Walter Brennan also shines in his supporting role as Stumpy, and there really isn’t a missed opportunity anywhere in the cast.
On top of that, many film critics and historians agree thatRio Bravomarks the peak of legendary director Howard Hawks' work. The movie is well-paced and balanced, never leaning too heavily on either the romantic or violent sides of the narrative, and infusing enough dry humor to counteract the gunfights that anchor the drama. Hawks hits on many classic Western visual tropes that he himself is known for popularizing inRio Bravo, but frames the sweeping vistas and intimate saloon moments better here than just about anywhere else in his career.
