Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) arrests a man for murder but the man's powerful brother is dead set on breaking him out. Chance must hold off the brother and his hired guns until the federal marshal arrives. Helping him is a cantankerous old man named Stumpy (Walter Brennan), a deputy with a drinking problem named Dude (Dean Martin), and Colorado, a young man new in town but good with a gun (Ricky Nelson).
Duke is excellent. Contrary to some of the negative reviews here, he's not "just playing John Wayne." But he always was an under-appreciated actor, especially among certain types. As for his love interest Angie Dickinson, despite the age difference he has great chemistry with her. Dino has probably his best acting role here. Walter Brennan is always fun. The most surprising part of the cast is Ricky Nelson and how good he was alongside these more experienced actors. The cast works well together and there's a real sense that these people like each other that comes through in their performances, making it all the more believable.
The plot is deceptively simple but it just goes to show that stories don't have to be complex to be interesting. It's a great character western, slow but well-paced. Howard Hawks shows why he is one of the all-time greats with how well he handles these characters and their actors, the flaws and strengths of each, and tells a simple but powerful story. The Furthman and Brackett script is great. I read some of the negative reviews here and all I can say is that I feel sorry for those people. Most of them seem to either have an ax to grind with Wayne and Hawks or they just don't like westerns to begin with. The good reputation of this film has lasted decades. It's inspired directors from John Carpenter to Quentin Tarantino. It's a genuine classic. On my top ten westerns list for sure.
Duke is excellent. Contrary to some of the negative reviews here, he's not "just playing John Wayne." But he always was an under-appreciated actor, especially among certain types. As for his love interest Angie Dickinson, despite the age difference he has great chemistry with her. Dino has probably his best acting role here. Walter Brennan is always fun. The most surprising part of the cast is Ricky Nelson and how good he was alongside these more experienced actors. The cast works well together and there's a real sense that these people like each other that comes through in their performances, making it all the more believable.
The plot is deceptively simple but it just goes to show that stories don't have to be complex to be interesting. It's a great character western, slow but well-paced. Howard Hawks shows why he is one of the all-time greats with how well he handles these characters and their actors, the flaws and strengths of each, and tells a simple but powerful story. The Furthman and Brackett script is great. I read some of the negative reviews here and all I can say is that I feel sorry for those people. Most of them seem to either have an ax to grind with Wayne and Hawks or they just don't like westerns to begin with. The good reputation of this film has lasted decades. It's inspired directors from John Carpenter to Quentin Tarantino. It's a genuine classic. On my top ten westerns list for sure.