Even a bad John Wayne film is not usually that bad, but at the end of a long dry season for Wayne, who was already beginning to have health problems, and directed by an already dying director, Rio Lobo just did not go anywhere. The plot, a thinly disguised rewrite of Rio Bravo, had been done twice already and better the other two times. If not for the appearance of Jack Elam (who essentially replayed the Walter Brennan character from the earlier film) this film would be truly dismal. (In a trivial side note: around this same time Elam and Brennan were together in the comedy western "Support Your Local Sheriff" which was a broad spoof of these John Wanye movies.) Still it is not totally bad. And the opening moments of the film were refreshing. Even the music track for this film was poor by usual western standards. Give this a miss and watch "El Dorado" instead. Or watch the wallpaper peel in your living room.
Review of Rio Lobo
