Dean Martin & Rick Nelson – Rio Bravo
An evening pause: This medley of songs were performed as part of the Howard Hawks’ 1959 western Rio Bravo. The first song, “My rifle, my pony, and me,” was actually adapted from the main theme by Dimitri Tiomkin from Hawks’ earlier classic, Red River (1948). When Diane and I were watching this recently, I recognized the music, but it took a while to figure out where I’d heard it before.
Both movies are examples of the kind of entertaining and rich films Hollywood used to produce, routinely.
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(Serendipitously, I have “The Big Chill” cued up in the dvd player, as part of my Bogart marathon for July.)
Question–
Do you know any of the backstory on why Hawks did not take credit for directing “The Thing From Another World?”
Great Obscure Cultural Factoid–
-Actress Mary Astor was Hawks sister-in-law, she was married to his brother Kenneth, who was killed in 1930 while filming the aerial scenes for “Such Men Are Dangerous.”
“Howard Hawks: A Hell of a Good Life”
(1978)
https://youtu.be/GIU3ZZ7gsqc
56:36
This is my #2 in the Howard Hawks trio of films. James Dean did better in Son’s of Katie Elder.
I prefer El Dorado. James Caan and Robert Mitchum do a better job rounding the cast with Wayne.
At #3 Rio Lobo is only fun to watch because of Jack Elam.
That was a great scene!
Another great moment is when Dean Martin’s character, who is suffering severe alcohol withdrawal, hears what is called “The Degüello”. The film has it that this was the bugle piece played by Santa Anna’s buglers for three days and nights prior to the last assault on The Alamo. Here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR-KbvXvBd8.
It is a gorgeous piece, unfortunately it is NOT the piece played at the Alamo. It is a highly romanticized piece composed for the film. A much more accurate rendition of “El toque a degüello” is in the film from 2004 “The Alamo” with Billy Bob Thornton as Davey Crockett.
Crockett gets on the battlement and plays the harmony to the buglers tune on his fiddle in a very moving scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvhryySXbJ8. That’s the real Dequello playing in the background. You can find it out of movie context in other places on YouTube. Oh here is the lead in from the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKD5TgHWyxM
OH MY. I let that Youtube page go on and this is what I got! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEBLbWLldR0
That is the actual bugle call. And like any bugle call it is the communications of orders on the battle field and in actuality very very short.