5. Rio Bravo
Gangster. Screwball comedy. Film noir. Hawks not only covered it, he covered it as well as any director working before or since. How about that other Hollywood staple, the Western?
Whilst Rio Bravo is not up there (at least in the estimation of most) with the very finest oaters out there, it is still an incredibly accomplished and much admired film. The plot will sound familiar, having been remade or reworked more than once (El Dorado and Assault on Precinct 13 are the most obvious), with John Wayne’s sheriff having to enlist the help of a motley crew of drunks and invalids to help him keep the brother of an imprisoned crook at bay.
Instead of the wide-open vistas of Monument Valley and the rest of the West that were so beloved of and well employed by John Ford (and which Hawks himself used well in Red River), we are given something much more intimate and almost claustrophobic as Wayne battles the odds and the shortcomings of his impromptu deputies to keep his prisoner’s brother at arm’s length.
It doesn’t quite have the narrative purity or “one man against all odds” thrill of High Noon (to which it is said to be a deliberate counterpoint), but Rio Bravo is still compelling and affecting. None other than Quentin Tarantino uses it to assess whether a girl is girlfriend material – if she doesn’t like it, she’s out (IMDb said this, so it must be entirely true).
John Wayne undoubtedly had his shortcomings as an actor, but Westerns suited his rugged countenance and stoic taciturnity and he is a powerful presence here. Hawks again shows himself adept at coaxing excellent acting performances from his cast and the pacing and set pieces are equally strong. Given the astonishing number of Westerns that have been churned out by Hollywood over the years, the longevity and continued appeal of Rio Brava speaks volumes of its quality.
6. To Have And Have Not
This one was always going to be a bit of a coin-toss. Many would say that it should be Red River filling out this half dozen, but we’re going to snuggle up with To Have And Have Not instead. Red River is undoubtedly a bigger film, perhaps better known and by many better regarded, but this gets the nod. There you go.
Marking the debut of Lauren Bacall (and a sensationally assured debut at that) at the tender age of 19 years old, this was the film where she and Humphrey Bogart met and fell in love and began an on and off screen partnership of enduring delight. The plot sees Bogart helping a resistance figure elude the Nazis (so far, so Casablanca) while attempting to romance Bacall’s “Slim” Browning, but this is all about a sizzling script, best known for Slim’s now deservedly classic line:-
“You know you don’t have to act with me, Steve. You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and… blow.”
It all leaves poor Steve a bit hot under the collar. Us too, to be honest. Bacall of course gets props for lighting up the screen on her debut – she absolutely crackles in her exchanges with Bogart, quite something for a debutante squaring off against a seasoned pro with some 57 titles under his belt. She would go on to be even better, but for Hawks to coax something this iconic and memorable from a first time teenager is something. It is not as heavyweight a film as some others on this list, but a great film none the less.
