I expect it from a Ford film and I appreciate it for what it is. I was overly critical of it in the past but now I understand that it’s what makes a Ford film a Ford film.
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RIO BRAVO: A film with a lot of flaws, but still one of the very best ever made. It’s overlong, but when it’s over, you want to see it again. It was by the way an immensily popular movie in Italy, its Italian title was ‘Un Dollaro d’Onore’ (Onore = honour)
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And you can definitely pick up on the influences it had on spaghetti westerns with the Mexican bugle music - el deguello.
I know some people prefer El Dorado, which is basically the same film re-made, but I think Rio Bravo is much better.
Rio Bravo was 7th in the overall 1959/1960 Italian box-office.
El Dorado was 21st in the overall 1967/68 Italian box-office.
Rio Lobo was 51st in the overall 1970/71 Italian box-office
Rio Bravo is a Great movie. Probably my 3rd favourite Wayne western.
I like El Dorado too, although it looks very old-fashioned, has a lot of flaws and copies scenes wholesale from Rio Bravo. Don’t have much time for Rio Lobo.
Rio Lobo is still a good one, it is still 100 % Hawks, but surely considerably weaker than the 2 predecessors. 6/10
El Dorado is in its 2nd half indeed a fast remake of Rio Bravo. I like both very much, and for a long time I considered both of the same quality, but in the last years I began to prefer Rio Bravo.
Rio Bravo 9/10
El Dorado 8/10
I discussed films and film directors with a group of my students a couple of years ago (shortly before I retired). Apart from Tarantino, the only ‘western director’ they knew was Leone. They had seen a few non-Leone western movies starring Clint Eastwood, but most of them didn’t know who directed them, Clint himself of any other film maker. Those students were about 17 years old, but intelligent (several of them would go to university in the coming years)and most of them were interested in films. They knew John Wayne, had at least heard of him, but none of them was able to give me the title of one of his westerns, and the names of John Ford or Howard Hawks didn’t ring a bell. I remember one of them said: My father will know them, he watches old movies.
Old movies, that’s probably the key word. We grew up with Leone, Corbucci, Peckinpah, Penn and the likes. Ford, Hawks and even Hitchcock were already directors of ‘old movies’ (Hitch was still making movies but his great classics date from the previous decades). We depended on news papers or film magazines for our information on movies and movie history, and picked up the names of those old directors and old movies. I missed most spaghetti westerns when they were released theatrically, because they were ‘rated 18’, but I could pick them up a decade later, thanks to the late night showings of a cinema in my hometown, Eindhoven. Television, VHS and DVD did the rest. In the 90s, living in Belgium, I often watched France 2, which showed classic western cycles every now and then (in original version, French subtitles); I learned to appreciate Anthony Mann thanks to Fr2. ARD and ZDF often showed classic westerns on saterday night (unfortunately in dubbed version, but still…).
Today the situation seems completely different. Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are virtually the only classic westerns that are shown on television every now and then. If you pay attention very well, you might spot a Ford or Hawks, and a few months back The Wild Bunch was shown on a commercial TV Net in Belgium. I don’t know what those commercials or streaming services offer, but if I enter the term ‘western’ on my streaming service, I get only three titles, by – you guessed it – Leone and Tarantino. Those new paper articles and movie magazines were written by people who were older and more experienced than we were, and we learned from them about older movies and older movie directors. Today most younger people depend on the socials for their information, and they mainly read articles on film and other art forms that are written by peers or people not much older than themselves. Influencers are the new gods of information, and most influencers are young and live in a youthful bubble. It is therefore not surprising that relatively few classic directors ‘survive’. Will names like Ford, Hawks, Aldrich, Penn, Mann, Boetticher, or Peckinpah then be forgotten entirely? No, but they will increasingly become names known only to select groups of film enthusiasts. And those select groups will grow ever smaller .
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Sad but oh, so true
No need to feel sad.
There has never been a better time than now to experience older films.
Today you can watch restored versions in the correct aspect ratio on your widescreen tv, something that was impossible before.
The general movie audience, people who have no particular interest in film, have always watched mostly newer stuff and don’t know much about directors, et cetera.
Edit: Scherpschutter says his students were “interested in films”, but apparently they weren’t after all, since they didn’t know much. To go to the movies now and then doesn’t qualify as being “interested in films”. 
Edit 2: I agree though that social media is probably making people more stupid than ever.
Edit 3: Like the wide selection of older movies in great quality available today, also the internet is of course a goldmine of information (if you have a genuine interest), something that didn’t exist before.
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I think that’s generally always been the case with youth. The good news is that these films are more accessible than ever and “hidden gem” videos are very popular for influencer content creation. The Leone’s and Tarantino’s will always help be the gateway to deeper cuts.
Regarding Rio Bravo, Ricky Nelson was also in this film, he was in a few films, but he was above all a pop singer. In the beginning he did songs composed by others, like Elvis. But later on he also wrote songs himself. He died in a plane crash in 1985, only 45 years old.
Three Hours to Kill (1954) - 5.5/10
Generous 5.5 I think.
Classic American 50’s western really. Leans heavily into the romance side of things. Detective style plot. Not a great deal of action / gunplay. Very easy on the eye. Nice and simple story with a short runtime. The same menacing soundtrack over any scene of substance was a little tiresome.
Not the best, but not the worst.
Picked up The Outlaw Josey Wales in 4K from the Prime Day Sale.
Didn’t really remember much about it as I last watched when I was a teenager, but I really enjoyed it. A bit overly long I think but plenty of great stuff to keep it going.
8/10
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Gun Fury (1953) - 9/10.
Think a user mentioned this a few weeks ago and I remember I had it recorded on my Sky box. Great film.
Not overly familiar with Leo Gordon but really liked his character in this one. He had fantastic posture and a good, stern look.
Shot primarily outdoors, very nice landscapes, bit of a Mexican feel at times, good pacing. It packed enough punch to stay entertaining throughout.
Would watch again.
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Oh wow, 9/10 for Gun Fury, for me it is one of Walsh’s weakest westerns. Last time I watched it, but that was long ago, I gave it a … oha … only a 2/10. 
I like Gun Fury a lot myself.
Haven’t watched it in a long time either, but I have good memories about it.
Interesting, I remember Gun Fury as very unimaginative and by that mostly boring. Otherwise it had got a better rating on my entertainometer.
Walsh made in the 50 some more mediocre films, but it seems this one got the lowest rating by me. Of course it’s possible I would like it more on a rewatch.