MovieChat Forums > Rio Conchos (1964) Discussion > Rio Conchos ~ Good but not Great

Rio Conchos ~ Good but not Great

posted 13 years ago by guyinnanaimo
5 replies | jump to latest

This one starts well and rambles along well, but sadly goes downhill in the last 25-30 minutes.
The whole Pardee compound, with the O'Brien as a goofy 'Pardee' and an Indian chief named 'Bloodshirt', was rather ridiculous.
It certainly ruined a great performance by Boone, as usual, and a very good performance for Franciosa.
Whitman is ok, and Brown, well, let's just chalk his acting ability up to being a rookie...he wasn't much, except for the muscles/eye candy in the end.
The Indian girl {Wagner} and her role in the film is rather stupid, too, but I guess she's the 'link' to the rather rushed and stupid ending, where she rescues the boys. W
Overall, this could have been so much better...it did have so much promise after the first 50-60 minutes or so.
I'd give it a 5.5 out of 10...and that's high, for me!
I was just so disappointed with that last portion of what could have been a very good film.
'You can't HANDLE the truth!'

[–] lexyladyjax 13 years ago

Judging a film by our more sophisticated expectations of today is unrealistic and foolish. For its time, this film was remarkably sophisticated. Jim Brown did very well in his first acting appearance. He left his athletic career when he was at the top of his skills to try his hand at a different job.

Richard Boone was not known for suffering fools gladly. He was generous to other actors who were serious in developing their skills. Evidently he took Mr Brown's desire to act seriously in this film. Had that not been the case it would have come across in his performance.

There are few Westerns that hold up in this new millennium considering how times and mores have changed. At the time this film was produced there was still censorship in the cinema world. That was reflected in the plot and endings of every single film that came out of Hollywood as well as every television series. The time and place and the genre should always be considered when viewing a film.

Everything changes over time. Nothing remains the same, contrary to the beliefs of the young.

[–] guyinnanaimo 13 years ago

Maybe I think YOU are 'unrealistic and foolish'??
While I certainly understand your comments, I most certainly DON'T agree.
But I guess that's why we have OPINIONS, eh?
And I ain't no spring chicken ~ 62 here!
{and I've seen GREAT movies from the 30's on, so your 'changes' and 'beliefs' are the SAME as mine!}
It's just that for a 1960+ movie like this one, there's a lot BETTER ones!
'You can't HANDLE the truth!'

[–] Skye_Reynolds 10 years ago

I don't think that the film really went downhill. It just never really got off the ground. Aside from the fight with the bandits, there isn't much going on until the last 20 minutes or so. The movie relies on Richard Boone's talent and charisma to carry it through.

Also, I can't help but see The Searchers when I look at Lassiter. He's basically Ethan Edwards as played by Richard Boone. They're both Indian-hating bigoted confederates who are dislikable as individuals, but entertaining as characters. There are some dissimilarities between them, but I can't shake the comparison. It's not an altogether bad thing, but it is a bit distracting at times.

The movie is above average as far as westerns of its era were concerned, but I can't help but feel like it was capable of a little big more.

[–] davidjanuzbrown 8 years ago

There is little question that Rio Conchos is Richard Boone's ( Lassiter) movie all the way. That said he is not like Ethan from The Searchers. Ethan although certainly flawed, is not like the rabid dog that Lassiter is ( kill and then die). Really the hero or better yet heroine is the Indian Girl Sally. She gives a great performance as someone who sees a lot throughout the movie and decides to betray her own people by rescuing Lassiter, Capt Haven ( Stuart Whitman) and Franklyn ( Jim Brown) from certain death and ends up ( along with Haven) the sole survivor. The big question unanswered is do they end up together? The way they looked at each other and the fact she was going away with him makes me think the answer was yes.

[–] ecarle (14979) 7 years ago

I wonder how the casting worked for "Rio Conchos"

It was perhaps offered to John Wayne first for Lassiter . He had done the similar "The Comancheros" for Fox and Lassiter had his Ethan Edwards side. Likely Wayne wasn't about to smear his greatest performance with a pop knockoff.

Richard Boone was great, charismatic -- but coming off two TV series(the big success Have Gun Will Travel, the artistic flop The Richard Boone Show.) He was lucky to be given this lead -- but then the guy is pretty villainous in his mad killing spree of Apaches. (I figure stars like Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster and Robert Mitchum --- all of whom could play villainous -- were under consideration, but cost more than Boone.)

I do love Tony Franciosa as Rodriguez. They wouldn't cast him today, of course -- he was Italian-American. But he was very handsome, great smile, great hair, sexy, animated, and a total rogue. (His being a "wily" Mexican who is a double-crosser in the end wouldn't play today either.) Still, the Boone/Franciosa scenes are all about being charismatic and entertaining to me. Even that inconsequential scene where Tony asks Boone how old he looks? 25? "Guess again," says Boone. 30? Boone waves his fingers higher...