Howard Hawks’ 1959 Western Rio Bravo was made as a riposte to the (allegedly) left-leaning High Noon.

John Wayne stars as the decidedly un-conflicted, courageous sheriff, and Dean Martin hardly stretches his acting abilities to play the town drunk who helps him heroically defend the town from a gang of ranchers.

Hawks liked the story so much that he remade is loosely twice as El Dorado and Rio Lobo, both also starring Wayne.

John Carpenter was subsequently heavily inspired by it for his classic urban siege thriller Assault On Precinct 13 (one of my favourite films), and there are echoes of it in Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles too.

This is an Italian poster from a 1970s re-release. It is for sale here.