I've always loved this movie, more so than Rio Bravo, which it shamelessly copies. It has this lovely old fashioned vibe and feel, plus a better cast and tighter pacing than Rio Bravo. The one deficit is that Bravo had Walter Brennan whereas here we have Arthur Hunnicut who simply isn't as good.
However John Wayne is back playing John Wayne and this time he has more to work with character-wise - a bullet in the spine, a sense of guilt and obligation because he shot a teenage boy who was trying to kill him. Robert Mitchum is also on hand as a drunk (though his character fell awfully fast and hard) - Dean Martin gets more praise because I think it was more of a surprise seeing him do so well, but Mitchum is as good an actor, has more gravitas and sense of history with Wayne.
Charlene Holt is as good as Angie Dickinson - perhaps more age appropriate. Ed Asner is a little lightweight as the baddie but Christopher George very strong as the head gungslinger who seems to have a man crush on Wayne - though I wish they've given him some bad ass stuff to do on screen rather than just have other characters to talk about. I liked cute Michelle Carey with her sing song voice and feisty late 60s hair, despite her odd running action as she goes down a hill side.
The real stand out here for me is James Caan, he's excellent, so superior to Ricky Nelson it's not funny - eager, warm, unique (with his odd hat and poor shooting skills). The only real dud note is that awful moment where he impersonates a Chinaman (though it also is a little un-PC to have him slap Carey after he slaps her).
Story wise it feels as though this goes on an act too long - when that random guy who we've never met gets kidnapped forcing a final confrontation (why not have Carey be kidnapped?). But the final shoot out is pretty good with George realising that basically Wayne had to cheat to beat him, and there are many memorable moments: Wayne shooting the kid and bringing him to his father, Caan's introduction, the by-play between Caan and Wayne, Mitchum's drunken shoot out, the fight in the Church. Good late-entry Hawks.
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