How did a dog end up in Rio's cell near the end? Was this a joke, you never see the little thing leave.
shareProbably just some old stray dog that hung around the jailhouse. The jailers probably didn't mind, and the prisoners enjoyed a little company. In that day, they were not all uptight with a bunch of rules like today.
It's kind of a nice touch in the movie - just a quirky little thing that makes it interesting.
Since the original version of the film was something like five hours and was pared down two plus hours to its current length, one might speculate that there is a whole story line missing involving a trial of some duration and the dog became involved somehow in that timeframe. When Dad finds out from his wife that his stepdaughter is pregnant he makes the statement to his wife while strapping his on his gun that "his (Rio's) execution will just be a day earlier" seemingly indicating that Rio has already been tried, convicted and sentenced to hang.
I think it's cute. Just like when Johnny(Brando) is feeding the dog in the diner in The Wild One. There's no reason for it, except maybe to show that the bad guy likes animals, so maybe he's not all bad.
"You think I was telling you the truth? Maybe...maybe."
"the bad guy likes animals, so maybe he's not all bad"
Hitler loved dogs.
Probably the same reason there is cat in the opening scene in "The Godfather" -- Brando, the actor, just picked up one of the strays from the soundstage and petted it to humanize Don Corleone. A dog in the cell probably appealed to Brando the actor/director, as a detail that enriches the movie.
----------------------------------------------
"Why do people always laugh in the wrong places?"
--Lassie