El Dorado (1967)

El Dorado doesn't quite have the scope or ambition of Howard Hawks's greatest Westerns, Red River and Rio Bravo. But this relaxed picture, made near the end of Hawks's marvelous career, still shows the steady, sure hand of a master. Hawks reunites with John Wayne, playing a hired gun mixed up in a range war; Robert Mitchum is Wayne's old pal, now a sheriff in the midst of a hopeless drunken bender. James Caan, in one of his first sizable roles, plays a kid who can't shoot straight and wears a funny hat (every character in the movie makes fun of this hat). As the plot moves along, it begins to resemble Rio Bravo rather closely ("I steal from myself all the time," Hawks was fond of admitting). But in El Dorado the heroes are a bit older, their powers a bit weaker; at the end Wayne must revert to a bit of subterfuge in order to get the drop on the steely gunslinger (ice-cold Christopher George) he needs to put down. As relaxed as the movie is, Hawks and Wayne and company are in good spirits, with plenty of broad humor and easy camaraderie on display. Hawks and Wayne would make just one more film, the disappointing Rio Lobo, before ending their fruitful partnership. --Robert Horton Amazon.com essential video

 El Dorado
A comical and serious movie. Robert Mitchum and John Wayne together were really good. April 24, 2008

 Great western
They just don't make movies like this anymore, which is why I like these westerns more and more as time goes by. Good guys and bad guys, horses and guns, Robert Mitchum and John Wayne! What more could you ask?

Oh,and lets not forget the scene where commie-lib Ed Asner gets pistol-whipped by Robert Mitchum. That alone makes it worth buying. April 9, 2008

 Very Quotable!
John Wayne and James Mitchum were great in this movie. Lots of good humor and memorable quotes. March 25, 2008

 A good John Wayne Western (Waynestern) and the second installment of the Howard Hawks trilogy
Some say that Howard Hawks made the same picture three times with Rio Bravo, El Dorado, and Rio Lobo. In the broad strokes, it is true. John Wayne isn't the straight romantic lead in any of them, but has his interests. There are several beautiful young women in different roles in the film and there is a younger man, usually a male star that someone is trying to push (Ricky Nelson, James Caan, and Jorge Rivero). And Wayne is fighting some mysterious guy with all the money trying to cheat and drive out an honest family. All the stories have enough twists to be enjoyable. And I liked this story very much.

In this movie John Wayne plays a hired gun named Cole Thornton. He comes into El Dorado and meets up with Sheriff JP Harrah (Robert Mitchum). The have known each other since before the Civil War, but something has passed between them. They respect each other, but aren't quite close friends. One of the problems is Maudie (the beautiful and captivating Charlene Holt). She has a relationship with the Sheriff, but she has deep affection for Cole, and that spoils it for Harrah.

The Sheriff is worried that Cole has gone over to a bad place and wants to fill him in on the truth about Bart Jason (Ed Asner) who has hired Cole. The truth is that Jason has been building a big spread that requires more water, but the water he needs is on land owned by the MacDonald family. The MacDonalds have been on their land and built their ranch over a lifetime and after much sacrifice and hard work. They don't want to sell. Cole is supposed to convince them to sell. Cole decides he doesn't want to work for Jason and heads over to his place to return the money he was paid - less traveling expenses. The MacDonalds have heard about Cole and left one of their sons as a watchman. A tragedy occurs and the boy's sister ends up shooting Cole with a wound that leaves a bullet pressing against his spine. Every now and again, it causes Cole shooting pain and temporary paralysis that increases with time.

Cole leaves the town and along the way picks up Alan Bourdillion Traherne (James Caan) as a traveling companion. Traherne is called Mississippi by Cole because he finds the name as absurd as the man's hat.

There are people on both sides of the fight over the MacDonald's land, but by the time Cole returns to El Dorado, Harrah is a sorry drunk. The story builds to a climax with Cole, Harrah, Bull Harris, and (Arthur Hunnicutt) under siege in the town jail. Christopher George does a nice turn as Nelse McLeod, the gun hired by Jason to counter Cole's support of Harrah.

I will let you watch the movie to see the way things work out. Sure, you can guess the final resolution, but the way the story twists and turns does keep us entertained. One of the lighter moments comes when Harrah sobers up and his companions demand that he bather. I will let you delight in the way the scene plays out.

Quite a good Waynestern.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
March 15, 2008

 An Awesome, action-packed, Western!
First off, let me start by saying that, contrary to the popular belief here, El Dorado is definitely NOT a remake of Rio Bravo (Two-Disc Special Edition). Yes, there are a similar themes that run through both: A drunken lawman, holding up in the jailhouse waiting for the U.S. Marshall, a sexy love interest, and a crusty old deputy to name a few. Howard Hawkes, who directed both films, was fond of saying how much he liked to steal from himself. But the plots are completely different. A perfect example of a remake is the 1957 film 3:10 to Yuma (Special Edition), starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. In 2007 a remake of the film (3:10 to Yuma (Widescreen Edition)), starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe was released. Same characters, same exact plot. Only the sequence and action was updated. That is a remake. In Rio Bravo the Sheriff is holding the brother of a rich rancher for murder and the story takes us through how the rancher tries to free his brother at any cost. In El Dorado, based on the Book The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown, the main plot revolves around a range war between two ranchers, the tough but fair Kevin MacDonald (R.G. Armstrong) and the land-grabbing Bart Jason (Ed Asner). This is not a remake.

John Wayne plays Cole Thornton, a hired gun whom Jason is trying to hire to help drive MacDonald off his ranch so that Jason can steal the water rights. What Jason doesn't know is that Thornton is an old friend to the local sheriff, J.P. Hara, played by Robert Mitchum. Of course, Thornton turns down the job. But unknown to him, MacDonald has been mistakenly warned that Thornton was working for Jason, which leads to Thornton accidentally killing one of MacDonald's sons, Luke (Johnny Crawford of The Rifleman Fame) and then getting shot by a MacDonald daughter (Michele Carey). The killing of Luke haunts Thornton to the point where he feels he owes the MacDonalds but can't face them, leading him to leave. This all happens in the first 15 minutes of the film and sets up the rest perfectly.

As the story progresses we meet "Mississippi" (a young James Caan), a man who had spent two years chasing down a group of cowboys who murdered his friend. Christopher George plays Nelse McLeod, a gunman with an interesting sense of fairness who joins Jason. And we find out that after Thornton left El Dorado his pal Hara turned into a drunk because of a "wandering petticoat." It's up to Thornton, Mississippi, and Hara's deputy "Bull" (played wonderfully by character actor Arthur Hunnicutt) to put Hara back together before McLeod can take advantage of the situation. What follows is some of the best gunfights that a mid-1960's western could produce.

Throughout the film we're treated to great action, wonderful lines (Bull's "Well I'd be a suck-eyed mule" is still one of my favorites), a bit of comedy relief here and there, and some good-ole fashion sex-appeal coming from Charlene Holt and Michele Carey. Just what every guy back in the 60's loved about going to see a John Wayne Western at a Saturday matinee.

I would highly recommend this to any John Wayne/Robert Mitchum/Western fan. Believe me, it will not disappoint.
January 28, 2008

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