El Dorado

El Dorado (1966)

A brilliant movie. I hate to use an overused word, or to seem over the top here. But I really thought Howard Hawks created an arguably better version of "Rio Bravo" by doing two key things. One is using two leads who had great mature chemistry together, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. The other is using James Caan as a more convincing and slightly less frivolous sidekick instead of Ricky Nelson in the earlier version. Many people will disagree and that's fine--my point is this is a terrific and somewhat overlooked film.

Not that the plots of the two are identical, and you might really blame the director/producer for doing a cheap attempt at a hit, without total originality. The fact is, he succeeds so well you don't mind. Everything is first rate. Even the humor as it gets more and more slapstick and out of keeping with the very serious beginnings of the film is so at ease and warm you like and want the companionship to continue. Hawks and his actors create a setting and a situation that is almost homey, against the odds. And this is in an era when the American Western is all but dead (the great Spaghetti Westerns were now coming out).

Critical to the success is the great cinematography by Harold Rosson, who filmed so many classic movies it's hard to know where to start (but start with "The Wizard of Oz" and "Singin' in the Rain"). This is his last film, and he never stops pushing boundaries. There are not only beautiful scenes in the little towns or the shots from the belltower near the end, but some innovative ones.

The big theme here is a common one in Westerns--a group of bad guys with guns is out to take something from a group of good common folk. But the solution is notable, and pushed to a limit. That is, the problem is solved through camaraderie and friendship, through trust. And by joining in the cause even if there is no reward, and even though death is not unlikely. It's a story that is oversimplified, of course, but it feels good. Where some Anthony Mann Westerns and the famous Zinnemann "High Noon" often have evil or selfish or cowardly people all around the protagonist, here there is only a sense that good will prevail, and by persistence and teamwork.

Wayne is at his best here. He's often at his best, I suppose, since he's so consistent, but this shows a strong, smart, wise character that is probably the true Wayne. He's tough and funny and believes in what is right. Period. And I think Hawks knew how to make Wayne look and act his best, and Mitchum seemed to also resonate well. For his part, Mitchum is a terrific derelict sheriff, not overacting, making it reasonable and his character sympathetic. The two have a lot of scenes together and they seem to enjoy themselves without quite breaking into grins on camera.

Finally it should be said that the story line is rich and complex. Yes it follows certain common themes and clichés, but it continually twists them up. The first twenty minutes are a harrowing ride of upturned expectations, and the plot really has its teeth sunk into misunderstandings and mistakes that take on huge ramifications. Well written, well paced dialog, well done.

One weakness in both "El Dorado" and "Rio Bravo" is the lead woman in each case, meant to be a "type" of course but in "El Dorado" coming off as weirdly modern in both sensibility and make-up. I mean cosmetics. Even more glaring is the crazy 1966 hair and eyeliner on a younger woman in the story, who is terrific overall but just seems out of place. You might say the same for Caan, too, but he plays his part with such idiosyncratic verve you accept him as a legitimate oddball.

Why not just see "Rio Bravo" instead, since it carries similar themes, and Hawks and Wayne as well, and has a superior reputation? Go ahead. "Rio Bravo" is a more serious drama, and is terrific. But if you have access to this one (and the streaming Netflix copy is superb), then I'd plunge in. Highly rated, and still underrated.

"El Dorado" pairs up two great movie stars in their element-the western. This was the first time John Wayne and Robert Mitchum had co-starred in a western, and the result was good, solid western entertainment. One wishes it could have happened again.

The Duke plays Cole Thorton, a gunman, who has been hired by a land baron in Texas to assist in taking over some much-needed water land, and, if necessary, put an end to interference that the sheriff, played by Mitchum, would offer. Unbeknownst to the land baron, Thorton and J.P.Harrah are friends from the war, and Thorton decides to ride away from the job.

A few months later, Thorton returns to El Dorado to warn Harrah that a new threat will be coming to the town, and he finds that the sheriff has become the town drunk, due to a fouled-up romance. Thorton now has to help J. P. get his skill back, prevent the range war from busting out, while keeping a young sidekick, Mississippi, played by James Caan, alive and healthy. There is also a good performance turned in by Arthur Hunnicutt, as Bull, J.P.'s deputy who stands by the sheriff, even in times of drunken sprees.

There are some similar elements to other Wayne films, notably "Rio Bravo" and "Rio Lobo", but the chance to watch two big stars work off each other, makes this one easy to take.

The credits claim that Leigh Brackett's screenplay for 1967's "El Dorado" is based on a novel, "The Stars in Their Courses" by Harry Brown. The on-screen evidence indicates it was based on Brackett's own script for 1959's "Rio Bravo," in which John Wayne is a gunfighter joined by his buddy, a drunken sheriff, in guarding a town against a corrupt cattle baron. They are joined by a callow but dangerous youth, and a curmudgeonly deputy. In "Rio Bravo," these roles were admirably filled by Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Walter Brennan. In "El Dorado," the Duke once again takes on the gunfighter role, but is joined this time by Robert Mitchum, James Caan, and Arthur Hunnicutt. Nothing wrong with that lineup, even though Caan can't sing like Ricky (Mitchum could probably do a fair imitation of ol' Dino, though). Like "Rio Bravo," this one is directed by Howard Hawks who liked to steal from his own movies. Several scenes in "El Dorado" are nearly exact duplicates of moments from "Rio Bravo" (Mitchum blasts holes into a piano when he suspects that the pianist's off-key playing denotes fear of the killer hidden behind it, whereas Martin found his prey in a saloon balcony after spotting blood dripping into a shot glass).

"El Dorado" is faster paced than the first film, but then it has a shorter running time. It's a pleasure through and through, but "Rio Bravo" is superior. In the latter film, you almost feel that you're holed up with the Duke, Dino, Ricky, and Walter, rather than just watching them.

Unless you count their joint appearance in The Longest Day, El Dorado deserves its place in Hollywood history for being the only co-starring effort of John Wayne and Robert Mitchum.

Besides being good friends Wayne and Mitchum were both known for being able to drink just about anyone else in the film business under the table and still report to work in the morning, lines letter perfect. But Mitchum was not allowed in the Wayne home because Pilar Wayne never forgave him for ruining their honeymoon when Mitchum backed out of Blood Alley and Wayne had to star as well as produce it.

I also think that the Duke was leery about Mitchum stealing too many scenes which he does when they are on the screen together. In this tighter and faster remake of Rio Bravo, Wayne is his usual stand up hero, rough and tough, but who lives by a code. Mitchum is the flawed one. During an interlude of several months in the film, Mitchum becomes enamored of an unseen woman, loses her, and becomes a drunk.

Which leads me to one of the funniest scenes ever in a Wayne film. When Christopher George and fellow gunmen are hired by villain Ed Asner to run R.G. Armstrong and his family off their ranch, Wayne has to sober up Sheriff Mitchum and fast.

Every time I watch El Dorado, I get hysterical every time I watch James Caan pour a homemade remedy down Mitchum's throat with Wayne and Arthur Hunnicutt holding him down. And the reactions afterwards, absolutely priceless. This is where Mitchum steals the movie.

As in many a Howard Hawks film, there is a theme of professionalism that runs through it. Whether it's Cary Grant and his fellow pilots flying over treacherous terrain in South America, Humphrey Bogart with his charter boat business in the Caribbean, or Wayne and Mitchum going up against fellow professional Christopher George, it's doing the job and doing it well for it's own reward.

The final gunfight is also a classic. Let's just say that Mitchum and Wayne are not at their best, but they make up for it with some help from interested friends.

This is one of the best films, in the top 10 for both these guys and shouldn't be missed.

every once and a while me and my father will buy a classic western no matter how cheesy or weird it may look, today he came home with this movie El Dorado, at first i was expecting not too much due to how many westerns that were made, though i should have thought better whenever i saw that it starred two great film actors John Wayne and Robert Mitchum.

i may be young(16) but i know good actors when i watch them on screen these two played beautifully off each other and so did another great actor James Caan

all the characters were played to perfection, even though anyone can play an alcoholic sheriff with a broken-heart Mitchum really made the role shine, of course John Wayne did wonderful as The Hired Gun, but my favorite role was that of Mississipi played by James Caan, in my opinion he did an astonishing job in this role and the scenes with him and Wayne were glorious.

Now some older ladies and gents may find it hard to follow the recommendation of a 16 year old but it is seriously one of my favorites of the ones me and my father have seen

in a lil side note the action scenes were done really well and there was also a slight editing issue during one of the scenes I'm sure you'll notice(but you must take into consideration the time when the movie was made)

thank you and you really must see this movie that could never be done today due to the fight between stars in leading roles.