Movie Type: Outlaw (Gunfighter) Film, Ensemble Film
Themes: Under Siege, Ranchers, Redemption
Main Cast: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey, Paul Fix
Release Year: 1967
Country: US
Run Time: 126 minutes
Plot
Having struck pay dirt with his 1958 western Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks more or less remade the picture twice in the 1960s. The first of these rehashes was El Dorado, with Rio Bravo star John Wayne back for more. Wayne plays a gunfighter who rides into El Dorado to link up with his old pal, sheriff Robert Mitchum ("It's the big one with the big two!" declared the film's advertisements). Wayne has turned down a job with evil land baron Ed Asner, who'd hoped to drive a family off the land that he needed for its water. That family, headed by R.G. Armstrong, is convinced that Wayne is working with Asner; when Armstrong's son Johnny Crawford dies, Wayne is held responsible, earning him a bullet in the spine from Crawford's sister Michele Carey. A year passes: Wayne returns to El Dorado, in the company of his new saddle pal James Caan. They find that Asner is still up to his old tricks, and that Mitchum has descended into alcoholism. Several plot twists and power shifts ensue, leading to the slam-bang climax, with the partially paralyzed Wayne, the newly crippled Mitchum (on crutches), and the concussion-suffering Caan battling together to stave off Asner's minions. The final long-shot, of Wayne and Mitchum limping off together arm-in-arm, is one of the most enduring images in the entire Hawks canon. If they loved it twice they'll love it thrice: in 1969, John Wayne and Howard Hawks teamed up for a third Rio Bravo derivation, Rio Lobo--which, like the first two films, was scripted by Leigh Brackett. Incidentally, that's famed artist Olaf Weighorst (whose paintings appear in the title sequence) in a cameo as the gunsmith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Essentially the same plot that Hawks had previously used in Rio Bravo (1959) and would return to in Rio Lobo (1970), El Dorado deals with his characteristic themes of friendship and professionalism. John Wayne plays aging, wounded gunfighter Cole Thornton, who joins forces with his old friend J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum), a sheriff turned alcoholic, and young knife-thrower Mississippi (James Caan), to fight off cattle baron Bart Jason (Ed Asner). Much more a film about relationships than it is an action piece, like Rio Bravo it focuses on Wayne's efforts to help his buddy overcome his drinking problem and restore his self-respect. Hawks also implies the depredations of age, intimating that, although this might not be their last stand, these two are approaching the end of their journey, and now need help from younger people. Yet, as always with Hawks, these themes are stated with humor, using the oblique "three-cushion" dialogue he claimed to have learned from Hemingway. The film's best scenes take place in the jail where the two friends, along with Caan and the deputy (Arthur Hunnicut), exchange insults -- the only way that they, and Hawks, know how to express love. Since, for the veterans, these parts virtually play themselves, it's Caan who gives the best performance as an intense young stud trying to get a handle on these old guys. Made when the director was nearly 70, El Dorado may not stand with the best of his work, but it remains a solid, entertaining Western. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Ed Asner - Bart Jason; Arthur Hunnicutt - Bull Harris; R.G. Armstrong - Kevin MacDonald; Christopher George - Nelse McLeod; Marina Ghane - Maria; John Gabriel - Pedro; Robert Rothwell - Saul MacDonald; Robert Donner - Milt; Adam Roarke - Matt MacDonald; Victoria George - Jared's Wife; Anne Newman - Saul MacDonald's Wife; Johnny Crawford - Luke MacDonald; Olaf Wieghorst - Gunsmith; Anthony Rogers - Dr. Donovan; Charlita; Don Collier - Deputy Joe Braddock; Chuck Courtney - Jared MacDonald; Jim Davis - Jim Purvis; Nacho Galindo - Mexican Saloonkeeper; Betty Jane Graham; Buzz Henry; William Henry - Sheriff Tod Draper (uncredited); Riley Hill; Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr.; John Mitchum - Jason's Bartender; Ruben Moreno; Chuck Roberson - Jason's Gunman; Dean Smith - Charlie Hagan; Rosa Turich - Rosa; Ralph Volkie; Christopher West; Frank Leyva; Linda Dangcil; Danny Sands; Lee Powell
Credit
Hal Pereira - Art Director, Carl Anderson - Art Director, Edith Head - Costume Designer, Howard Hawks - Director, John M. Woodcock - Editor, Nelson Riddle - Composer (Music Score), Nelson Riddle - Musical Direction/Supervision, Wally Westmore - Makeup, Farciot Edouart - Cinematographer, Harold Hal Rosson - Cinematographer, Howard Hawks - Producer, Paul Helmick - Producer, Ray Moyer - Set Designer, Robert R. Benton - Set Designer, Paul K. Lerpae - Special Effects, John R. Carter - Sound/Sound Designer, Charles Grenzbach - Sound/Sound Designer, Leigh Brackett - Screenwriter, Harry Brown - Book Author
