El Dorado

The story is the stuff that Western myths are made of. Aging gun-slinger John Wayne is offered a job as hired gun in a range war, but he discovers that acceptance of the job would place him on the wrong side of the law--which in this case is old friend and small town sheriff Robert Mitchum, who has made himself a laughing stock by drinking his way to the bottom of every bottle he can find. Wayne accordingly drifts into town, whips Mitchum into shape, and with the assistance of crotchety deputy Arthur Hunnicutt and youngster James Caan they set about cleaning up the town.

Although EL DORADO has a leisurely tone, but it never feels in the least slow--largely due to an unexpectedly witty script that crackles with memorable dialogue (at one point when Mitchum asks Wayne what he's looking at, Wayne responds "A tin star with a drunk pinned to it") and unexpected situations (such as Caan's unfortunate way with a shotgun.) The entire cast handles both humor and old-west action with equal skill, and both Wayne and Mitchum offer some the best work of their impressive careers here; James Caan (in his first major success), Arthur Hunnicutt, Charlene Holt, and Michele Carey are equally memorable.

There are a great many westerns more critically acclaimed than EL DORADO--RED RIVER, THE SEARCHERS, and STAGE COACH to name but a few. And I enjoy them. But EL DORADO is like meeting an old friend whose company you always enjoy. Strongly recommended.


Better than "Rio Bravo"...   November 1, 2004
Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA USA)
31 out of 41 found this review helpful

While many point out that El Dorado is a remake, I think it is, in fact, better than the first movie it is based on. First off, no singing or cast based on the need for singers! This is a REAL, honest-to-God, Western, with a big "W". John Wayne and Robert Mitchum really work well together. You can feel the history behind their friendship and this adds to the conflict, the struggle, they feel, as one has to watch the other recover from crawling into the bottle. James Caan brings a LOT to the cast, really allowing a way for much of the humor to enter the film.
Not much in extras - in fact there is only a trailer. 126 minutes of fun.


Wayne, Mitchum and Hawks Deliver the Goods   June 2, 2000
Scott Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA)
27 out of 28 found this review helpful

Though a minority opinion, Howard Hawks' "El Dorado" (1967) is a superior reworking of the director's overrated "Rio Bravo." Along with the iconic presence of John Wayne, the tradeoffs are certainly better: instead of Dean Martin's drunken sheriff, you get Robert Mitchum's memorable comic performance in the same role; instead of Ricky Nelson singing an occasional song, there is James Caan's breakthrough performance as Mississippi; and Arthur Hunnicutt's comic relief is more palatable than Walter Brennan's obnoxious imitation of Gabby Hayes. "El Dorado" also is a tighter, better-scripted film -- running only 127 minutes. By comparison, "Rio Bravo" seems to go on forever with its 2 1/2-hour length. Hawks aficionados may disagree, but "El Dorado" improves upon the obvious weaknesses of "Rio Bravo." Judge for yourself.


Maybe the Duke's Best   March 4, 2001
Don Graeter (Prospect, KY USA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

I'm 53 years old and have loved John Wayne since first seeing him at the movies as "Hondo" as a boy. I loved Rio Bravo, but have to give the edge to this remake. As good as the original was, El Dorado is more enjoyable and convincing to me. The Duke is as good as he ever was in his usual role as the hired gun with a conscience whose reputation alone strikes fear into the hearts of the bad guys. Few western actresses could match the young Angie Dickinson in Rio Bravo, but the male supporting cast is better in El Dorado. Mitchum is excellent, young James Caan adds charm and humor and Arthur Hunnicutt nearly steals the show in the Walter Brennan role as Mitchum's loyal, but crusty deputy, Bull. For my money, Hunnicutt is one of the great homespun character actors of all time and this is certainly one of his very best performances. Most don't know his name like they do the great Walter Brennan's but he's just as good or better. A then noname Ed Asner and Christopher George (TV's The Rat Patrol) are excellent as the main bad guys. George is actually somewhat likeable as a man willing to sell his gun to the most odious of crooks, but still possessed of a sense of fair play. Jim Davis (Jock Ewing of TV's Dallas) plays one of Asner's henchmen. This is just a great cast telling a great old west story.

A recent biography of director Howard Hawks points out that Hawks badly needed a hit late in his career when El Dorado was put together. His effort is evident. Even the opening credits are great--a series of beautiful western paintings by Olaf Wieghorst, who also appears as the gunsmith, "The Swede." The title song by George Alexander is memorable as well.

BTW, the poem Caan keeps quoting, which serves as the foundation for the title song, was Edgar Alan Poe's last poem--"El Dorado", of course. The movie was filmed just west of Tucson, AZ in what is today Old Tucson--a must tour for anyone interested in westerns. Westerns are still filmed there. Movies filmed there include Rio Bravo, El Dorado, McClintock, and Rio Lobo by Wayne, as well as many others such as Joe Kidd, Tombstone and even The Three Amigos.


A Hired Gun Amidst a Ranchers' War   March 1, 2007
Jan Peczkis (Chicago IL, USA)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful


The setting for this western is Texas sometime after the Civil War. There are a number of unique, or at least uncommon, elements in this flick. It begins with a delightful song, "El Dorado", and the showing of still paintings of Old West scenes. Later, a shootout occurs not only inside and near a saloon, as one might expect in a typical western, but also in a church (belfry and then sanctuary). Women (notably rancher MacDonald's cowgirl daughter) are more prominent in this flick than in most other westerns.

There are many violent scenes in the film. Not only are shootings shown, but so also is a vendetta stabbing. Wounded men (including Cole Thornton) are shown in agony.

The politically correct won't be happy with the start of this film. Cole Thornton (John Wayne) mentions that, before the arrival of rancher MacDonald in the area, "there was nothing here except Indians and coyotes". But of course this film was made at a very different time from today (1967).

Rancher MacDonald's son, Luke, is sent to guard the ranch. This is, later according to Thornton, "A boy doing a man's job." Luke falls asleep and, at the sound of an approaching horseman, wakes up and opens fire wildly. The horseman fires back as a reflex, wounding Luke in the lower abdomen. It turns out that the horseman is none other than Cole Thornton. Luke writhes in agony, explains to Thornton what happened, and then commits suicide with his own gun.

Thornton tells father MacDonald what happened, and the latter sadly accepts the truth. But Luke's cowgirl sister does not. She set up a revenge ambush for Thornton, and fires a rifle at him. She says triumphantly: "There, you won't be killing any more boys!" But it turns out that she only managed to wound Thornton in the lower back. For the rest of the film, Thornton has episodic problems with disabling back pain and arm paralysis from the bullet lodged in his back, which he neglects to have removed promptly.

In time, one of MacDonald's remaining three sons is kidnapped, and Cole Thornton works for his release. The local sheriff at first is of no help. He is constantly drunk, and is a laughingstock for everyone around. But in time he gets sober, returns to the saloon, and has a bit of revenge against those who had been laughing at him.

At one point, Thornton seems to have an upper hand in a gunfight with MacDonald's kidnappers. But then, at the worse possible moment, Thornton is hit with a spell of back pain and arm paralysis. He is totally helpless! What will the kidnappers do to him? Will he at least get out alive? Will MacDonald's kidnapped survive and ever go free? I will not spoil the ending by revealing it.