El Dorado (1966)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Harry Brown (novel)
Leigh Brackett (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 June 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Action | Adventure

Tagline:

It's The Big One With The Big Two!

Plot:

Hired gunman Cole Thornton turns down a job with Bart Jason as it would mean having to fight an old sheriff friend...

Plot Keywords:

Gunfighter | Swindle | Land Grab | Alcoholism | Beautiful Woman

Cast

John Wayne	...	Cole Thornton
Robert Mitchum	...	El Dorado Sheriff J.P. Harrah
James Caan	...	Alan Bourdillion Traherne ('Mississippi')
Charlene Holt	...	Maudie
Paul Fix	...	Dr. Miller
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Bull Harris
Michele Carey	...	Josephine (Joey) MacDonald
R.G. Armstrong	...	Kevin MacDonald
Edward Asner	...	Bart Jason
Christopher George	...	Nelse McLeod
Marina Ghane	...	Maria
Robert Donner	...	Milt (McLeod gang)
John Gabriel	...	Pedro (McLeod gang)
Johnny Crawford	...	Luke MacDonald
Adam Roarke	...	Matt MacDonald

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Kanab, Utah, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The bartender that Robert Mitchum's character shoots in the saloon is played by his brother, actor/writer John Mitchum.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Cole was shot in the lower back and the bullet lodged near the lower spine. The nerves controlling the arms are located in the upper spine, the neck area, so the injury from the bullet wound could not affect Cole’s gun hand.

Quotes:

Nelse McLeod: Can you use a gun?
Mississippi: Well, if I could I'd be using one. Good evening.
Cole: Just minute, Mississippi.
Mississippi: Would you mind telling me why you have such a great passion for my company?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.89)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

El Dorado

Good but we've seen it all before,...

I really enjoyed this movie. It's one of Wayne's better films and it's nice to see him paired with Robert Mitchum. However, it very quickly became obvious to me that this is essentially a remake of Wayne's earlier picture, Rio Bravo. The plot is the same and Mitchum is playing the same drunk character that Dean Martin played in Rio Bravo. The earlier film is much better--mostly because it was so much more original. Yes, I'm sure some astute viewers will also find a few other minor differences between the films, but overall it's almost the exact same experience. So my advice is try to see Rio Bravo first--then, if you'd like, see this film. After all, in 4 out of 5 cases original films are better than remakes.