El Dorado

Plot synopsis:
Cole Thornton (John Wayne), a gunslinger-for-hire, is hired by wealthy rancher Bart Jason (Ed Asner) to help him in a range war with the McDonald family in the town of El Dorado. The local sheriff, an old friend of Thornton, J. P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum) gives Cole more details that Jason had deliberately left out, including the possibility of having to side against Harrah. Unwilling to fight his friend, Thornton quits, to the relief of saloon owner Maudie (Charlene Holt), who is in love with Thornton (and was for a time a romantic interest of Harrah's).
The McDonalds learn of Thornton's presence in town. Fearing that he might come for them, Kevin McDonald (R. G. Armstrong) puts his youngest son, Luke, on guard. When Thornton passes by on his way back from rejecting Jason's offer, Luke (Johnny Crawford), who has fallen asleep, wakes and fires a wild warning shot whereupon Thornton reflexively shoots him. Luke is still alive when Thornton finds him, but he refuses treatment based upon the belief that a gut-shot man wouldn't have a chance anyway and commits suicide when Thornton turns his back on him.
Thornton subsequently brings the boy's body to the McDonald ranch and offers an explanation. The only McDonald daughter, Joey (Michele Carey), impulsively rides off before Thornton can finish his story and ambushes him shortly thereafter. Her shot is not fatal, but the bullet lodges next to Thornton's spine and in time begins to trouble him by occasionally pressing against the spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis of his right side. The local doctor, Dr. Miller (Paul Fix), does not have the skill to remove the bullet and Thornton soon departs El Dorado for a new job.
Several months later, Thornton runs into another gunslinger-for-hire named Nelson McLeod (Christopher George) and a young greenhorn with a peculiar hat called Mississippi (James Caan), who has come for revenge against one of McLeod's men for the murder of his old friend and mentor, Johnny Diamond. McLeod has been hired by Jason for the same job Thornton turned down and Thornton hears from McLeod about how Harrah has turned into a drunk after an unhappy love affair. Thornton decides to return to El Dorado, hoping to save Harrah from being gunned down by McLeod and his men. He is followed by Mississippi who also wishes to help, despite his lack of experience and terrible aim with a gun.
Once Thornton and Mississippi arrive in El Dorado, they hear more of the story behind Harrah's change. The two men then join with Deputy Sheriff Bull (Arthur Hunnicutt) in order to get Harrah sober and cleaned up. Mississippi contributes an old folk recipe for a hangover that he learned from Johnny Diamond, promising it will make any man unable to drink liquor for a while. The concoction proves to be violently effective, and leaves Harrah sober and furious. Within a day of their arrival, McLeod and his men also come to El Dorado and are hired on by Bart Jason. When one of them shoots one of the McDonalds, Thornton, Harrah, Bull and Mississippi chase the shooter and his friends into an old church and then into Jason's saloon. Harrah arrests Jason and takes him to the jail for his part in the shooting of one of the McDonalds. Later that night, Thornton and Mississippi decide to patrol the town in the hope of keeping the peace and are deputized by Bull. There is another shootout with McLeod and his men, which results in a minor leg injury for Harrah.
The next day, Maudie sends a message to Thornton and his friends, stating that McLeod's men are frightening her and her patrons. When Thornton and Mississippi go to help her, they are ambushed and Thornton has an attack that leaves him partially paralyzed and captured by McLeod. Subsequently, McLeod trades the injured Thornton for Bart Jason, a trade to which Harrah agrees, despite knowing that doing so will mean that nothing will stand in the way of McLeod going after the McDonalds.
Sure enough, McLeod and his men shortly thereafter kidnap one of the McDonalds in order to force Kevin McDonald to sign over his water rights to Jason. Thornton and the others are forced to quickly come up with a plan to rescue Kevin McDonald's son and neutralize Jason and McLeod. Despite Thornton's paralysis and Harrah's leg injury, the two of them, along with Bull and Mississippi, return to town on wagons. While Thornton distracts Jason and McLeod outside of the front of the saloon, Mississippi, Harrah and Bull attack from the rear. The kidnapped McDonald is rescued, with a little help from Joey McDonald. Jason, McLeod and his men are killed, and order is restored to El Dorado. Thornton also begins to imply that he may discontinue his wandering ways in order to stay in the town with Maudie.

Tags: cult, violence

Review:
It deals with Cole Thornton (John Wayne) , a gunslinger for hire who suffers badly from age and gun wound , he joins forces with an old friend , Sheriff J.P. Hara (Robert Mitchum) in a dusty little town .
Duke along with a shotgun-toting old loony (the scene-stealing Arthur Hunnicutt as a half-crazed sympathetic old man with a trumpet and in similar role to Walter Brennan) are besieged and only helped by the hot-head young named Missisipi (James Caan) whose finger itches demoniacally on the trigger every time he gets a nasty guy in his sights .
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 Caanall 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 seenin 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..
The production has a fine title sung by the great Ed Ames, titles by noted western artist Olaf Weighorst (who also appears as a gunsmith),; and its technical production is truly outstanding in every department Other actors contributing to this near-masterpiece of entertaining film-making include Arthur Hunnicutt, R.G. Armstrong, Christopher George and Charlene Holt in her best screen role ever.
Altogether a very-satisfying, adult and physically beautiful color western; writer Brackett was asked by Wayne to include the saloon scene from "Rio Bravo" in a rewritten version, and it works just as well here; the major change is James Caan as Alan Trehearne, plus the change of cast to Mitchum, Hunnicxuut and Holt, who are all very good indeed..
People focus on the big stars of this film and often miss how good the visuals are in here.John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and James Caan all played characters that were fun to watch.
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.
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..
Howard Hawks knows just how to harness this story and give each actor room enough to strut his stuff.John Wayne plays a hired gun who comes to the aid of a drunken sheriff played to perfection by Robert Mitchum.
In the Broken Saloon at El Dorado, two old friends, each with a reputation, meet again But Sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum) greets Cole Thornton (John Wayne) with a pointed rifle Harrah has heard his friend works now for Bart Jason (Edward Asner).
G. Armstrong).MacDonald got four boys and a girl All worked real hard They hung together through the rough times and how things were looking up, MacDonald was not ready to sell So he's holding and Jason was pushing, and the sheriff was standing right in the middle Warned that Thornton has gone to Jason's, MacDonald has left his youngest boy out there to do a man's job He went to sleep When Cole came by, Luke (Johnny Crawford) woke up, jumped up and started firing his gun All Cole was seeing was somebody shooting at him from the rocks Thornton, thinking himself the target, shoots and drops the boy  Luke explains the error then To escape the pain of his mortal wound, he kills himselfThornton takes his body to his fathers' place, and after he explains what happened, his sister, Joey (Michele Carey), a wild cat in buckskin pants who didn't believe him, tried to kill him Her brother stops her and her father asks her to get in the house After Thornton leaves the ranch, Joey (Michele Carey) ambushes Cole at a creek, dropping him with her riffle bullet He manages to get back on his horse and escapes to Maudie's place, where Doc Miller (Paul Fix) treats him The bullet was dangerous up against his spine, however, as Doc advises him to find a better surgeon for the bullet's removal After a short time, Thornton leaves El Dorado One of the best moments in the film came in a Cantina near the Mexican border when James Caan (Mississippi) enters the place and calls one of four men sitting at a dinner table, reminding him if he remembers him or if he remembers the blue hat he is wearing?
Mississippi says he caught up with his other three companions and he killed them all, and that he was the last of the four He asks him to stand up and as the audience observed, Mississippi wasn't wearing, at all, any gun Obviously, when Jason just brought his outfit into town, the action started Robert Mitchum is 'the tin star with a drunk pinned on it.' He was too mad to be scared and too sick to worry about it..Charlene Holt plays Maudie the gambler's widow who throws her arms around Cole, sees Harrah, and bursts out laughing when she finds her old flame and her current one are friends She tells the sheriff that Cole gave her a stake, and helped her get on her feet Michele Carey plays Joey, the wild girl who thinks that Mississippi looks a lot better without that silly hat Christopher George plays Nelse McLeod, a dark, thin-faced man with a scar on his eye "El Dorado" was the third of four Westerns that Howard Hawks made with John Wayne Hawks' massive reputation as a director of Westerns virtually rests on just two films ("Red River" & "Rio Bravo") but these two are sufficient to reveal a highly skilled, intuitive filmmaker, and one who has managed to satisfy large audiences and serious critics alike within a commercial system.
Gunman Cole Thornton (John Wayne) turns down a job with rancher Bart Jason (Ed Asner), who is trying to steal water from his neighbor, when he finds he must fight an old friend Sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum).
Directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne & Robert Mitchum, it's safe to say that El Dorado comes with some pretty tough credentials.
So the sheriff, an old Indian fighter called Bull Harris (Arthur Hunnicutt) & a young gambler, who's handy with a knife, called Alan Bourdillion 'Mississippi' Traherne (James Caan) aim to bring down the might of Jason together.Adapted from the book The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown, this was the second to last film that Howard Hawks would direct.
Yet, and I whisper it quietly, El Dorado is arguably the better film in terms of performances and the telling of Hawksian themes.Given that Wayne & Mitchum were good friends away from the screen, it's no great surprise to find the chemistry between them is top dollar.
The two principal stars are aided by both Caan and Hunnicutt, who offer a notable young & old side of the mythical West, with age, and ageing, a prominent point of note played out by the knowing director.El Dorado looks to be a film where all involved are comfortable in what they are making.
Released in 1967, Howard Hawks' "El Dorado" is an obvious reworking of his 1959 hit "Rio Bravo," both starring John Wayne, yet "El Dorado" is not a remake, as some claim.The similarities are undeniable: Both films were shot in Old Tucson, Arizona (substituting for West Texas); both feature the same four general protagonists with John Wayne in the starring role, although he's not the Sheriff in this one; both involve the four protagonists staving off owlhoots intent on freeing a prisoner from the town jail (in this case, played by Edward Asner); and both feature a beautiful saloon-type female.
It may be 1966, but director Howard Hawks--ostensibly working from an adaptation of Harry Brown's book "The Stars in Their Courses"--turns this leisurely western into a re-visitation of 1959's "Rio Bravo", with star John Wayne pretty much cast in the same role of a hired gunslinger with a big heart (Robert Mitchum stands in for Dean Martin as the besotted sheriff, Charlene Holt takes romantic-interest Angie Dickinson's place, while James Caan substitutes for Ricky Nelson as the young greenhorn).
Aging gunfighter (John Wayne), drunken sheriff (Robert Mitchum), cantankerous old deputy(Arthur Hunnicutt), and a knife-throwing gambler (James Caan) team up to protect a rancher and his family from hired gunmen.
El Dorado is a very fun buddy picture with a great sense of humor and lots of blazing gunshots.For the few who haven't seen this, the plot involves John Wayne and his newly acquired sidekick James Caan traveling to El Dorado to head off a group of gunmen sent by land baron Ed Asner to kill Wayne's old pal Robert Mitchum, the town's drunken sheriff, who's intervention in a land dispute has made him a marked man.Besides being an excellent movie, this is a good showcase for a then up-and-coming James Caan.
Against most opinions when I commented Horad Hawk's previous "Rio Bravo" I said the director probably realized he had spoiled that film with some major flaws, mainly the final shooting contest by sheriff Chance and his sidekicks hitting dynamite bars on the ground and in the air at 100 feet away or even more; a sort of "spaghetti western" sequence.
I think Hawks felt he was in debt with viewers and so he made "El Dorado", practically a remake of "Rio Bravo".I wouldn't say he got a classic here but this is a better film than "Rio Bravo" with more credible situations that make it a more serious western.John Wayne is John Wayne again, but Dean Martin turns into Robert Mitchum, Ricky Nelson into James Caan (thank God!), Angie Dickinson into Charlene Holt, Walter Brennan into Arthur Hannicutt and Claude Akins and John Russaell into Cristopher George and Edward Ashner.Never understood the passion of western fans for "Rio Bravo" -in spite of its good atmosphere and excellent music-, but in my opinion "El Dorado" is a better product and an acceptable film in the genre..
It's not a bad movie, but the plot isn't as good as in Rio Bravo, nor is the supporting cast.Robert Mitchum, though a great actor, doesn't come close to the job Dean Martin did in Rio Bravo, and Keenan Wynn's portrayal isn't remotely in the same class with Walter Brennan's in Rio Bravo.
Director Howard Hawks and John Wayne would essentially remake the same story three times: first as RIO BRAVO in 1959, then as EL DORADO in 1967, and finally as RIO LOBO in 1970.
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 John Wayne westerns more critically acclaimed than EL DORADO--RED RIVER, THE SEARCHERS, and STAGE COACH to name but a few.
The protagonist is tough, competent, and cantankerous cowboy Cole Thornton (John Wayne), assisted more or less by a flawed town sheriff named J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum), a youthful Southern guy out for justified revenge named Mississippi (James Caan), and Bull (Arthur Hunnicutt), an elderly town coot loyal to the sheriff.
The film told the story of how a fearless gunfighter (played by Wayne) defends a town against a gang of ruthless outlaws with the aid of a motley collection of characters, including a drunkard, a semi-comic but brave old man and a young greenhorn.In 1967 Howard Hawks made another Western starring John Wayne and with a screenplay written by Leigh Brackett.
The film told the story of how a fearless gunfighter (played by Wayne) defends a town against a gang of ruthless outlaws with the aid of a motley collection of characters, including a drunkard, a semi-comic but brave old man and a young greenhorn.This second film was not, officially, a remake of "Rio Bravo"; it was, for example, given a new title, "El Dorado".
Robert Mitchum as a drunk (stretch role).5) Ed Asner taking a beating from Mitchum.6) John Wayne showing a very relaxed side.7) Christopher George- pre- TV's The Immortal as the nominal villain gunslinger.If you can bet a friend who hasn't seen the movie how many times someone is asked to slip out the back door and to get something.Politically incorrect material- James Caan as a Chinese houseboy/waiter.
Wayne is the veteran professional gunman, Cole Thornton who turns down a rich rancher as the drunken sheriff in town, Robert Mitchum is an old buddy who has taken to drink.When the rich rancher hires another gunman, Cole, Sheriff Harrah, his deputy and hot headed young cardsharp, Mississippi (James Caan) band together to stop the wealthy rancher bullying the poor ranchers over the water rights.
The rancher having been jailed by the Sheriff, his men are out to spring him.Mitchum is a drunk, his deputy is too old, Mississippi is to inexperienced and volatile, Cole has a bullet lodged near his spine.The film is not as good as Rio Bravo although this is slightly shorter and in some ways the casting is better.
The Violence is at Times Brutal and the Cinematography is Wider and more Sumptuous than Bravo.Overall, with the help of a Great Sidekick Arthur Hunnicutt Providing the Levity and a Couple of Strong Female Characters, this is one of the Best Films for Hawks, Wayne, and Mitchum and really does Overshadow its Overrated Brother "Rio Bravo"..
Gunfights, humor, and good chemistry between the main actors.This movie is a classic John Wayne western film.
His famous quote that all he cared about was making hits seems to have been proven with this movie, at the expense of originality.Robert Mitchum and John Wayne make a good pair, but Mitchum is just slotted into the part Dean Martin played in Rio Bravo - though James Caan (in one of his first outings) takes over the part every now and then.
A superlative Howard Hawks western and one of his most under-valued films perhaps because most critics saw it as something of a rehash of his masterpiece "Rio Bravo" with Robert Mitchum in the Dean Martin role, Arthur Hunnicutt in the Walter Brennan part and James Caan standing in for Ricky Nelson.
But there is nothing wrong with her performance, and Arthur Hunnicutt, James Caan and Christopher George are also very good.There are also enough differences between El Dorado and Rio Bravo to keep the latter film from seeming like a complete remake.
Although it is essentially a close remake of Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks' El Dorado is still an interesting and sometimes exciting Western that boasts a very fine cast and some dramatic moments.Here, the iconic John Wayne plays a variation of his Sheriff John T.
However, James Caan makes a better green kid type; Robert Mitchum is easily a match for Dean Martin (supercool Dino may have been, but this is Mitchum we're talking about here!); John Wayne is as good here as he was in Rio Bravo; which only leaves Arthur Hunnicutt as the weak link when compared to that greatest of all supporting actors, Mr. Walter Brennan.
Alas...no Angie Dickinson.But, it is still a darn entertaining Western with John Wayne as outlaw Cole Thornton coming to the aide of drunk Sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum) with the assistance of young greenhorn Mississippi (James Caan).It has good shootouts, strong bad guys (Edward Asner and Christopher George) and comedy banter between two giants of the screen - Wayne and Mitchum.The only thing it is missing is beauty shots of sprawling vistas, but that is more of a John Ford thing more than a Howard Hawks thing.7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis).
The cinematography was top-notch and like all of John Wayne's films, there was no shortage of great characters.I won't rehash the story but suffice it to say that the Duke, along with Robert Mitchum and James Caan, gets the job done in the end.