El Dorado Reviews

Basically a remake of Rio Bravo with only two of the same players involved – director Howard Hawks and star John Wayne – and immensely inferior in just about every aspect, I think only the biggest and strictest of fans of Wayne will find much to enjoy about this. Maybe it’s that this exact same story isn’t as fresh or invigorating the second time around, or maybe it’s the characters don’t have the same chemistry or development as they did the first time out. I couldn’t tell you exactly what is missing, but El Dorado is very much the weaker film.

I think some of the problem is that El Dorado trades out Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, and Angie Dickinson for James Caan, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Hunnicutt, Charlene Holt, and Michele Carey. Caan and Mitchum are actors of tremendous depth when given a meaty role, but they seem adrift here. Mitchum’s always at his greatest when he is allowed to show the sympathetic sides of dark characters, or allowed to go full-on charismatic in villainous modes. Holt doesn’t have the tenacity or sarcasm of Dickinson, while Carey is just bad and her makeup is distractingly modern for a western. For a film about hanging out this group of actors seem too disparate to even congeal together. Nelson and Martin understood that they were playing to their personas, and that their acting was to be pitched at movie star charisma, Caan does not, being too intense for everyone else.

But one cannot fault Hawks’ craftsmanship at this point in his life. Even if he seems to be running on autopilot Hawks still manages to get decent work from his major star, and does solid work with the various colors. The last shot, of Wayne and Mitchum walking off arm-in-arm, is a great one. On its own merits El Dorado is a halfway decent movie, operating as a nice time waster and nothing more. It’s when we compare it to Rio Bravo that the weaknesses of it are put into sharpest contrast, and while it’s bad to compare them to each other it can’t be helped. The strongest sense of déjà vu pervades the entire film after the first 15 minutes and only gets stronger from there.

"Next time you shoot somebody, don't go near 'em till you're... sure they're dead!"

The fruitful partnership of John "The Duke" Wayne and Howard Hawks (that spanned over a number of decades) produced several utterly fabulous additions to the Western genre. Red River marked their first collaboration, with the masterpiece of Rio Bravo soon following. El Dorado isn't as good as the films preceding it. It doesn't have the scope, scale or ambition of the previous Hawks/Wayne productions. This is a film that lives and dies by its entertainment value. Where Rio Bravo was bestowed with characters as warm as toast in addition to a lot of interesting dialogue and beneficial character development...El Dorado merely features plenty of action and traditional shootouts. I'll be quite frank: if there's a Western featuring shootouts and horse-riding...I'm there!

El Dorado is more or less a straightforward rehash of Hawks' own Rio Bravo (Hawks even dotingly confessed "I steal from myself all the time"). El Dorado borrows a number of characters, plot points and scenes. In addition, a lot of the same sets from Rio Bravo are recycled here. I personally felt a sense of cinematic déjà vu while watching this film. A few years later Hawks and Wayne teamed up again (for the final time) to make Rio Lobo. This was yet another variation on Hawks' Rio Bravo. It has been reported that when Hawks was talking to John Wayne about Rio Lobo during pre-production of the film, Hawks offered The Duke a copy of the script. "Why bother? I've already been in the movie twice" was John Wayne's response.

Let's get one thing very clear: for the entire duration of El Dorado, John Wayne is John Wayne. Say anything about The Duke’s questionable acting skills, but that man filled up a movie screen. The weight of his personality alone is a driving force that a number of action films can only wish they had access to. The Duke is the personification of honour and determination. To his credit, John Wayne knew what his skills were and he played to them.

In El Dorado, Wayne plays a gunslinger named Cole Thornton. He's your typical cowboy who knows his way around a gunfight. His friend J.P. Harrah (Mitchum) is the sheriff of the Texan town of El Dorado. Due to trouble with a woman, J.P. turned to the bottle to settle his problems. Now he's an uncoordinated drunk and the laughing stock of his town (Dean Martin played a similar character in Rio Bravo).
Wealthy landowner Bart Jason (Asner) gets himself embroiled in a struggle with the MacDonald family who own a large amount of land just outside the town lines. Jason offers Cole Thornton a job, but J.P. warns Cole that getting involved with Jason could lead to him getting arrested. Further circumstances entwine Cole with the MacDonald family, and he sets out to destroy Jason.

El Dorado is a fun film, and a classic example of The Duke in his element during his heyday. There are energetic shootouts that are entertaining to behold, a great script featuring a number of amusing witticisms (when figuring out the best way to get J.P. sober, his deputy delivers his input: "A bunch of howlin' Indians out for hair'll do it quicker'n anything I know"), as well as the eye-catching scenery and wonderful landscapes of the old West. The picture looks great. Costumes, props and sets all look fantastic. Occasionally the interior sets feel like interior sets...but this is just fun Saturday afternoon material, and it's not meant to be scrutinised too intimately.
One aspect I must mention is the music. There's a good dosage of triumphant music at times of course. But there's one particular part of the movie when the music is groovy beyond words. This scene depicts the protagonists stalking a bunch of antagonists. They quietly wander through the dark streets as the cool music brings the scene to a whole new level.

The film is quite flawed, though. With so many ideas stolen from Rio Bravo, there's not much of a point. It makes things only more predictable, with the script seeming far more formulaic. Like most classic Westerns, the film's over-length is a tad irritating as well. A trim would have been advantageous.

As always, John Wayne lights up the screen whenever his authoritative persona wanders into a shot. When he's carrying a weapon of any sort, he looks fantastic. The shootout scenes encompass his greatest moments. The Duke should be lauded for frequently playing the same character without ever growing tiresome.
Robert Mitchum is another terrific actor, perhaps known best for Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear. Mitchum is of course uniformly excellent. He's charismatic and occasionally dashing.
A very young James Caan makes an appearance, playing a character unable to handle a pistol. It's a sacred Western law for the protagonists to be skilled in handling a firearm, thus it's refreshing to witness a main character that requires a few lessons in using a gun.

Overall, El Dorado is a fun Western of a good standard. It makes for highly entertaining viewing despite its slow-ish pace. Director Howard Hawks and star John Wayne know how to keep an audience rapt (for the most part). However, it's a shame so many things are borrowed from Rio Bravo. With a more exhilarating sense of originality, this could have been a better film. If I was to pick a favourite out of Rio Bravo and El Dorado, I'd naturally opt for the former. Be that as it may, El Dorado is still a decent flick. In a modern age of cinema that showcases blood and guts, it's refreshing to see men snuff it in a cloud of smoke with a little dab of tomato sauce on their clothes.

If you are a fan of Westerns or of John Wayne movies in general, then by all means take a look. If you're yet to become a John Wayne fan, this film ain't one to make you a believer. Nevertheless this is good for an evening's worth of entertainment in a classic Hollywood mode.

7.6/10