Cheap El Dorado (DVD) (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum) (Howard Hawks) Price

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Customer Reviews of El Dorado

A GREAT 1960'S WAYNE WESTERN!
Paired with Robert Mitchum, El Dorado is essentially a remake of Howard Hawks' earlier Rio Bravo (with writer Leigh Brackett updating her own script). John Wayne, instead of sheriff, plays an aging gunman, who is getting too wise for the game. Robert Mitchum, as the drunken sheriff, takes over the role of the drunken Dean Martin, and James Caan is the fresh faced greenhorn last played by Ricky Nelson (thankfully, Caan doesn't sing). Hawks and Brackett take their time in setting up this story, giving Wayne and Mitchum plenty of backstory, before the stand-off in the town of El Dorado.

In this movie, Thornton is offered a job by land grabber Ed Asner to take out the Sheriff of El Dorado and run the rightful landowners off their land. Thornton refuses and instead goes to El dorado to help his friend against the other gunmen Asner hired led by Nelse McCloud played by regualr Wayne Co-Star Christopher George.

Caan plays Mississippi a young man who cannot use a gun and is given a sawed off shotgun as his weapon. Arthur Hunnicut plays Bull and essentially takes over the role that Walter Brennan played in "Rio Bravo".

The movie has a great deal of action as well as humor as Wayne and Caan and Hunnicutt attempt to sober up the sheriff. Wayne and Mitchum had great chemistry together and even though the Duke was aging, still commands the screen in this movie.

Lots of fun.

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The best Wane flick
This is my all-time favorite John Wayne flick. Most lists I see list "The Searchers" as the best, but I disagree. This is essentially a reworking of "Rio Bravo", but you get better co-stars here with Robert Mitchum and James Caan. Plus you don't have the unrealistic sing-a-long that occurs in the middle of "Bravo"

In this movie Cole Thornton (Wayne) is a hired gunman in town to help out in a range war. Before he goes out to meet his new boss, Bart Jason (Ed Asner), he meets his old buddy J. P. Harrah (Mitchum). Harrah convinces Thornton that he'd be fighting for the wrong side.

Later, Thornton is in another town, where he meets up with Nils McCloud (Christopher George), who is off to El Dorado to take the job Thornton turned down. McCloud tells Thornton that Harrah is now a hopeless drunk, so of course, this being a Wayne flick, Thornton has to ride to the rescue.

Along the way he is accompanied by Alan Bedillian Traherne ("Yeah, that's why most people call me 'Mississippi'.") and Bull (Arthur Hunnicut). The end is a shootout worthy of the name.

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A Very Entertaining Western
EL DORADO has a lot of good elements such as an interesting story, gripping suspense and above all excellent acting. Besides John Wayne in the role of a professional gunfighter and Robert Mitchum as the sheriff of El Dorado, the film has a strong supporting cast which includes James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Michele Carey and John Mitchum. The latter is the younger brother of Robert Mitchum. In this movie John plays a bartender. He has more than 200 movie and TV appearances to his credit as well as stints as a singer and song writer.

Robert Mitchum can play a drunk trying to cope with a hongover as well as anybody in movies. Howard Hawkes is best remembered for his direction of SERGEANT YORK.

I always thought that EL DORADO deserved a high rating even though it failed to receive any Oscar nominations in 1967. The Academy award competition in that year was dominated by BONNIE AND CLYDE, THE GRADUATE and IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT.