Director Howard Hawks liked his own Rio Bravo so much that his final two projects would bear a striking resemblance to it. El Dorado would be his second to last film and would feature both John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the cast.
Gunslinger Cole Thornton (John Wayne) has been hired by rancher Bart Jason (Ed Asner) who is in a land war with the MacDonald family. Cole is on his way to Jason’s ranch when he stops in to see old friend Sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum) in El Dorado. Harrah sets him straight on some things that Jason left out of the situation and Cole decides not the take the job.
Kevin MacDonald (R.G. Armstrong) has learned that Jason has a hired gun and warns his son Luke to be on guard. Luke falls asleep and is startled by a returning Cole, who has just quit Jason’s job, the boy fires and Cole instinctively returns the shot and shoots the boy in the gut. The boy thinks that a gut shot man is a dead man and kills himself when Cole turns away.
Cole takes the boy to the MacDonald ranch to explain the situation, but Joey (Michele Carey), MacDonald’s daughter, rides away in a fury before she can here it. The MacDonalds accept the story as a tragic accident but Joey ambushes Cole and puts a bullet very close to his spine. Dr. Miller (Paul Fix) cannot remove the bullet and this causes a temporary paralysis when the bullet comes too near Cole’s spine, but he leaves town for another job.
Six months later, Cole returns to El Dorado, with Mississippi (James Caan) at his side, to find that Harrah has become an alcoholic and a shadow of his former self, Jason is still trying to get the MacDonald’s land. Now he has to sober up Harrah, with the help of deputy Bull Harris (Arthur Hunnicutt), or they all might end up on boot hill.
Wayne and Mitchum both projected powerful images on the screen and El Dorado gave them the perfect opportunity to go up against one another. Director Howard Hawks wasn’t exactly a slouch in the power department either. He served in the air force in the First World War, was a race car driver, aviator, and designer in an air craft factory.
El Dorado would mark his second-to-last feature and would also basically be a remake of his 1959 film Rio Bravo. I suppose today we might call it a “re-imagining” since it really isn’t a straight remake just takes elements, a sheriff defending his office, from that first film.
His final picture, Rio Lobo (1970), would also feature some of those same elements as well as Wayne. The film is a bit long, but is a delight with Wayne and Mitchum well matched. The credits also feature original western painting by Olaf Wieghorst, who cameos as a gunsmith. The previous release of El Dorado only featured a trailer and this Centennial Edition does the Duke, Mitchum, and Hawks proud with some nice new special features.
El Dorado is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
Disc one includes an audio commentary by filmmaker/historian Peter Bogdanovich. A second commentary features critic/film historian Richard Schickel, Ed Asner, and film critic/Hawks author Todd McCarthy. Disc two has the 42 minute “Ride, Boldly, Ride” detailing the making of the film.
The 5 minute “Artist and the American West” (1966) is about Wieghorst but features Hawks and Wayne. The 5 minute “Behind the Gates: A.C. Lyles” has the legendary producer recalling the Duke. Finally, you get the 2 minute trailer and 2 photo galleries.
El Dorado benefits from the inclusion of two Hollywood legends, Robert Mitchum and John Wayne. The story may be a little familiar but it’s the pairing of the two that makes it worth watching.
El Dorado (Centennial Collection) is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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