There is no shortage of talent in EL DORADO. John Wayne was starting to look a bit old when he made this film, but I’ll be damned if his character doesn’t look more grizzled because of it. He plays Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire. Robert Mitchum is equally-skilled Sheriff J.B. Hannah, a man with a lot of vices. James Caan debuts as the dagger-throwing youngster, Mississippi. Curvaceous Charlene (MELVIN AND HOWARD) Holt is Maudie, Cole’s love interest. Ed (THE SATAN BUG) Asner plays Bart Jason, a villainous landowner. Christopher (THE EXTERMINATOR) George portrays gunfighter MacCloud, hired by Mr. Jason to eliminate Cole Thornton. Arthur (THE REVENGERS) Hunnicut has the token old-sidekick role as Deputy Bull.

In the town of El Dorado, there is a range war going on between land baron Bart Jason (Asner), and the MacDonald family, who happen to own much of the land outside of town. Both parties are involved in a massive power struggle which is tied up in a knot of legalities. Mr. Jason recruits hired gun Cole Thornton (Wayne) to return to the town of El Dorado to intimidate the MacDonald family. Once there, Cole visits his sweetheart Maudie (Holt). Cole also discovers that his old partner in crime (and fellow gunfighter) J.B. Hannah (Mitchum) is now the sheriff of El Dorado, and he has successfully kept the peace there. J.B. interrogates Cole on his motives for returning to El Dorado. When Cole informs him that he is working for Mr. Jason, J.B. tells him that Mr. Jason is wanted for illegal business tactics in his bid to usurp the land rights from the MacDonalds. He warns Cole that if he insists on working for Mr. Jason, he will be put in jail, too.

After visiting Maudie, Cole leaves El Dorado and travels to the home of Mr. Jason. He tells Mr. Jason that he wants out of their business arrangement. Cole warns Mr. Jason not to mess with the sheriff, J.B. Mr. Jason replies by letting Cole know that he is assembling his own posse to deal with the MacDonald family. Cole heads back to El Dorado, and on the journey back rides by what appears to be a sleeping figure on a hilltop. As Cole rides by the hill, the startled figure wakes, sees Cole, and draws his pistol. Cole sees this and draws his own gun much quicker. Shots are fired, and Cole is not the one that gets shot. Cole checks out the guy, and it turns out to be a 15-year-old kid. Cole is shocked. He is even more surprised to find out the kid is the youngest sibling of the MacDonald family. Rather than face his father and tell him of his defeat, the kid then shoots himself. Cole takes the boy’s body to the MacDonalds’ ranch to explain the circumstances of the boy’s death. One of the daughters, Josephine MacDonald (sexy Michele Carey) doesn’t belief Cole’s story, and shoots him as he leaves the ranch.

Though Cole plays it cool, he really feels guilty about accidentally shooting the kid, so he lets Josephine go. Furthermore, he is determined to break up Bart Jason’s growing posse. Later at a bar, Cole sees a young man come in quietly, who then throws a knife at one of the outlaws (apparently the guy shot his friend), killing him. But the dead outlaw has other friends in the bar, including scarfaced gunfighter MacCloud (George). MacCloud is aware of Cole’s reputation and vice versa. MacCloud offers Cole the opportunity to join the Bart Jason posse with him, and Thorton informs him he just vacated that position not long ago. The two then go their own way. Cole introduces himself to the knife-throwing young man named Mississippi. They become fast friends and Thorton volunteers to teach the youngster how to shoot. It turns out Mississippi has no talent for guns so Cole buys him a special gun that fires buckshot at a wide angle.

Cole and Mississippi return to El Dorado to find that Sheriff J.B. has been on a major drinking binge for months. Not only is he intoxicated nearly all day, but he has become the laughing stock of the town. As Cole and Mississippi do what they can to dry out their friend, Mr. Jason and his posse have come to town to muscle out the MacDonald family. Mississippi whips up a concoction that makes people allergic to alcohol and feeds it to J.B., who finally comes around just as the posse assembles in the center of town. Cole, J.B., Mississippi, and Deputy Bull sneak up on the posse, and arrest Mr. Jason. They take him back to the jail and hold him until the US Marshall’s come to claim him. Unfortunately for our heroes, the posse (now lead by MacCloud) regroup, and succeed in surrounding the jailhouse. They want Cole and J.B. to relinquish Mr. Jason or they will begin terrorizing the populace of El Dorado. To make matters worse the MacDonald family are on their way into town. How will our heroes stop the town of El Dorado from becoming a bloodbath?

Although the script suffers from cliches and western movie conventions, this is one solid effort. The dialog is memorable, and the actors are excellent, especially Robert Mitchum as the ruffled, recovering alcoholic Sheriff J.B. Hannah. EL DORADO explores some uncharted territory for western films, including issues of human infallibility, aging, and imminent mortality. One memorable aspect within the film that drives Wayne’s character is the accidental shooting of a young boy. Though he doesn’t display immediate emotional reaction, you see later that this event has changed him for life.

Robert Mitchum and John Wayne share some wonderful chemistry. Both play gunfighters in their twilight years, and they each have their own set of problems, which makes them seem more human than your average indestructible gunfighter. Right from Mitchum’s initial meeting with Wayne, their relationship is based in deep mutual knowledge, professional appreciation and courtesy, and imminent confusion and bemusement. Besides pulling off the action scenes, these two invoke some subtle humor with each other and the situations they are in. James Caan is pretty good too, as his character recites Edgar Allan Poe throughout the film (although he should lose that awful hat). The only negative performance is that of Ed Asner, who should go stick with Mary T. Moore.

Howard Hawks directs the cast with a firm hand, and imbues the film with a wonderfully relaxed tone. Hawks is famous for redoing scenes from his previous movies, and this one is no exception. He revisits the idea (from RIO BRAVO) of the local saloon owners taking up with the bad guys, and mimics the scene of the Sheriff shooting through a piano to hit one of the baddies. He also experiments with some new and innovative (for the time) camera angles. Hawks knows how to paint a large canvas, deliver interesting action scenes, and generate suspense. The typical Hawks themes are present including camaraderie, professionalism, hardiness, and integrity.

- Phil Chandler

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