El Dorado (1967)

John Wayne is Cole Thornton, a gun for hire who has a job offer in El Dorado from rich rancher Bart Jason (Edward Asner).

But Thornton turns down the job after learning that it would mean going up against an old friend, El Dorado sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum).

He also learns that Jason wants to hire him to push the MacDonald family off their water-rich property, land they helped settle long before their greedy neighbor arrived out West.

There’s still trouble between Thornton and the MacDonalds, however — trouble that leaves one member of the MacDonald clan dead and Thornton with a potentially crippling bullet in his back before he rides off.

Flash forward several months, and Thornton learns Jason is still up to his old tricks and has found a fast gun willing to accept his job offer — Nelse McLeod (Christopher George).

But there’s been a change in El Dorado. Having fallen for and been dumped by a two-timing woman, Harrah has turned drunk and is in no condition to stand up to Jason or protect the MacDonald’s interest.

So with new acquaintance Mississippi (James Caan) in tow, Thornton heads back to El Dorado to help his old friend.

John Wayne as Cole Thornton, riding to the assistance of an old friend in El Dorado (1967)

Robert Mitchum as J.P. Harrah, on a two-month bender over a woman who was no good in El Dorado (1967)

Review:

A film that succeeds more because of the performances turned in by Wayne, Mitchum and — to a just slightly lesser degree — Caan and Arthur Hunnicutt as Bull, Harrah’s colorful, bugle-blowing deputy.

As for the plot, it’s pretty much a remake of Rio Lobo with the lawful contingent trying to hold a powerful man in jail, all the while dealing with a drunken lawman.

According to TCM, it wasn’t supposed to be that way. The film was supposed to be based on a Western novel “The Stars in Their Courses” by Harry Brown.

But as Hawks meddled with the script, it became more and more a retelling of Rio Bravo, so much so that Brown wanted reference to his novel removed from the credits.

Charlene Holt plays Maudie, a saloon girl who’s “known” both Cole and J.P. but clearly feels more affection for Thornton. Her role is a confused and muddled mess.

Michele Carey fairs better as wild-haired, tomboyish Josephine MacDonald. If the law can’t take care of Bart Jason, she’s prepared to. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get nearly enough screen time.

Oh, and here’s a bit of trivia: The painting showcased in the opening credits are the work of Olaf Wieghorst, who has a bit role in the film as a blacksmith.

James Caan as Mississippi, explaining the importance of the hat he’s holding in El Dorado (1967)

Arthur Hunnicutt as Bull, lawman J.P. Harrah’s deputy in El Dorado (1967)

Directed by:
Howard Hawks

Cast:
John Wayne … Cole Thornton
Robert Mitchum … J.P. Harrah
James Caan … Mississippi
Charlene Holt … Maudie
Paul Fix … Dr. Miller
Arthur Hunnicutt .. Bull
Michele Carey … Josephine MacDonald
R.G. Armstrong … Kevin MacDonald
Edward Asner … Bart Jason
Christopher George … Nelse McLeod
Marina Ghane … Maria
Robert Donner … Milt
John Gabriel … Pedro
Johnny Crawford … Luke MacDonald
Robert Rothwell … Saul MacDonald
Adam Roarke … Matt MacDonald
Jim Davis … Jim Purvis
Olaf Wieghorst … Swede Larsen

Runtime: 126 min.

Michele Carey with Mississippi after they tussle in the barn in El Dorado (1967)

Charlene Holt as Maudie, the woman with feelings for Cole Thornton and J.P. Harrah in El Dorado (1967)

Memorable lines:

Doc Miller: “Some people call me a doctor. Some other things. But I’m the only one in town.”

Man in the cantina, being quizzed by Mississippi: “Why the hell would I remember a hat?”
Mississippi: “You killed the man who was wearing it.”

Nelse McLeod, when Cole Thornton turns down an offer to work for him: “Probably just as well. Two like us in the same bunch, sooner or later we’d have to find out which one of us was faster.”

Edward Asner as Bart Jason, the man who wants water rights on land that isn’t his in El Dorado (1967)

Christopher George as Nelse McLeod, Bart Jason’s hired gun in El Dorado (1957)

Cole Thornton to Mississippi: “Well, if you’re going to stay around here, I have two pieces of advice: Get rid of that hat. And learn how to use a gun.”

Bull about J.P. Harrah: “He hasn’t put that stopper back in the bottle in a coon’s age.”

J.P. Harrah, woken from a drunken slumber: “What the hell are you doing here?”
Cole Thornton: “I’m lookin’ at a tin star with a drunk pinned on it.”

R.G. Armstrong as Kevin MacDonald, Jason’s rival rancher as Maudie (Charlene Holt) looks on in El Dorado (1967)

John Wayne as Cole Thornton and Robert Mitchum as J.P. Harrash, contemplating their shared interest in Maudie in El Dorado (1967)

MacDonald, indicating J.P. Harrah: “You think I’m going to wait on him?”
J.P. Harrah: “Just give me an hour, MacDonald. You can wait that long to die.”

Mississippi, after he and Cole Thornton have been given deputy’s badges: “Bull, you suppose these will do any good if somebody takes a shot at us.”
Bull: “It’ll give ’em a good mark to shoot at.”

Robert Mitchum as J.P. Harrah, taking an oft-interrupted bath in the jail in El Dorado (1967)

James Caan as Mississippi, Arthur Hunnicutt as Bull and John Wayne as Cole Thornton, waiting for J.P. to sober up in El Dorado (1967)

Michele Carey as Josephine McDonald, caught by Cole Thornton after ambushing him in El Dorado (1967)

John Wayne as Cole Thorton, putting his six-gun to good use on Jason’s men in El Dorado (1967)

James Caan as Mississippi, heading into a scrape with his sawed-off shotgun in El Dorado (1967)

James Caan as Mississippi with John Wayne as Cole Thornton, shortly after they meet in El Dorado (1967)