I am fifty years behind in finally seeing this great western, starring Robert Mitchum and John Wayne. Who would have expected the free wheeling, pot smoking Mitchum to work so well with the seemingly anal retentive,uptight conservative Wayne. They are absolutely great together as two aging gunfighters who reunite to battle another gun for hire. A young James Caan, a few years before his role as Sonny in the Godfather, rounds out the team. Mitchum has finally settled down as the sheriff of a sleepy town as Wayne shows up to right some wrong. They both are wounded along the way, leading to some extremely funny exchanges, as the pair show perfect comedic timing. Caan is a gambler who is completely inept with guns and gets the best lines in the movie. El Dorado is a must see film.

Having turned down a crooked job to avoid having to fight a longtime friend turned sheriff, a gunslinger comes to town to help his sheriff friend out after learning that somebody very violent has accepted the job instead in this popular western drama starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. The chemistry between the two stars feels very real every step of the way and as Wayne teams up with James Caan who has recently avenged a friend's death, the movie ultimately becomes a testament to the power and importance of friendships. There is some nice additional drama along these lines as Wayne finds himself needing to sober Mitchum up before helping him to fend of those incoming. Potent as the drama often is though, the film backfires each and every time it tries to inject humour into the story; at its most excruciating, Mitchum is comically whacked over the head when drunk and Caan imitates a Chinese man by scrunching up his face. Fortunately, the humour is quite sporadic and the overall tale remains powerful until the end. Particularly remarkable are the shots of the three protagonists cautiously wandering the shadowy streets at night, alert for possible sniper attacks. Wayne also impressively manages to ride his horse backwards at one point, as if reversing in a car, in order to keep his eyes on various marksmen who might try to shoot him as he departs.

There is enough shooting, killing, street and bar room brawling, comedy, and big name stars in this movie to carry it. But the sets were great, dialog was spot on, and it didn't hurt to have a few pretty women in the cast.I'm not sure I could write a spoiler for this movie. I may have watched this movie five or six times but there is so much plain cowboy to this movie that I never paid much attention to the story line.This is classic John Wayne. He is wise, a great shot, seems to know everybody, and is respected by the other characters. Robert Mitchum can't help but bring some comedy into any role, even when he's trying to be serious. I never actually believed Mitchum was a great actor, but it didn't matter. He was so likable and steady he was a great addition to any movie. What Mitchum brought to the movies was... Mitchum.This may be one of the best James Caan roles ever. He portrays a young cowboy with a chip on his shoulder and is perfect in the role.Charlene Holt in that lingerie getup - wow. All she had to do was stand there.Paul Fix must have been in 200 movies. Such a recognizable face and perfect for cowboy movies. He had a role in the original Battlestar Galactica too. He added character to every role he played.Michele Carey as the cute young reckless daughter.The list of well known character actors goes on and on in this movie and each had a chance to strut their stuff.You see the story line really doesn't matter that much. Just watch the movie to see each of the actors and how they add to the movie.Great stuff. Easy watching. This will never be repeated.

Six years after the success of Rio Bravo, director Howard Hawks re-worked elements of the plot for another great western with The Duke. The comparisons between the two films are in inevitable but this doesn't actually start to even resemble the previous film until around the halfway mark and by then it's already pulled you into it's story and warmed you to it's characters that it doesn't matter anyway. Personally I love both films but if I was forced to choose I'd probably say this was the superior film. I felt that Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson were too lightweight in Rio Bravo, whereas Robert Mitchum and James Caan here are perfectly cast and bring more to the table. I also think it works better to have an actual sheriff be the drunk (in this case Robert Mitchum in the role) rather than a deputy, and to have his friends try and help him get back on his feet and regain his dignity and self respect. But it's just a matter of opinion.Mitchum is fantastic in this as the drunken friend of gunslinger John Wayne. I'm not usually a fan of his but he really delivers the goods here. He's funny, pitiful and gutsy throughout. One of the best scenes shows him going into the saloon to get a bottle of whiskey and the townsfolk are laughing at him. It's a brilliant moment. He's been living in his own little bubble for months and it takes this for him to wake up and realise how far he's sunk. The way he walks out holding his bottle in such a pathetic manner and tries to keep it together when he sees his friend John Wayne looking at how terrible he looks, is a great piece of acting. Not a single word spoken from him. Equally good is the scene where he later goes back to the saloon and shows the bad guys and the residents he's still got what it takes. He really does put his own stamp all over this performance.And The Duke is The Duke. What more has to be said. By this time these roles just fit him like a glove but he has a really good part here to sink his teeth into rather than just been the typical hero. Near the beginning of the film he shoots a teenage boy in self defence, which results in the boy killing himself. This is a great sequence, where Wayne shows off just in his expression how guilty he feels. It also gives him a personal reason to get involved in helping out the boy's family later on.In many ways this is a funnier film than Rio Bravo but at the same time it's also a darker film in other ways and this is one such moment. John Wayne been responsible for a boy's death is certainly not something that would happen often in his films.James Caan plays a young cardsharp nicknamed Mississippi who befriends Wayne and Arthur Hunnicut plays Bull, an ex-Indian fighter turned deputy to Mitchum's sheriff. The film is really the Wayne and Mitchum show but these guys also have their moments and fit in nicely. The camaraderie between the four of them as they hole up in the sheriff's office, and their banter during the shootouts is consistently funny.Charlene Holt and Michelle Carey are both suitably sexy and provide some eye candy to balance out the male dominant proceedings, and Christopher George makes a memorable villain has a gunslinger with a moral code which makes a refreshing change in a traditional western.When it comes to the good guys vs bad guys, I think it works well if the good guys are outnumbered or are lacking in their skills to make them underdogs that you can really root for. Well in this case, these heroes are both outnumbered and lacking. J.P's struggling with his alcoholism, Bull is getting on in years, and Mississippi can't shoot straight. In fact his shooting's so bad he carries a shotgun instead of a pistol and then he's not much better. And Wayne suffers with periodic paralysis from a bullet that is lodged near his spine. So they have to make up for it with guts. Every time I watch this film I like it even more. They are just a great bunch of characters to hang out with.Hawks certainly knew how to make a great western and here he delivers again. From the great opening theme song right through to the climax, this is a joy for it's entire 2 hour running time. Despite the similarities it doesn't belong in Rio Bravo's shadow in my view, it deserves to be regarded as classic in it's own right.