Last time you took the front door and I took the back, this time we’ll do’er the other way around.
–John Wayne as Cole Thornton
El Dorado was the second to last film of legendary director Howard Hawks. Released in 1967, El Dorado is the second film in a trilogy directed by Hawks varying the idea of a sheriff defending his office against belligerent outlaw elements in the town: the other two films are Rio Bravo (1959) and Rio Lobo (1970), both starring John Wayne. Robert Mitchum also stars here and the supporting cast includes James Caan, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ed Asner, Christopher George, R. G. Armstrong, Paul Fix, Johnny Crawford, Adam Roarke, and Jim Davis.
John Wayne stars as Cole Thornton, a hired gunslinger. A would-be cattle baron named Bart Jason (Ed Asner) hires Thornton to run off the neighboring ranchers. On his way to the job, Cole stops in the town of El Dorado to visit his old buddy Sheriff J.P. Harrah, played by Robert Mitchum. J.P. advises Cole to refuse the job and tells him Jason’s real motivation is to grab land grab land belonging to a long established El Dorado family, the McDonalds. Cole switches sides but not before being shot by a put-upon rancher’s daughter, Joey (Michele Carey), who thinks Cole is still working for Jason. With the bullet lodged near his spine, Cole refuses a risky operation and leaves town looking for work.
About six months later, Cole returns to El Dorado with a young, fiery fellow named Mississippi (James Caan) to find that Jason has hired a gang of gunslingers to force Joey’s family off their ranch. Among them is Nelse McLeod (Christopher George). Cole also discovers that J.P. has evolved into a pathetic joke of a drunk after a romantic breakup. In the midst of all this, Jason’s hired gums remain determined to finish the job. So, Cole along with Mississippi and J.P.’s obnoxious deputy Bull (Arthur Hunnicutt) try to head off the gang of hired guns. At the same time, Cole helps J.P. to pull out of his drunken stupor and regain his professionalism.
Though there is an emphasis on ‘getting the job done,’ a theme that runs through several of Howard Hawks’ best known films, El Dorado adds the question of professionalism into the mix. What is professionalism when you discover that you are growing old and your powers are waning? Infirmity, disability, aging — these are Hawks’ overriding concerns in El Dorado.
Perhaps Hawks, 70 at the time of El Dorado’s filming, was beginning to question his own mortality. Instead of eschewing friendships as his characters had in earlier films such as Rio Bravo, El Dorado points to the importance of friends and loyalty as a man grows older. Even the younger characters get into the act. James Caan’s Edgar Allen Poe-quoting Mississippi agrees to hang around and help Cole and J.P. by remarking, “Maybe I could help you. You saved my life twice.” To which Wayne replies, “Yeah, but I’ll be too busy to keep doing that!”
While not what I would call one of the ‘great westerns’ El Dorado is entertaining enough that it’s not until it’s over and after the final shot of Wayne and Mitchum limping their way down Main Street that the realization kicks in that Hawks is using the western to tell a broader tale about morality and growing old.
Paramount has taken what appears to be a well-preserved, 1.85:1-ratio print, cleaned it and transferred it to disc anamorphically. The Technicolor shines through most realistically, with colors that are true though never bright or flashy. Definition is reasonably sharp for an standard definition disc and black levels are more than acceptable.
The audio is Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural, mostly midrange, and, of course, all center channel. Its greatest virtue is clarity of dialogue, although that comes at the expense of some naturalness: The dialogue is somewhat hard. There is a good dynamic punch.
The special features included here are spread over two discs. The first disc includes the film itself and two commentary tracks. The second disc includes a documentary on the making of the film, a brief vintage featurette, a discussion with A.C. Lyles about Wayne’s films with Paramount, as well as the film’s trailer and some stills galleries.
On Disc One:
• Feature Commentary with Peter Bogdanovich – This is a scene-specific commentary, with Bogdanovich critiquing and discussing the elements of most scenes. As he did with the commentary for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Bogdanovich talks through the film, at times exhaustively restating what we’re already seeing on the screen. His skills as a film critic are still quite sharp, however, and it’s an education just listening to him talk through the elements.
• Feature Commentary with Richard Schickel, with contributions by Ed Asner and author Todd McCarthy – Richard Schickel provides a scene-specific commentary to compliment Bogdanovich’s discussion. This one also includes recorded comments by Asner and McCarthy that appear to be culled from their statements in the documentary on the second disc.
Disc Two:
• Ride, Boldly Ride: The Journey to El Dorado (41:53, Anamorphic) – This is a 7-part featurette that covers several aspects of the making of the film, from the dismissal of the original script in favor of a remake of Rio Bravo to the relationship between Howard Hawks and John Ford.
• Trailer (3:06, Anamorphic) – The original theatrical trailer for the film is included here.
• The Artist and the American West (5:28, Full Frame) – A brief promotional film from 1967 that focuses on the work of Olaf Wieghorst, who painted the artwork seen under the opening credits and who has a small cameo in the film.
• Behind the Gates: A.C. Lyles Remembers John Wayne (5:32, Anamorphic) – This is a short interview with A.C. Lyles, who discusses John Wayne’s career and his films with Paramount Pictures. Clips from those films, including Wayne’s Academy Award winning performance from True Grit are included here.
• Galleries (Anamorphic) – Four galleries of stills are included here, three for production stills and one for Lobby Cards.
Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish for the film itself, as well as for the documentary. A standard chapter menu is included for quick reference. The packaging also includes a short pamphlet about the film with some anecdotes and photos.
