El Dorado is a classic tale of the good guys being out numbered and out gunned, but having the wit and skill to defeat the enemy. John Wayne stars as a hired gun who rides into a town that Robert Mitchum’s character is the Sheriff of. Wayne, whose character is named Cole Thorton, and Mitchum’s character, J.P. Harrah, have known each other for years but at first it isn’t clear if they will be on the same side in an ongoing range war between the McDonald family and that of a schemer named Bart Jason, played by Ed Asner.
Cole Thorton has been hired by Bart Jason to help him secure the land he needs to continue to grow and expand his business. After getting the real story from Harrah, Thorton informs Jason he isn’t going to work for him, but this doesn’t change Jason’s plans to take the land by force. He hiresNelse McLeod and his gang of guns for hire. Meanwhile, just as the war between the town and Jason’s gang is about to reach a new height, Harrah has become a drunk after some trouble with a woman. He’s still sheriff, but spends most of his time drunken and useless. It’s all Bull, the deputy, can do to run the Sheriff’s office. After hearing about Harrah’s state, Thorton and Mississippi (Jame Caan) ride into town to help get the Sheriff back on his feet. The team of four must then fight back the hired hands of Bart Jason to restore peace in the town.
In a nutshell, that describes the story of El Dorado. There are several other key actors and actresses that play a strong role like Charlene Holt and Michele Carey that I should mention as well. The film has a superb pace to it and as well as a great balance and mixture of light-heartedness and gun slinging action. I thought the story was excellent and the acting and dialogue at least as good, with many memorable lines and scenes throughout the movie. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay this film is just how timeless it is. I’ve probably seen this movie sixty or seventy times in my life, and it’s never been anything but enjoyable thanks to its superb script, pace, and acting.
Volume 9 of the Centennial Collection
I hope that we’ll be seeing more John Wayne’s in Paramount’s Centennial Collection. El Dorado and comes in at Volume 9, and features the same gold and black case design as the other volumes we’ve previously reviewed on the site. In side of the removable cover is a locking keep case that features two discs: one with the feature film and two commentary tracks, and the other with several other features.
This release of El Dorado looks and sounds very good. According to the sticker on the box, it’s been mastered in high definition. Not being a video or audiophile and realizing that this is a nearly fifty year old film, I can’t complain about the presentation, it does well for itself with no technical flaws to speak of.
For extra features, there are several. Some of these have never been seen before. The extras include:
-Audio Commentary by Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (who interviewed Director Howard Hawks in 1972)
-Audio Commentary by Critic And Film Historian Richard Schickel, with Actor Ed Asner and Author Todd McCarthy
-Ride, Boldy Ride: The Journey to El Dorado – This is a seven part featurette totals about forty-five minutes and includes lots of vintage behind the scenes and production stills of the actors and crew. About half of the feature focuses on Howards Hawks, his life, personality, film making methods, and so forth. Various interviews from Peter Bogdanovich and several other industry experts and even Ed Asner for a small part are included. Other parts of this feature focus on James Caan and Robert Mitchum, and John Wayne of course in addition to Charlene Holt and Michele Carey.
-The Artist & The American West – A five minute piece about various painters and their work of the west. This feature or short is vintage in itself, dating back several decades.
-Behind the Gates: AC Lyles Remembers John Wayne – Producer AC Lyles recounts his memories of meeting John Wayne and working with him over the years at Paramount. Clips from different John Wayne films are shown and listening to AC Lyles tell his stories and thoughts was entertaining. I wish it were a longer feature though, it only runs about five minutes.
-Trailer – The original trailer is included.
-Galleries – Three sets of stills are included with pictures from production, etc.
Overall, this is a good set of extras for such a classic film. With that, let’s get to the summary…