"El Dorado"

"I'm paid to risk my neck. I'll decide where and when I'll do it. This isn't it."

Three weeks ago, I ordered two John Wayne/Howard Hawks westerns, Rio Bravo and El Dorado at the same time.

Rio Bravo arrived about a week after ordering it. El Dorado arrived last Saturday, but I only picked it up from the post office yesterday. I watched it last night.

Many say that El Dorado is a remake of Rio Bravo. Well there's a lot of similarities, but I wouldn't call it a remake.

It had been years (decades, actually) since I last viewed El Dorado, so it was almost like watching a new movie. I was thoroughly entertained by it. Wayne and co-star Robert Mitchum had a good buddy chemistry. Wayne looked good in this movie. It was produced in late-1965, but not released until almost two years later. It was made after Wayne's lung cancer surgery. He dropped some pounds during that time. He made The Sons of Katie Elder earlier that same year, immediately following his surgery, and looked haggard in it.

A young James Caan was also a co-star and his role was more comedic. It is hard to believe that he's the same actor who played Santino "Sonny" Corleone in The Godfather six years later.

Jim Davis (Jock Ewing in television's Dallas) was hardly recognizable with a big mustache. Mitchum's brother John played a bartender. John Mitchum is probably best known as detective Frank DiGeorgio in the first three Dirty Harry movies.

Michele Carey, who played hottie Joey MacDonald, recently passed away at 75.

The paintings used during the opening credits were done by Olaf Wieghorst, who also had a bit part as a gunsmith.

Rotten Tomatoes gave El Dorado a 100% positive rating.