Howard Hawks is known for his wide variety of genres he tackles, from screwball comedy to war to Westerns. Having gone through a fair amount of his movies at this point, I will say that his versatility is probably a bit overstated. It's perhaps the effect of watching his movies in a marathon setting - even if that setting is over a few months and not back-to-back - but his early to middle career seems defined by the screwball comedy. And he tended to fall back on love triangles frequently.
Towards the end of his career, he gravitated towards one genre, Westerns. I don't know if that was the only genre that interested him, or the only genre that he was actually allowed to make, but of his last six movies, three were Westerns and since John Wayne stars in one of the non-Westerns, I'm wondering if that will have the feel of a Western as well.
In any case, from what I understand, he made effectively the same Western three times, with one of those movies being El Dorado. I am planning to watch all three by the end of the marathon, but for now, El Dorado is my first of the three.
And I'm kind of glad it's my first. El Dorado and Rio Lobo are considered pale imitators of the bonafide classic Western, Rio Bravo (which was the first made of the three), and I really don't think I would have enjoyed El Dorado as much if I had just seen Rio Bravo recently. Who knows?
I have a few complaints. There is no suspension of disbelief I am capable of in believing that a woman who looks like Charlene Holt would be interested in a man who looks like old ass John Wayne. Not to mention Wayne knew her as a kid and as I understand it, was something like a father figure, and yeah no.
Secondly, I don't actually think James Caan is very good in this movie. I like James Caan. And I'm mostly familiar with him as an older guy, where I think he just naturally has more presence. Here, I don't know, he seems like a much worse actor than the James Caan I've watched. (I haven't seen Godfather in a long enough time that I can't even remember how I felt about his performance, and that's the only young Caan I've seen I think)
Also, another John Wayne related complaint, but Wayne is just too old for this role. Or out of shape. Robert Mitchum specifically plays the out of shape, past his prime alcoholic that is very easy to buy, but Wayne still being as quick as ever? Suspension of disbelief required.
I lead off with my complaints, because if you can get past those elements - and really if you're watching an older John Wayne movie, you probably understand what you're getting into and can look past those elements, then this is a good, solid Western. You get exactly what you expect in this movie.
One thing that stands out is how great Christopher George is as the villain. He mostly sits down, commenting on the action, bemused at the whole situation, and his performance alone makes you believe in his reputation. Because... we don't really ever see it. He has other guys do his bidding. And it doesn't matter that we don't see it, because George has a great, above-it-all element. It's so great that I'm genuinely disappointed he doesn't really seem to be in much else that I would watch.
Mitchum is of course great. It's the type of great that can get overlooked because he's able to so embody his character, that it doesn't even look like he's trying. And John Wayne, well, he's John Wayne. He's playing John Wayne. This is not one of those performances where Wayne is really acting. And I'm starting to love Arthur Honnicut, who seems to be doing his best Walter Brennan impression here.
All in all, I enjoyed El Dorado despite my complaints. It's a movie that doesn't feel like it should work as well as it does, but for some reason, it's able to blow past the things you can't accept and just makes you enjoy a good Western.
3/4 stars
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