John Wayne in his later career, played a few hardened gunfighters. In El Dorrado, he plays Cole Thornton, a gun for hire. He gives a credible performance, particularly in scenes where he doesn’t speak; showing the effects of a bullet wound, by grimacing in pain and falling. He does well acting with Robert Mitchum. Mitchum plays the drunken sheriff, J.P. Hurrah. This role is one of Mitchum’s underrated roles. He shows the suffering of an alcoholic, and his redemption, with the help of his friends. James Caan appears as Mississippi; a knife wielding character, who brings some comic relief to the movie. Arthur O’Connel lends his support as Bull, who tries hard to keep J.P. sober. This cast of characters is brought together by Howard Hawks, veteran director of quality westerns.
Cole Thornton comes to El Dorado, to work for Bart Jason, (Ed Asner), a corrupt rancher. Jason’s goal is to control all water rights in the town. Thornton changes his mind, because his old friend, Kevin McDonald, (R.G. Armstrong), is affected by Jason’s land grab. Wayne tells Jason that he’s decided against working for him. Thornton leaves to tell McDonald of his decision. He’s shot at by McDonald’s son, Luke. Thornton returns fire and fatally wounds Luke. Thornton makes him comfortable, and Luke, not wanting a painful death, kills himself with his gun. Thornton goes to the ranch, with Luke’s body, and explains what happened. Joey McDonald, (Michele Carey), who has a good performance as Luke’s sister, doesn’t believe Cole’s story. she follows him, and puts a bullet in his back. He manages to get back into town, and sees Dr. Miller, (Paul Fix) : who was a good friend of Wayne’s. John Wayne, like his mentor, John Ford, had his stock players.
Dr. Miller, patches Cole up, but says he can’t remove the bullet, lodged in his spine. This bullet causes Wayne’s character to have paralysis and pain throughout the movie. Cole Thornton leaves El Dorado and ends up in a small border town. He is in a small restaurant eating dinner, when he sees Mississippi confronting the man who killed his friend and mentor. Mississippi kills the man with a knife, before he can fire his gun. One of the man’s friends attempts to kill him, Cole shoots him, saving Mississippi’s life. While there, they run into Nelse Macleod, (Christopher George), a very dangerous gunman. He informs Thornton, that he’s taken the job, that he didn’t want. Macleod also informs Thornton, that J.P. won’t be a threat, because he’s a drunk. Cole and Mississippi head back to El Dorado, to lend aid to his friend MacDonald.
When Cole and Mississippi arrive, they find J.P. drunk, and Bull informs them that the situation is dire, with Bart Jason controlling the town. Cole and company get rid of the sheriff’s liquor, to try to keep him sober. J. P. walks over to the saloon to get more. While he is there, everyone laughs, because he his just regarded as a drunk: not the symbol of authority he’s supposed to be. He breaks down to Cole, saying they laughed at him. Wayne’s character tells him all he sees, is a badge with a drunk pinned to it. They sober J.P. up, and then go looking for Bart Jason and his gang. They find Jason and throw him in jail. Mississippi and Cole go looking for the rest of the gang. They confront them, but Cole has a paralysis attack, and is captured, and Mississippi is knocked out. The bad guys confront J.P. and demand a prisoner exchange. J.P. agrees, but like any movie featuring John Wayne, the bad guys get their due. Cole recovers, and everyone goes after the villains, including the Macdonald family. Of course, Bart Jason puts up a fight, and loses his life. Nelse Macleod, who wanted to see whether he was a faster gun than Cole Thornton, doesn’t get his wish. Cole surprises him, and kills him with a shotgun. The good guys don’t get by unscathed, both J.P. And Thornton are wounded: Thornton by friendly fire, from Mississippi’s shotgun. After this both men get patched up and Mississippi goes off to talk to Joey Macdonald about his feelings. Cole Thornton and J.P., now having confidence in himself, then walk down the street limping.
El Dorado like most John Wayne films, stays true to the western form. The accomplishment of Wayne was: he kept a dying genre alive, when it was being declared dead by many. His acting skills as well as his grit kept him cranking out good westerns like this. This film is helped by one of the true stars and down to earth guys, Robert Mitchum. He is a person who could act alongside The Duke, and not be overshadowed. This movie also with Howard Hawks directing scenes like the bell tower sequence, when Wayne and company shoot at the church bells to drive the bad guys insane from the noise, is well done. El Dorado may have its flaws, but as a western, and a little over two hours of fun, you can’t beat it.