El Dorado

"It's the big one with the big two!"

1966 2h 6m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 612🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes●85Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 32,614

WesternDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Harrah. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.

“It's the big one with the big two!”

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Cast

John Wayne
Cole Thornton
Robert Mitchum
Sheriff J.P. Harrah
James Caan
Mississippi
Charlene Holt
Maudie
Paul Fix
Dr. Miller
Arthur Hunnicutt
Bull Harris
Michele Carey
Josephine (Joey) MacDonald
R.G. Armstrong
Kevin MacDonald

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Howard Hawks
Writers: Leigh Brackett, Howard Hawks
Languages: Spanish, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Harold Rosson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nelson Riddle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Woodcock shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Wayne and Robert Mitchum and James Caan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's the big one with the big two!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Howard Hawks directs. Harold Rosson behind the camera. Nelson Riddle scores. John Woodcock cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
260 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.
4Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Harold Rosson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Nelson Riddle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor John Woodcock shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7John Wayne and Robert Mitchum and James Caan carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It's the big one with the big two!".
9IMDB entry: tt0061619 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "sheriff", "based on novel or book", "texas", "ranch".

The technical file

Cinematography: Harold Rosson
Original score: Nelson Riddle
Editing: John Woodcock
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,653,000
Box office: $6,000,000
Return: 129% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: El Dorado (1966)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 85/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 32,614 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

2 nominations total

Also by

Howard Hawks

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-10-21
★ 8/10
Big heavyweight movie all round. Directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne & Robert Mitchum, it's safe to say that El Dorado comes with some pretty tough credentials. Thankfully the expectation that comes with such a teaming is well and truly met. The plot is a familiar one in the context of Wayne & Hawks, if you have seen Rio Bravo? And liked it? The chances are you will like this one too. Wayne is Cole Thornton, a hired gun who is asked to come on the payroll of El Dorado landowner Bart Jason (Ed Asner), who is involved with a land struggle with the MacDonald family. Cole finds his old friend J.P. Harrah (Mitchum) is sheriff of the town, and J.P. advises his old pal that any involvement with Jason will result in J.P. enforcing the law. As it transpires, circumstances between the MacDonald's and Cole lead to Cole taking arms against Jason and his thug followers. So the sheriff, an old Indian fighter called Bull Harris (Arthur Hunnicutt) & a young gambler, who's handy with a knife, called Alan Bourdillion 'Mississippi' Traherne (James Caan) aim to bring down the might of Jason together. Adapted from the book The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown, this was the second to last film that Howard Hawks would direct. Coming as it did in the late 60s it appears to be somewhat undervalued on the great director's CV. Probably due in no small part to the regard that Rio Bravo is held, of which this is pretty much a remake of. Yet, and I whisper it quietly, El Dorado is arguably the better film in terms of performances and the telling of Hawksian themes. Given that Wayne & Mitchum were good friends away from the screen, it's no great surprise to find the chemistry between them is top dollar. They feed of each others' machismo to deliver a tough picture, yet one that's still joyously fun. The end result is a pic that manages to deftly portray many themes, that of loyalty, togetherness, forgiveness, respect and professionalism. The two principal stars are aided by both Caan and Hunnicutt, who offer a notable young & old side of the mythical West, with age, and ageing, a prominent point of note played out by the knowing director. El Dorado looks to be a film where all involved are comfortable in what they are making. Nothing feels forced or hindered by pointless filler. It's true that the film is more in favour of dialogue over bravado action, though what action there is is adroitly handled by the old hands and the youthful Caan with his sawn off shotgun. This is a story without gimmicks, one which isn't ambling along as an excuse for a shoot out come the end. There's a lot to be said for good old fashioned story telling, and we get that here. Intelligence and sincerity throughout, and it's damn funny to boot, El Dorado is a fine movie that holds up very well in each and every decade that passes. 8/10
CinemaSerf2024-03-29
★ 8/10
Definitely one of Howard Hawks' better collaborations with John Wayne. A reasonably strong story about a rancher and his family trying to defy an avaricious and violent Ed Asner ("Bart Jason") who is trying to take over everything he can. There are similarities with "Rio Bravo" (1959) but I think here there is more tangible chemistry between Wayne ("Thornton") and Robert Mitchum as the washed-up drunk of a sheriff (“JP Harrah"). James Caan brings some cheeky charm to his role as the shotgun-toting and poetry-spouting "Mississippi" and Arthur Hunnicutt takes on the reliable foil role (often played by Walter Brennan) entertainingly as "Bull" - complete with his bullet-dented bugle. As ever with these films, the leading ladies have virtually nothing to work with and this, for Charlene Holt ("Maudie"), is no exception. It features plenty of set-piece action scenes with both stars working well together and Caan adding a little mischief, too. Great fun.