Rio Bravo + El Dorado = perfect western

El Dorado is bit better edited than Rio Bravo. Rio Bravo runs overlong and part
of it is those scenes with Angie Dickinson.

There is supposed to be some footage edited out of Rio Bravo with Dean Martin
handling a hired gunfighter played by Harry Carey, Jr. If you remember Dobe
Carey's name is listed in the credits and doesn't appear in the film. Also you
you can hear some reference to this missing footage in the scenes right before
John Russell's men get the drop on Dino and hogtie him.

Absolutely right, Ricky Nelson was a fine singer, but his performance as Colorado is insipid.

Any remake of this had better include Jimmy Caan pouring that mixture down
Mitchum's throat and the later reactions to it. It's the best thing in El
Dorado.

I would of course recommend someone to watch The Godfather with Caan as Sonny
Corleone, but also a favorite role for Caan that I like is The Program. Also
for the boys although he came in for criticism in some quarters for that one.

But forget Mitch and Dino, where are you going to get another Duke?

I loved both movies but the woman I thought was absolutely a "head turner", as they used to say, was Michele Carey. She was the young woman who shot John Wayne's character "Cole Thorton". WoW!! hehe

One thing that made me laugh at myself a bit was I read this first post through once without noticing the poster said "Ricki Martin" instead of "Ricky Nelson".... lol. Well I think that "Martin" guy is a bit too young to have latin hustled his way through that movie... lol. ;)

I don't remember the scene in Rio Bravo where Dino says something about the limping guy...I do remember it being the next part of the dialogue after the "sign hit him" in El Dorado.

At any rate, both of these movies are good, but I have my problems with both.

Rio Bravo
Angie Dickinson: too much talking, although she does redeem herself in the end when she admits it
Ricky Nelson: His lines seem too rehearsed...and his almost rock 'n' roll take on "Cindy" seems a bit out of place
Dino: his ratpack singing style on "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" also seems a bit out of place, although Nelson's guitar accompaniment is more in line.

El Dorado
Two very curious scenes that bother me everytime I watch the film, both of which have to do with timing: the first is when Wayne, Caan, and Mitchum are outside of the church - Wayne seems to stumble on his words, like he's trying to come up with an ab lib because Mitchum is late in making his dash into the church...the second involves Christopher George seemingly making the same type of stumbling before Bull's bugle call starts the "showdown"
Charlene Holt: not as much talking as Angie Dickinson, but a bit preachy at times
Ed Asner: his terrible reaction to being shot
Christopher George: HIS terrible reaction to being shot
Wayne: the times that he went "numb" were a bit amateurish

Favorite lines:
"...and they hung 'im" - Swede (ED)
"see you rater" and "so solly" - Caan (ED)
"There you go again!!..." - Brennan (RB)
"That's the general idea" - Wayne's response to Brennan in the dynamite 'skeet shoot' scene (RB)
"Took ya two!" - Wayne (same scene in RB)
"Hey, you're a girl!" - Caan (ED)
"Let's get outta here!" - Wayne, after Caan pours the cup of yuck into Mitchum (ED)
"Call it 'professional courtesy'" - Wayne and George in two different scenes (ED)
"I hit the sign and the sign hit him" - Caan (ED)
"Well no wonder he carries a knife" - Mitchum (ED)
Brennan: "You think I'll ever become sheriff?" - Dino: "Not if you don't mind your own business!" - (RB)
"Let me hear you LAUGH!" - Mitchum (ED)
"Burdett...Burdett...Nathan Burdett!" - Wayne (RB) ["Bueller...Bueller..."]
"You don't think I could know a girl?" - Wayne and Caan in two different scenes (ED)
"I'll close my eyes" - Mitchum (ED)

Yeah, ED has the better dialogue, as evidenced in my favorite lines...I have more, but this post is too long.

I can't think of his name right off, but did you know that the actor who portrays Nathan Burdett in RB is the same actor who plays the corrupt Marshall in Eastwood's "Pale Rider"?

I find myself intrigued by your suggestion about combining the best elements of both to make a perfect western, but besides the fact there is no such thing as a perfect western (or movie of any genre), why would you give up 2 wonderfully entertaining films to only have one? One commentator has noted already that the characters in both films are NOT the same, but are unique (and fascinating in their own ways), and that a character in one of the films wouldn't work if transposed to the other. Let's be thankful we have both to enjoy.

A few other comments: in "Rio Bravo," Ricky Nelson is neither as bad as his critics make him out to be nor as effective as his true counterpart--John Ireland as the gunslinger Cherry Valance in Hawks' "Red River." There is a youthful sweetness to his character that balances the high-testosterone levels of his male costars, and I liked the musical interlude with him, Martin and Brennan (the music for "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" having been lifted by Tiomkin from his "Red River" score. By the way, does anyone know if Ricky's recording of "Restless Kid," which tells about his character "Colorado," and was written by Johnny Cash, was done for the movie, but dropped, or was done after the fact?) As they say, comparisons are odious, and all I can say is that I prefer the movie with Ricky in it, than what it would be like without him.

Along the same lines, the scenes where a character seems to "stumble" on his lines, is a well-known device Hawks used to keep things from becoming too mechanical. At its best the device adds a lot of verisimilitude, and even when its use is as artificial as the smooth delivery of lines would have been, is more fun. My particular favorite is when Hunicutt delivers a line that makes no sense, and both Mitchum and Wayna stare at each other in confusion. This is pure Hawks, and is one of thise things that makes his films so entertaining for those open to appreciate the idiosyncracies of a gifted artist.

I have probably seen El Dorado somewhere around 100 times or maybe more. I discovered this film when I was about 7 years old and I watched it at least twice a week for a looooong time. In fact I completely memorized the movie and to this day at 26 years old I can quote most of it.

For the first time in about 10 years, I got this movie out and watched it the other night. Unlike a lot of the goofy movies that I liked as a kid, I still think El Dorado is a great film. Being a John Wayne fan, I have seen pretty much all of his films from the 60's and 70's. In my opinion El Dorado is maybe the very best.

Rio Bravo is not a favorite of mine, and in my book it doesn't even compare. One reason that I say this is simply because I don't care much for the actors in Rio Bravo. That includes Dean Martin, Rick Nelson, the dude who played Stumpy, and Angie Dickinson. I don't know why, but I've never been a fan of Dean Martin's rolls in Wayne's westerns.

On the other hand, the El Dorado cast is superb. Mitchum plays the drunken sheriff bit to perfection. He perfectly executes the patheticness of being an alcoholic, then later the toughness of a ticked off sober sheriff. I'm not a James Caan fan, but he was awesome in Mississippi. From the goofy hat to sawed off shotgun to the whole Chinese act outside the saloon, he was great. And unlike many, I preferred Bull to Stumpy. Bull was very humorous...Stumpy just kind of annoyed me.

I thought Nelse McCleod was one of the best villains of any Wayne movie (behind Bruce Dern and Richard Boone of course). But the thing I liked about McCleod that was different than a lot of other villains, is that he was a likeable guy. You could almost actually believe that he could beat the Duke, which is something that a lot of the other villains couldn't do.

El Dorado never has a dull moment, which is something you can't say about Rio Bravo. It's packed full of good action, humor, and the chemistry between the characters is second to none. The opening theme is fantastic, second only maybe to Chisum.

John Wayne did a good job in this movie, in which he pretty much just played himself...which is the way I like him best. I will take Cole Thornton any day over Rooster Cogburn.

I think for a comedy Duke film, it's hard to beat McClintock. For a drama, I've got to go with the Shootist. But for an all-around fun movie that NEVER gets old, El Dorado will always be #1 to me.




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Hey, I don't know if anyone knows this or not, and since you are on IMDB you probably do, but "El Dorado" is a remake of "Rio Bravo". They both have their good points and they both have their bad points.

As someone who has liked the Duke and everything I have ever seen him in except "The Shootist", I think that "Bravo" is the better of the two, but then the original is usually the better one. That still had some of the actors in it that comprised Duke's 'company' and (to me - and anyone who disagrees with me can, it's a free country) the chemistry between the characters in "Bravo" is better. Not that J.P. and Cole don't get along in "Dorado", but the interaction between Stumpy and Chance in "Bravo" is wonderful. They'd worked together before and they had the ability to make you believe that they were old friends on screen. Stumpy makes the movie, in my opinion. But I might like it better 'cause it's one of my dad's favorites.

I was just watching this movie on tv and wanted to know what it was called so I came here. I have to say I am a faithful fan of Rio Bravo because I was pretty much raised on it! I really can't stand Robert Mitchum anyway. He's the same in every movie and he looks and sounds like he's on drugs or something. I love love Dean Martin and I liked Ricky Nelson very much! I think it's priceless to hear both him and Dean sing in the movie. El Dorado isn't bad but I personally think they did it right the first time. Rio Bravo is excellent and El Dorado is a mediocre replica.

El Dorado, Rio Grande and Mclintock are 3 perfect westerns.