EL DORADO (1966) *** Ride, boldly ride. John Wayne and Robert Mitchum do. Well actually, the Duke falls off his horse once and jumps off it a few more times and Mitchum...I don't know that there were any memorable riding scenes involving him at all. It's more a poetic metaphor, you see, so they ride, boldly ride, even if they don't. But they do. James Caan can't shoot, but he can shoot off his mouth, and he gets Michele Carey in the end. End of the film. It's a Howard Hawks film of a Leigh Brackett script, lots of good shootin' and drinkin' and one-liners, though not so many as in Rio Bravo. Not too many have as many as Rio Bravo, pilgrim. Mr. Wayne does his legend proud, and Robert Mitchum is even better as the sheriff with a hangover and in bad need of soap. Good guys sufferin' and limpin' to the final showdown, then havin' a drink. That's how the guys that did it tell us the west was won. Over guys like Ed Asner, who later yelled at Mary Tyler Moore...hmm, sounds like the bad guys are making a comeback.
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