tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post7622498208964495410..comments2024-03-28T05:15:00.483-07:00Comments on Buddies in the Saddle: El Dorado (1967)Ron Scheerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-27120723777125881242012-12-01T06:51:31.028-08:002012-12-01T06:51:31.028-08:00Let us know how they compare when you watch them b...Let us know how they compare when you watch them back-to-back.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-12954303314587171412012-12-01T06:51:00.515-08:002012-12-01T06:51:00.515-08:00There are a good many lines like that in the movie...There are a good many lines like that in the movie. Perfect for Wayne's wry delivery.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-82577590630427556372012-11-30T17:28:24.590-08:002012-11-30T17:28:24.590-08:00I agree a great review. I have seen this movie ump...I agree a great review. I have seen this movie umpteen times but your review is making me want to watch it again.In fact I think I'll watch both El Dorado and Rio Bravo over the holiday period.Gary Dobbs/Jack Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10935686140719743351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-41565895197818593682012-11-29T19:28:39.478-08:002012-11-29T19:28:39.478-08:00One of our family's favorite Westerns and one ...One of our family's favorite Westerns and one we quote at each other all the time ("He was limping when he left." "He was limping when he got here!")Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-43157903257657366462012-11-28T16:55:43.525-08:002012-11-28T16:55:43.525-08:00She wrote the treatment, but alas died before she ...She wrote the treatment, but alas died before she could go further with that. Hawks, in putting together an adaptation team for THE BIG SLEEP, initially sought her out after reading NO GOOD FOR A CORPSE, and was thrown mightily when learning Leigh was a woman's name in this case. Decided that talent might just be the deciding factor.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-29870272158990984872012-11-28T09:50:09.572-08:002012-11-28T09:50:09.572-08:00Thanks, Jeff. It's a toss-up for me, too. Dean...Thanks, Jeff. It's a toss-up for me, too. Dean Martin is good, but Mitchum really nails the role of the alcoholic lawman. Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-44565341437401872302012-11-27T23:42:04.563-08:002012-11-27T23:42:04.563-08:00Very nice piece, Ron, on one of my favorite Hawks/...Very nice piece, Ron, on one of my favorite Hawks/Wayne pairings. I'm glad you mentioned the slightly melancholy tone (apparently the original script went much further down this path) to what is otherwise a bit of an easy-going lark of a film. <br /><br />I go back and forth on which I generally prefer, this or RIO BRAVO. RIO BRAVO is the ultimate in comfort food cinema, a film I go back to time and again and never tire of, and probably is the obvious winner. EL DORADO, though, has more than its fair share of charms, and works enough changes on the same basic story to stand up well to the earlier film.<br /><br />Cheers!<br /><br />Jeff <br />thestalkingmoon.weebly.comJeff Flugelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06127134815672151999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-81325903922190070072012-11-27T21:43:51.836-08:002012-11-27T21:43:51.836-08:00I wanted to mention Hunnicutt but ran out of steam...I wanted to mention Hunnicutt but ran out of steam. He's good in the "Walter Brennan role" for sure. And I had the feeling Caan was a little unsure about the character he was supposed to be playing. For a guy who had killed four men, it seemed not to have left a mark on him.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-8706166556247364482012-11-27T21:29:28.517-08:002012-11-27T21:29:28.517-08:00I don't know their story, Todd. I noticed the ...I don't know their story, Todd. I noticed the Altman script when I checked her credits. I believe she also had a hand in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-6815059540192547012012-11-27T21:28:01.268-08:002012-11-27T21:28:01.268-08:00Well said, Wayne. Couldn't agree more. Resigna...Well said, Wayne. Couldn't agree more. Resignation is a good word. There is that undercurrent of melancholy that starts early in the film with the needless death of the young Macdonald boy.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-62908019251864884802012-11-27T17:31:41.047-08:002012-11-27T17:31:41.047-08:00Good choice for reviewing, Ron. Very enjoyable mov...Good choice for reviewing, Ron. Very enjoyable movie, one of my favorites, and Hawks is for sure my all-time favorite director. As noted, it has many similarities to RIO BRAVO, and Hawks/Wayne even did it all over again in RIO LOBO (Hawks's final film and a very weak entry into what might be called a trilogy --- reportedly, when Hawks called Wayne to propose LOBO, Duke said, "Do I get to play the drunk this time?") But getting back to EL DORADO, what I always found interesting about it was not the similarities but rather the contrasts ... The theme of many of Hawks's films have had to do with strong men of action measuring themselves against whether or not they are "good enough". (In a key scene between Wayne and George in EL DORADO, after a near-ambush of Wayne by two of George's men causes George to lament that "it always seems to take more than one", Duke replies: "That's because they're no good.") This sets up the scene you describe that comes later in the film when Wayne, crippled by the bullet pressing his spine, has to resort to trickery in order to best George because, as he's forced to admit, George was "too good to give a chance to." ... In RIO BRAVO, when Ward Bond points out to Wayne that a cripple and a drunk are "all you've got" (to help him against the bad guys), Duke corrects him by saying confidently, "That's WHAT I've got." ... In EL DORADO, there seems to be a resignation to the sad fact that Wayne, Mitchum, and crew are older, more battred, out-gunned --- therefore not as "good" as they used to be --- so they are in fact "all" there is against the bad guys and have to adjust their stand accordingly ... Hawks is always strong on contrasting, slowly developed characterization and this is another fine example.wayne d. dundeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12468818760811792020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-23711264132568511002012-11-27T17:23:35.274-08:002012-11-27T17:23:35.274-08:00One also wonders what kind of negotiations Bracket...One also wonders what kind of negotiations Brackett and Hawks were making with each other about the script...though Brackett was rather a centrist conservative in some ways, at least. A lot of history between them. (And, as you know, a few years later she would write the script for the Robert Altman-directed THE LONG GOODBYE.)Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-50858843574741782672012-11-27T14:33:16.807-08:002012-11-27T14:33:16.807-08:00I agree, Prashant. The two are similar, but it'...I agree, Prashant. The two are similar, but it's such a good story, you don't care.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-70500839375627438452012-11-27T14:32:34.201-08:002012-11-27T14:32:34.201-08:00Yeah, Caan is something of a big kid. Hard to tell...Yeah, Caan is something of a big kid. Hard to tell how he was directed. He seems a little unsure in some scenes.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-329490276322487872012-11-27T14:31:49.323-08:002012-11-27T14:31:49.323-08:00This isn't so much a "little" farmer...This isn't so much a "little" farmer/rancher. He's a decent man with a big spread and a big family who's just up against a ruthless neighboring rancher. Look to SHANE for a "little" farmer.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-16368084614385983442012-11-27T10:20:18.699-08:002012-11-27T10:20:18.699-08:00I like traditional westerns that end in a shootout...I like traditional westerns that end in a shootout in a saloon or out in the street. Ron, you are right about the similarities between EL DORADO and RIO BRAVO, particularly Robert Mitchum's alcoholism in the first and Dean Martin's drunkenness in the other, one a sheriff and the other a sheriff's deputy. And James Caan in place of Ricky Nelson. The Hawks-Brackett formula seems to have worked well in both films. I saw this movie many years ago and wouldn't mind seeing both together again.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-27551593607283289732012-11-27T08:07:55.628-08:002012-11-27T08:07:55.628-08:00James Caan sure looks like a baby. I don't thi...James Caan sure looks like a baby. I don't think I have seen this one. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-20585602993240769432012-11-27T07:59:41.581-08:002012-11-27T07:59:41.581-08:00I was just writing a piece about sympathetic chara...I was just writing a piece about sympathetic characters where I talked about the western theme of the little farmer/rancher against the big one.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-32093256927907959742012-11-27T07:27:52.681-08:002012-11-27T07:27:52.681-08:00Hi Ron!.....This movie, I liked, it was fun! I go...Hi Ron!.....This movie, I liked, it was fun! I got the impression, that Mitchum et al, played it for laughs, not to much, but there was that thread there.<br />I always loved any part Arthur Hunicutt did, he always gave good support.<br />Caan, well, a little out of his depth I thought, but good fun.cheyenne joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16957462106844413179noreply@blogger.com