Review of El Dorado (1966) by Dean M — 04 Sep 2006

This movie has deeply weird casting. I mean, what on Earth kind of movie has Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, James Caan, [i]and[/i] Ed Asner? Seriously?

This one, clearly. It's one of my mom's favorite movies, and I've seen it more times than I can count--but I still really like it, even though I'm not much of a John Wayne fan, and I can't stand James Caan. (Actually, I didn't realize it [i]was[/i] James Caan until fairly recently. It's weird. I've always really liked the character of Mississippi.).

It's odd, really; there are actually non-white people in this movie, and one of the white people is an immigrant. ("Swede" Larsen, I believe.) John Wayne's character, Cole Thornton, actually seems to speak Spanish, albeit badly and with a horrible accent. Not bad, for a movie from 1966. Especially one starring John Wayne.

Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike John Wayne, particularly. I just don't really like him, either, and certainly his politics make me cringe. Still, there are maybe half a dozen movies of his that I really like, especially if we include his cameo in [i]How the West Was Won[/i]--which is another review.

For those who didn't know, the poem Mississippi recites throughout the movie (missing the second verse, and never recited properly) is, in fact, "El Dorado," by Edgar Allan Poe. He says it was Johnny Diamond's favorite poem. He says Johnny Diamond raised him. Is it possible, do you think, that that's why he's named Alan? (Or Allan; in the credits, he's "Mississippi.").