El Dorado
It's the big one with the big two!
1966 • 126 min • Western · Drama
Synopsis
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.
Our family guide
Best from age 8- 100 Reviewers · 2 · 51%
- 74 Audience · 594 · 49%
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter, teams up with his old friend Sheriff Harrah to defend a ranching family from a rival trying to steal their water. Along with a young fighter and a gambler, they face off against the land-grabbing villain in this classic Western.
- Violence & peril
- 4/10
- Language
- 1/10
- Drinking, drugs & smoking
- 3/10
- Romance & sensuality
- 0/10
- Scary moments
- 2/10
Heads up
- Gunfights are frequent but not graphic
- Some characters drink and smoke
What it models well
- Friendship and loyalty
- Standing up for what's right
- Courage and perseverance
- Justice prevails
Talk about it after
- The impact of greed and land disputes
- The role of law enforcement in the Old West
- Finding peaceful solutions versus violence
Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for El Dorado. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.
Where to watch
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Top billed cast
Director: Howard Hawks • Crew: Leigh Brackett
Trailers & clips
Jonathan Kaplan on EL DORADO
Reviewer notes
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersDefinitely 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...
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersBig 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 i...
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Gallery
Details
- TMDB audience
- 7.4/10 (594)
- Age rating
- G
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $4,653,000
- Box office
- $6,000,000
- IMDb
- tt0061619