|
Paramount, 1967. Directed by
Howard Hawks. Camera: Harold Rosson. With
John
Wayne,
Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Jim Davis, Johnny Crawford. |
|
Gunfighter Cole Thornton rides into the frontier town of
El Dorado and is reunited with J. P. Harrah, an old friend who is now
the local sheriff. Thornton has been sent for by cattle baron Bart
Jason, but he refuses to work for the man when J. P. informs him that
his job will be to drive the MacDonald family off their land, which
Jason needs for water.
When Cole is ambushed while riding back from the Jason
ranch, he wounds one of Kevin MacDonald's four sons, who shoots himself
to escape the pain. Before Cole can explain the incident to
MacDonald's hoydenish daughter, Joey, the young woman shoots him.
The bullet lodges itself close to Cole's spine, and old "Doc" Miller
feels unqualified to remove it and suggests he see a more equipped
surgeon.
Sometime later, at a cantina near the Mexican border,
Cole strikes up a friendship with a young drifter named Mississippi.
He also meets Jason's new hired gunman, Nelse McLeod, and learns that J.
P. has been drunk ever since being jilted by a dancehall girl.
Accompanied by Mississippi, Cole rides back to El Dorado and attempts to
sober up J. P. with a liquid concoction laced with gunpowder.
An effort to restore peace by jailing Jason and driving
McLeod out of town is temporarily successful, but they return, capture
Cole, and then trade him for Jason. As the inevitable showdown
nears, Cole's right hand becomes partially paralyzed because of the
bullet near his spine; and J. P. is forced to hobble around on crutches
because of a leg wound. Aided by J. P.'s wizened arrow-shooting
deputy, Bull Harris, and the fiery Joey, they manage to kill Jason,
McLeod, and the entire gang.
With peace restored, Mississippi decides to settle down
with Joey; Cole resumes his longtime courtship of Maudie, El Dorado's
saloon proprietress; and the now-sober J. P. basks in his renewed
self-respect. |
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