Technical and artistic screen fads come and go, but nothing replaces a good story, well told. And Howard Hawks knows how to tell a good story. El Dorado [from the novel The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown] stars John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in an excellent oater drama, laced with adroit comedy and action relief, and set off by strong casting, superior direction and solid production.

Wayne, a hired gun, is dissuaded from working for land-grabber Ed Asner by Mitchum, a reformed gunslinger now a sharp-looking, disciplined sheriff.