I watched El Dorado a couple of times, so then watched the similar Hawks/Wayne pictures Rio Bravo and Rio Lobo. Rio Lobo is what I'd call a throwaway - amiable enough but remarkable only for a really bad performance by Jennifer O'Neill, in her first big role. It also has the rare pairing of Victor French and Jack Elam.

I wanted to watch Rio Bravo again because I've always preferred El Dorado, and that seems to be a minority opinion. Rewatching both movies now just reinforces my opinion. My main problem with Rio Bravo is that it loses my interest as they do this and that. They devote a lot of time to the Wayne-Dickinson relationship, but it's implausible even by Hollywood old star/hot starlet standards, and so that's just wasted time to me. I think that in just about every matched set of characters - the villains, the green kids, the victims, Wayne's crew - that the character in El Dorado is more vibrant and does more to advance the story. El Dorado's just a lot easier for me to sit through.