Jane Russell
Robert Mitchum and Gloria Grahame, Macao (1952)
Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Robert Mitchum, and Otto Preminger On the Set of Carmen Jones
Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Robert Mitchum, and director Otto Preminger
There are certain movies that EVEN I know I talk an incessant amount about and Carmen Jones is one of them. I think there are actually five distinct reasons for this…
- I love, love, love Dorothy Dandridge. She was one of the most beautiful and talented stars of all time and it physically hurts me when someone doesn’t know who she was. She was phenomenal and should be a household name.
- I feel the same way about Harry Belafonte. Granted, he is a household name, and practically everyone has heard of this National treasure BUT they probably don’t realize just what a wonderful actor he is. Extremely talented, versatile, and charismatic… if the world were fair, he’d have as many films to his credit as James Stewart. Yes. He is that good.
- The movie is outstanding. I simply love everything about this incredibly entertaining and spellbinding musical. It’s deliciously unique, fast-paced, entertaining, and completely unforgettable. Again, it hurts my psyche when people say they haven’t seen it.
- Olga James and her character, Cindy Lou, have my heart! I’d run through a brick wall for Olga OR Cindy and they wouldn’t even have to ask. I have NO idea how Hollywood kept from seeing the bright and beautiful star they had right in front of them, but they somehow dropped the ball. Olga James should have been given as many movies to make as she chose to. She had an extra something special and it radiated in each scene.
- Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters, and Diahann Carrol round out a phenomenal cast. I adore these three stars and seeing them in the same film with Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, and Olga James is almost more than my heart can take. Seriously, this cast is out of this world.
If you’ve never seen Carmen Jones, please just set aside some time and watch it. I promise to stop hounding you if you do!
You can buy Carmen Jones on dvd (Amazon link) or watch it on Prime Video.
Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum in the Wonderful 1947 Film-Noir Out of the Past
Jane Greer, Out of the Past
The beautiful and talented Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum star in the outstanding film-noir Out of the Past (1947). Directed by Jacques Tourneur, the movie also stars Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Webb, Steve Brodie, and Virginia Huston.
You can watch Out of the Past on Prime Video or buy the dvd (Amazon link).
The Outstanding Cast of El Dorado.. The Supporting Stars Give This One its Magic
One of this western fanatic’s favorite movies is El Dorado (1966). Directed by the wonderful Howard Hawks, the incredibly (downright perfect if we’re being honest) talented cast includes John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ed Asner, Michele Carey, Christopher George, Paul Fix, and briefly Johnny Crawford (best loved as Mark McCain on The Rifleman).
A movie is only as good as it’s stars and the characters they play, which is why El Dorado is movie gold. The colorful, larger than life characters this cast gives us is a gift that keeps on giving. I honestly believe I fall more in love with this movie each time I see it. The same is true of another Howard Hawks and John Wayne western, Rio Bravo.
James Caan and Michele Carey
The two lead stars in this western (John Wayne and Robert Mitchum) are excellent as always. There is something so right about watching a John Wayne Western and it’s made even more magical when the stars around him were/are just as larger than life and colorful as he was. In El Dorado, the Duke is surrounded by such stars!
Robert Mitchum and Arthur Hunnicutt go with John Wayne as beautifully as Dean Martin and Walter Brennan do in Rio Bravo. When they’re on the screen together, you’re pretty sure they were born for the moment.
John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Arthur Hunnicutt
When it comes to supporting stars, El Dorado also has an embarrassment of riches: James Caan, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ed Asner, Christopher George, Michele Carey, and Charlene Holt do exactly what a supporting cast should do.
They simply make the film even better.
James Caan could just as easily be considered a lead star in this film (he gives my favorite performance in the film), he is usually treated as a supporting star… you couldn’t ask for any more support than he gives! The same is true of Arthur Hunnicutt, Christopher George, Ed Asner, and Charlene Holt. This movie wouldn’t be as timeless and perfect without this group of talent.
You can find El Dorado on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the wonderful western on Prime Video.
John Wayne, Christopher George, and Ed Asner
Rita Hayworth, Jack Lemmon, and Robert Mitchum: Fire Down Below
Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth, and Jack Lemmon
Rita Hayworth, Jack Lemmon, and Robert Mitchum are wonderful in the 1957 adventure drama Fire Down Below, Lemmon and Mitchum play boat friends who both fall under the spell of beautiful and mysterious Irena – given that she’s played by Rita Hayworth, let’s face it, they never stood a chance!
Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth, Jack Lemmon, and Robert Mitchum are each outstanding in this film. Then again, weren’t they perfection in everything they ever did?!
Answer: Oh YES!
You can find the Fire Down Below dvd on Amazon (link to Amazon) or watch it on Prime Video: Fire Down Below on Prime Video (Amazon link).
Robert Mitchum and Rita Hayworth
Pictures of the Day: James Caan, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and Olaf Wieghorst in El Dorado
James Caan, John Wayne, and Olaf Wieghorst
One of my favorite Westerns of all time is El Dorado (1967). Directed by the wonderful Howard Hawks, it often gets overshadowed by Rio Bravo but… make absolutely no mistake about it… El Dorado belongs in no film’s shadow. It’s more than capable of standing on its own.. casting its own huge shadow!
The western stars John Wayne, James Caan, Robert Mitchum, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey, Olaf Wieghorst, and (last but by no means least – he makes the movie what it is), Arthur Hunnicutt as Bull. In the same way there could be no Rio Bravo without Stumpy, there could be no El Dorado without Bull.
You can watch El Dorado on Prime Video or buy the dvd on Amazon.
John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Arthur Hunnicutt
Rhonda Fleming and Robert Mitchum (Out of the Past)
Today’s picture of the day is beautiful Rhonda Fleming and the wonderful Robert Mitchum from the 1947 film-noir Out of the Past (Amazon).
My Forbidden Past with Ava Gardner, Robert Mitchum, and Melvyn Douglas
Ava Gardner and Melvyn Douglas, My Forbidden Past
It’s always a special treat when two absolute favorites appear in one film together, isn’t it? Ava Gardner was thoughtful enough to team with my favorite actors quite a few times (Melvyn Douglas, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart to name a few). Melvyn Douglas and Ava were each spectacular in My Forbidden Past (1951).
It is actually their performances (as well as an excellent performance by Robert Mitchum) that make the film take flight. Melvyn Douglas is known, primarily, for his lovable characters but in this particular role, he’s a bit of a cad! It’s actually a lot of fun seeing this side of him and, while I could be wrong, he seemed to enjoy playing this type of character. He brings a great deal of humor to the role and film.
Dr. Mark Lucas (Robert Mitchum) and Barbara Beaurevel (Ava Gardner) are star-crossed lovers in My Forbidden Past – basically a tale of a woman scorned!
The film is set in 1890s New Orleans and the costumes and sets are positively delicious.
(Continued Below…)
Ava Gardner and Robert Mitchum
Lucas, wrongly, believed that Barbara stoop him up when they were on the verge of eloping. In a fit of something between raw emotions and a temper tantrum, he takes off for South Africa and marries a woman named Corinne (played by Janis Carter) on the rebound.
Not one to take defeat well, beautiful Barbara bribes her cousin (played to the hilt by Melvin Douglas) to break up their marriage. It’s all fun and games until the scheme ends in Corinne’s death, with her husband Dr. Lucas suspected of murder.
The chemistry between both Ava Gardner and Robert Mitchum AND Ava Gardner and Melvyn Douglas are palpable.
Ava Gardner and Gordon Oliver
El Dorado with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, and Michele Carey
There’s really nothing quite like kicking back and enjoying a great Western, is there? While growing up, I loved to watch Westerns with my dad and now (more than a few years later), I love to watch them with my husband and/or cats.
We capped off a wonderful Christmas this year by watching back to back John Wayne movies on AMC. While I love that television stations show classic movies, I was reminded of the beauty of movies on dvd…. no commercials! I will say this, though, at least commercials give you ample time to make runs to the kitchen.
El Dorado is just a outstanding Western and a deliciously classic John Wayne movie. How fun is it to escape into a Western setting, complete with dust, guns, lovely ladies, and brave heroes?! Throw in leading men like John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan and you’ll never want to leave.
The movie was directed by Howard Hawks, who also directed Rio Bravo (the second movie we watched on Christmas). Hawks also directed John Wayne in Rio Lobo.
Movie Synopsis:
John Wayne plays hired gunman Cole Thornton. Cole turns down a job with Bart Jason (Ed Asner – so unusual seeing Mary’s boss in a villainous role!) because it would mean fighting an old sheriff friend, J.P. Harrah (Mitchum). When he learns that a famous gunfighter is on his way to help Jason, and that his friend is now drinking heavily, Cole realizes that the good sheriff needs his help.
His only help is a new “kid” he has befriended called “Mississippi” (Caan). Mississippi is crazy good with a knife, but needs Cole’s coaching to handle a gun.
Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, and James Caan each give outstanding performances and have so much chemistry, I wish they’d made more movies together. However, character actor Arthur Hunnicutt (“Bull“) all but stole the movie from this powerful threesome. Personally, I’m fascinated by so-called character actors and actresses. They’re intended to simply “add” to the main star’s performances and, no doubt, know that they have to remain in check… mustn’t upstage the stars, after all. However, when the character actor is as talented as Arthur Hunnicutt, they can’t help but do just that.
Without even trying.
To me, a great character actor means that – after watching the movie – you simply can not imagine the movie without him or her. Arthur Hunnicutt pulled off greatness with El Dorado. In fact, even if the movie hadn’t been wonderful (which it was), it would be worth watching the movie for him alone.
Now for the ladies. Maybe it’s because I’m a female, myself, but one of the things I’m most fascinated with when it comes to movies is the actresses. I love everything about them. The hairstyles, the performances, the “chemistry” they have with the actors, the clothes, etc, etc. In fact, many times when my husband will ask me to choose which Elvis, John Wayne, or James Bond movie from his collections we’ll watch, I’ll mentally take stock of the actresses in each – Nancy Sinatra? Halle Berry? Mary Ann Mobley?
The lead actresses in El Dorado were Charlene Holt (Maudie) and Michele Carey (Josephine “Joey” MacDonald). These aren’t exactly household names, which bumfuzzles me. They were both as beautiful and talented as any actress of their time (or any time for that matter) – many of whom ARE household names.
Charlene Holt (1928 – 1996) was a brunette beauty with a decidedly exotic face. The combination, no doubt, helped her win “Miss Maryland” in 1956 . She played opposite The Duke in El Dorado and more than held her own. I wish she had been given more to do in El Dorado but I look forward to rounding up and watching the rest of her movies. Sadly, this won’t take long as there aren’t many. What’s more, quite a few of these movies list her as “uncredited.”
Holt appeared in several TV commercials in 1958 and reportedly signed a $50,000-a-year model contract in New York at age 19. Apparently she was spotted in a Revlon lipstick commercial by director Howard Hawks who then cast her in several of his films, including El Dorado.
Michele Carey played spirited, though at times misguided, Josephine in El Dorado. Overall, the character of “Joey” wasn’t quite as likable (or grounded) as Maudie (Holt). However, the viewer can’t help but be struck by Carey’s beauty and screen presence. She was a Jennifer Aniston type before there was a Jennifer Aniston.
I’ve seen SO many movies, and watch old and new movies so often, that I always recognize a face before I’m able to place where I’ve seen it. It can be a pain in the neck sometimes – as well as a strain on the brain. I’ll see an actor or actress and KNOW I’ve seen them in something else. Sometimes it isn’t until after the movie’s over that I realize where it was. I knew I’d seen Michele Carey’s adorable face before – but it wasn’t until the next day that I realized it had been in an Elvis movie. She was Elvis’ leading lady, Bernice, in Live a Little, Love a Little.
During El Dorado, each time Michele Carey was on the screen, I kept trying to come up with where I’d seen her before. For some reason, I kept associating her with a dog. I also knew that what’d I’d seen her in before was a comedy. Finally, the next day it hit me – she was Bernice in Live a Little, Love a Little and the dog in question was Albert.
It certainly wasn’t Elvis.
I also recognized Christopher George’s face (he played the “famous gunfighter” and The Duke’s main rival). He’d been on an episode of Bewitched… as a warlock no less! I loved him in El Dorado. He played a dirt bag with real style. If you’re going to be a dirt back, by all means be stylish about it.
The cast of El Dorado was nothing short of perfection. Great cast, a memorable sidekick (Bull), and a lot of fun make El Dorado a movie you’ll want to see.
Buy El Dorado on Amazon today – that way you’ll never have to sit through a gazillion and one commercials. The Duke will be just an arm’s reach away whenever you need him.