“Compare Mitchum’s role in El Dorado to Dean Martin’s in Rio Bravo (essentially the same movie done twice). The latter was far superior.”
I am an unabashed Mitchum fan, but I agree that Dean Martin’s performance was superior to Mitchum’s turn.
Henry Hathaway also made Rio Lobo, which was the same story filmed a third time, each film (Rio Bravo, El Dorado, and Rio Lobo) starring John Wayne. Wayne’s box office appeal was so strong that Hathaway knew an audience would come just to see Wayne appear in the same film three times. Each film made a profit.
I remember a Mitchum comment about death:
he didn’t want to die, but if he had to, he wanted to die last. (I stole that from him a long time ago)
John Wayne’s box office appeal is enduring....
in 2016, the annual Harris poll of top 10 America’s Favorite Movie Stars listed John Wayne as #5.