R.I.P. JAMES CAAN

James Caan

I’ll always remember James Caan (1940-2022) as ‘Mississippi’ in “El Dorado” (1966).

James was 27 and costarring alongside John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. It was only his fourth film after several years in TV roles. He had previously worked with Howard Hawks in “Red Line 7000” in 1965.

Mississippi  was bold enough to reveal his real name – Alan Bourdillion Traherne). He was deadly with a knife but  useless with a gun. And he wore a very unusual hat.

Only two weeks ago I watched a 2021 movie , “Queen Bees” ,in which James costarred with Ellen Burstyn. He was quite stooped ( back problems I understand), but the charisma was still there.

8 responses »

  1. There are a lot of replicas of that hat for sale.
    He was nominated for four Golden Globes, an Emmy and an Oscar (for The Godfather).

  2. I was so sad when I learned that James Caan has passed. I, too, enjoyed him in El Dorado. I also loved him in Brian’s Song, Thief, The Godfather (of course), Misery, and Elf.

  3. As you know, El Dorado (1966), featuring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan and Arthur Hunnicutt, was a version of Rio Bravo (1959) which starred Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Walter Brennan. They both had a thread of humor that made each movie even more enjoyable.

    I just watched Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) on Tubi TV. Starring James Caan, this movie was unknown to me so it was a real treat to watch. It sort of had the flavor of The Sting.

    IMDB:

    “In 1892, two vaudevillians and petty con artists get involved, together with the most notorious bank robber, in a New York City bank heist.”

    Cast: James Caan, Elliot Gould, Diane Keaton, Michael Caine, Charles Durning.

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