The Man from Monterey (1933)

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Blistering performances.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

John Wayne made a series of six films for Vitagraph from 1932-1933. The Man From Monterey was the last of the bunch and no better or worse than the others. Wayne stars as a cavalry officer in old California and tries to help a Spanish landowner from land-grabbers. The chief villain is played by Francis Ford, brother of the great western film giant: John Ford, who would later play a role in establishing Wayne as a mythic western hero as well as a legitimate actor. The film moves quickly but contains amateurish acting from the supporting cast, missing Spanish accents, non-Spanish-looking actresses, and laughable swordplay. Wayne's sidekick does offer up a few laughs though, especially when in drag. *1/2 of 4 stars.

OK - This is obviously not a great film by any stretch of the imagination but in its own silly way, it's a tremendously entertaining one. It reminds me of an early film operetta (like the original RIO RITA) except without the songs. The acting and script are, for the most part, pretty bad but that's part of the charm. John Wayne's performances certainly improved in later years but he was at his most handsome here--oozing sex appeal. And Luis Alberni has to be one of the great unsung character actors in Hollywood history. He is genuinely funny in this film---almost equaling his hilarious performance in THE GREAT GARRICK. The production values are surprisingly good for such a low budget effort, the print shown on TCM (which I assume is the same as the Warner DVD)is pristine and the plot moves like lightning. Give it a shot--you might have fun.

Throughout the 1930s, John Wayne made a steady stream of cheap B-westerns. While none of these were classics, they were enjoyable little films--much like those of Gene Autry or Roy Rogers, though Wayne's films rarely had any singing. However, early in his career, he was still learning his craft as an actor and a few of these films are rough and just not up to the standards of his films just a year or two later. I've seen several dozen of these films and I think "The Man From Monterey" might be the worst of the bunch. Here are some examples of how bad this film is: At the 11 minute mark, there's some really bad acting and terrible action. A jerk beats a poor guy over the head with a guitar. He actually hits the guy in slow-motion and Wayne's reaction is amateurish as well--it's obvious he still has a lot to learn as an actor and the entire scene looked fake.A few times, lines were flubbed but the director didn't care enough to re-film the scene.Few of the Hispanics in the film seemed of Spanish origin! They often lacked accents and couldn't speak the language in the least. In one scene, a supposedly Hispanic lady says that "hasta luego is 'see you later'". No, in Spanish, hasta luego means 'see you later' and hasta pronto is 'see you soon'. Another 'Spanish' lady gets angry and shouts "...enough of your impudence!!". Heck, most native Americans don't even use the word impudence!! Wayne is taken prisoner by a gang who threatens to kill him. When his fellow US Cavalry troops arrive, Wayne LIES--telling the men he is okay and not being held prisoner! Why would he do this?! The WORST sword fighting scene in history--many high school plays feature more realistic sword-play! Stock footage from a silent film is used in one scene. You can tell because the speed is way too fast--the result of using silent stock on sound machines.The only GOOD thing about the film is Philippe in drag. Seeing this ALMOST made this bland film worth seeing...almost.

The only way I can watch any one of the early B-westerns is by deciding in advance to treat it as high camp, although occasionally a good one pops up. This film is not one of those, but I still had a few chuckles at the goings on, looking for outrageous items. John Wayne is an army captain sent from a fort in Monterey to convince Spanish land owner Lafe McKee to register his claim, else it will become public domain. Land grabbers Francis Ford and his son Donald Reed try to keep McKee from doing so in order to get the land for themselves. The only comic relief in the film came from Luis Alberni, who reads palms, continuously introduces himself as "Felipe Guadelupe Constanche Delgado Santa Cruz" in a flourish, and dresses in drag. Almost everyone else, including Wayne, is so serious it was somewhat funny. I had fun with the good bad guy (Slim Whitaker), the all-too-easy escapes, the stilted dialog, the obligatory love-interest (with Ruth Hall), the peculiar sword fighting, and best of all, Wayne's mind-reading horse, Duke. When Wayne was captured, he tells Alberni (who is outside the locked room where there are no guards) to send Duke to get Whitaker's men. All Alberni does is pat the horse on his rear end and say "go on, Duke."This was set right after California entered the Union when the Spanish land owners distrusted the "gringos," and filmmakers used the theme of land grabbing quite often.