tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post1645017080509024440..comments2024-03-22T14:34:39.101-04:00Comments on MONDO 70: A Wild World of Cinema: THE ROBIN HOOD OF EL DORADO (1936)Samuel Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-33875681157743930902012-05-18T05:31:46.399-04:002012-05-18T05:31:46.399-04:00Yeah, he definitely looks better with a moustache....Yeah, he definitely looks better with a moustache. I'd forgotten about the singing cowboys, but I'm sure you are right that MGM wanted to tap into that market, even though anyone expecting that style of film would have got a surprise once they got into the cinema!Judyhttp://movieclassics.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-28954025856026558712012-05-15T12:22:47.232-04:002012-05-15T12:22:47.232-04:00Judy, we shouldn't overlook an obvious factor ...Judy, we shouldn't overlook an obvious factor in the late-30s attempts to revive the A western that may explain much about the trailer and the film itself -- the singing cowboy genre. Gene Autry had already hit big by 1936, I believe, and was already spawning imitators. Metro may have been convinced that westerns needed to have a more musical element, short of having Baxter sing, to tap into the singing-cowboy audience.<br /><br />As for Baxter, the odd thing about his performance is that the actor almost seems to grow younger as his character ages. He looks too haggard clean-shaven to play young Joaquin, but once he gets his moustache back he's practically a new man, or at least his more iconic self.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-51127739204451835732012-05-15T04:44:17.187-04:002012-05-15T04:44:17.187-04:00It's great to read such a detailed review of t...It's great to read such a detailed review of this unusual Western, and I especially like the way you put it into context, Samuel, bringing together all the information on other Westerns and the people involved. The posters are great and the trailer, which I hadn't seen before, is fascinating and quite misleading - it puts a lot of stress on the singing and dancing scenes, which, as you say, are somewhat out of kilter with the rest. This trailer makes it look as if the film as a whole will be more upbeat and less bleak than it is - as you say, there is no happy ending here, nor any possibility of one. <br /><br />I do agree that it is a stretch to have Baxter playing the young Murrieta, especially with his accent, even though actors could get away with a greater age range in black and white. I also think it can give an added poignancy at times to have an obviously older actor playing a younger role, as with John Wayne and James Stewart in 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance', where it gives an added awareness that all this is in the characters' past. But, having said this, I'd have to agree that Baxter is much better in the later part of the film where he is no longer trying to play a fresh-faced boy, and his weary looks come into their own.Judyhttp://movieclassics.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com