The Man from Monterey

1933 "He'll out-fight or out-shoot the toughest hombre of the plains!"
5.2| 0h57m| NR| en
Details

A cavalry officer helps save a family's ranch from land grabbers

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Warner Bros. Pictures

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Reviews

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting
Console best movie i've ever seen.
Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Edgar Allan Pooh . . . in Warner Bros. eerily prophetic Real Life Bio-Pic of Marion Morrison, a.k.a. John Holmes, a.k.a., John Wayne. It's an extensively researched fact that throughout his life, the quintessential "Whited Sepulchre" Marion was Hollywood's Number One Patron of the Border Town Bordellos an hour or two South. Multiple reputable sources have documented that at least one of Marion's three Hispanic spouses (that would be Wife #2) was a Real Life Working Girl when Marion met her. This fits in with MONTEREY's plot, when Marion's "John Holmes" character finds his squeeze Dolores ready to turn on a dime and marry "Luis" for her financial advantage. It's no wonder that when Hollywood's most famous "John Holmes" Googled "WOMANIZING PR*CK" in searching for a good porn name, Marion's bride-seducing earlier star turn was the top result. The rest is History, as is Marion's invention of Secret Agent 007's Catch-Phrase 30:30 into MONTEREY. Delores queries Marion's character, "Capitan ----?", not knowing her "Gringo" seducer's name. Marion's exact reply? "Holmes. John Holmes."
CitizenCaine 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.
MartinHafer 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.
bkoganbing The setting is 1848 and the U.S. government sends Captain John Wayne to the newly conquered territory of California from the Mexican War. His job is to win over the Spanish Dons to register their land grant property with our government or else they'll be declared public domain.Of course there are some nasty claim jumpers there who are both gringo and Latino ready to foil our hero. One particularly nasty one is another Spanish Don played by Francis Ford. He's got his eyes on his neighbor's property another Don with an attractive daughter, Ruth Hall. If Ford can't get it one way, he'll get it by marrying his son Donald Reed to Hall.That changes when John Wayne comes on the scene and Hall crushes on him big time. Of course Wayne is riding on Duke the Wonder Horse and Duke once again proves of invaluable assistance in foiling the bad guys.Best performance in the film goes to Luis Alberni who to foil the bad guys has to get into drag at the wedding scene of Reed and Hall. He's downright hilarious.This marked the fourth and last film John Wayne did for Warner Brothers with Duke the Wonder Horse. Later on in his career John Wayne was not noted for particular attachment to his horses. They were a tool of the cowboy trade, nothing more in his films. In fact if my memory serves me I can only recall three films in his later years where the horse's had names and therefore horsenalities to him. That would be True Grit, The Shootist and A Lady Takes A Chance. I'm sure if I'm wrong, John Wayne fans will let me know.Of course John Wayne moved on to Monogram films and Lone Star westerns and the quality of production went down a few pegs. Bigger and better things were in store for him. But what ever happened to Duke the Wonder Horse?