Robin Hood of Monterey

If one overlooks the fact that O. Henry's "Cisco Kid" was an Anglo-gringo and not a Mexican, then one can say that Warner Baxter's and Gilbert Roland's portrayals of "The Cisco Kid" were those that came closest to the character, as written by Mr. Porter.

Unlike the Cisco Kid portrayed by Duncan Renaldo in the United Artists films (and the later TV episodes), Roland's character had more than just a few vices---cigarettes, tequila-quaffing and skirt-chasing most of the females in sight (married or unmarried)---and Gilbert Roland, in his usual Gilbert Roland using his Gilbert Roland image for Cisco---brought a different image to the B-Western hero. (Duncan Renaldo, playing Cisco in the Monogram series before Roland took over the lead, also played his Monogram-version of Cisco in the same vein but Duncan Renaldo, at his best, was far removed from being a Gilbert Roland in screen presence.)

This entry finds Eduardo Belmonte (Travis Kent) overhearing his new step-mother, Maria (Evelyn Brent), and her lover, Don Ricardo Gonzales (Jack La Rue)---a match made in film Heaven---plotting to take over the Belmonte rancho on the night of the fiesta given by her husband, Don Carlos Belmonte (Pedro De Cordoba.) Eduardo offers Maria money if she will depart the hacienda premises, but she refuses (why take a little when you can have it all?)and then accuses Eduardo of making love to her. The old Don doesn't take kindly to his son hitting on his step-mother and attacks him in a rage. The lights go out, the father is killed and Maria blames Eduardo, who escapes from the house, chased by Ricardo's men.

The Cisco Kid (Gilbert Roland) and Pancho (Chris-Pin Martin)rescue Eduardo, who has been shot, and hide him while they investigate. Cisco discovers that bullets from Maria's gun, a handy little derringer of the type favored by Evelyn Brent characters, are the same type that killed Don Carlos. But the Alcaide (Nestor Paiva) arrests Cisco and Pancho, and Cisco is "supposedly" executed by a firing squad, but IS NOT shot and escapes by a trick.

And now Maria and Ricardo are in real trouble with Cisco on the loose.

For one who grew up on Duncan Renaldo as the gallant Cisco Kid, Gilbert Roland was something of a revelation as a more of a roguish Cisco. Still because Gilbert Roland was an old favorite of mine among those famous character players of old Hollywood, I enjoyed Robin Hood of Monterey on its own terms.

Cisco's on the way to the home of an old caballero friend, Pedro De Cordoba and his new wife Evelyn Brent. But on the way he finds riders from the ranchero chasing DeCordoba's son, Travis Kent. Cisco has Kent pretend he's dead and finds out he was wanted for killing his father. Kent tells Cisco of the quarrel he and his father had.

Turns out that Cisco knows Brent from way back, she's quite the adventuress, a sort of South American spider woman. She's intriguing with De Cordoba's cousin Jack LaRue to take over the ranchero and won't let anything including Cisco stand in the way.

Roland's Cisco thinks pretty fast on his feet. He has to because in the short 57 minute running time, Roland has a couple of tight squeezes. Of course he's aided and abetted by his faithful companion Pancho, played in this case by Chris-Pin Martin. Martin's a bit more help than Leo Carrillo was with Renaldo. Still Pancho isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Of course Roland solves the mystery even to the satisfaction of Nestor Paiva who plays the slow witted alcalde of the local town. Here's a hint; forensics has a lot to do with deciding what really happened to DeCordoba.

Robin Hood of Monterey is your average B western from Monogram and of course Gilbert Roland is always a delight in any film.

A wonderful movie, Gilbert Roland is great as the Cisco Kid. I have not seen this movie for 60+ years. Did anyone notice that Cisco is riding Trigger?

Pedro de Cordoba is giving a fiesta when his son, Travis Kent, hears his new stepmother, Evelyn Brent, talking with her lover, Jack La Rue, talking about taking over the vast estate. Soon de Cordoba is dead, and Kent is framed. Fortunately, his father's old friend, the Cisco Kid -- played by Gilbert Roland -- is in the neighborhood and happy to help find evidence of the actual murderers.

Knowing that Christy Cabanne directed this might give you pause, but he does a fine job in this very late film. DP William Sickner gives the audience some lovely moving shots that were Cabanne's hallmark in more prosperous days, and there is plenty of good humor provided by Chris-Pin Martin, and Nestor Pavia as the alcalde who wants to capture and shoot Roland. Indeed he does, but there's still a good ten minutes to go and we can be sure that the Kid will come out on top. That's especially so, with Roland given credit for extra dialogue. I would guess that Cabanne allowed him to ad lib several lines in Spanish.

Cabanne has a very poor reputation, as one of many A directors whose careers went to pot in the sound era. Some of Cabanne's movies were, indeed, very poor, but he remained a craftsman to the end when the budget permitted. He would only direct four more movies before dying in 1950 at the age of 62. Here's proof that with a good cast and crew, he could still direct a solid little B picture.

Robin Hood of Monterey (1947)

I'm aging myself here, being a big fan of the Cisco Kid TV series with Duncan Renaldo as the "gentleman of the old west" and his side-kick, Pancho played by lovable Leo Carrillo. This film isn't as sanitized as the 1950s TV show.

Gilbert Roland's version is closer to the lovable rogue that O. Henry had written about in "The Caballero's Way", and even that early talky western "In Old Arizona" (1928). This one has Chris-Pin Martin as Pancho, his loyal side-kick. Gilbert's character will actually speak Spanish or has an authentic accent. He isn't above smoking, drinking, robbery and stealing kisses from pretty señoritas.

The story line is pretty light-weight and light-hearted, but quite enjoyable.

Gilbert Roland's Cisco Kid was so good that he made a sequel, "King of the Bandits" (1947), which is supposedly just as good. As of this writing, "Robin Hood of Monterey" is on Tubi and "King of the Bandits" is on YouTube.