''My Man and I'' is a 1952 American drama film directed by
William Wellman
William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on avi ...
, about an ambitious Mexican immigrant farm laborer (
Ricardo Montalban
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname.
People Given name
*Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...
), who falls in love with an alcoholic waitress (
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...
) despite being pursued by the beautiful wife of his boss.
The film's sets were designed by the
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
James Basevi
James Basevi (born 21 September 1890, Plymouth, Devon, England – d. 27 March 1962, Bellflower, California) was a British-born art director and special effects expert.
After his military service during World War I Basevi emigrated to Canada an ...
.
Plot
Chu Chu Ramirez (Ricardo Montalban), a farm laborer from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
who works as a grape picker in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, has recently become an American citizen and is determined to better himself. While his cousin Manuel and his friends, Celestino and Willie, spend their pay on gambling and women, Chu Chu buys new clothes and an encyclopedia. When grape season ends, Chu Chu takes a job clearing land for Ansel Ames (
Wendell Corey
Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Biography Early years
Corey was ...
) on Ames' farm near
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
. Ames and his wife (
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...
) are having marital problems, and the lonely Mrs. Ames, who initially regards Chu Chu with contempt as a "foreigner," becomes attracted to Chu Chu over time. Chu Chu is friendly and kind to her but does not return her affections and rejects her attempt to seduce him. Instead, Chu Chu is drawn to Nancy (Shelley Winters), a troubled waitress with a drinking problem whose former husband, a test pilot, was killed in a crash. Chu Chu puts up his prized possession, a letter from President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, to get money for Nancy and asks her to be his girl although she protests that he should not waste his time on a "wino" like herself.
Meanwhile, Chu Chu has finished his work for Ames and receives his paycheck, but when Chu Chu goes to cash the check, the bank refuses payment. When Chu Chu confronts Ames about the bad check, Ames threatens him with a shotgun. Chu Chu brings the matter before a labor board and is promised his pay within sixty days. He plans to find Nancy, who has moved to Los Angeles and marry her as soon as he receives his pay. However, at the end of the sixty days, when Chu Chu again attempts to collect his pay, Ames attacks him, causing Chu Chu to knock him down and leave. Ames and his wife then argue and Mrs. Ames tells her husband that Chu Chu is worth ten of him, causing Ames to hit her. She falls into a gun rack and a gun goes off, striking Ames in the shoulder. The Ameses falsely accuse Chu Chu of shooting Ames, and he is arrested. After learning that Nancy has attempted suicide in Los Angeles, Chu Chu escapes from jail to rush to her side; they are briefly reunited, but police soon find Chu Chu and take him back into custody.
At Chu Chu's trial, both Ames and Mrs. Ames repeat the false claim that Chu Chu shot Ames, and he is found guilty although the jury requests and the judge grants a light sentence. Nevertheless, Chu Chu will lose his citizenship for being a convict, something he considers a "fate worse than death." Feeling that injustice has been done, Chu Chu's cousin and friends camp just outside the Ames property, staring at the Ameses, playing Mexican songs and doing other things that constantly remind the Ameses of Chu Chu. Nancy, who is still ill, arrives and accuses Mrs. Ames of destroying Chu Chu before she collapses and is rushed to the hospital. The Ameses attempt to reconcile with each other and realize that they must tell the truth that Chu Chu did not shoot Ames even though they will be charged with perjury. After their confession, Chu Chu is released and reunites with Nancy at the hospital.
Cast
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned $469,000 in the US and Canada and $216,000 elsewhere, making a loss to the studio of $563,000.
References
External links
*
''My Man and I''at
TCMDB
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...
*
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{{William Wellman
1952 films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1950s English-language films
1952 romantic drama films
American romantic drama films
Films directed by William A. Wellman
Films scored by David Buttolph
Films set in California
American black-and-white films
1950s American films