''Robin Hood of El Dorado'' is a 1936 American

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referre ...

directed by William A. Wellman for MGM. It stars

Warner Baxter Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film '' In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor a ...

as real-life Mexican folk hero

Joaquin Murrieta Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and ...

and Ann Loring as his love interest, with

Bruce Cabot Bruce Cabot (born Étienne de Pelissier Bujac Jr.; April 20, 1904 – May 3, 1972) was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in ''King Kong'' (1933) and for his roles in films such as ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1936), Fri ...

as Bill Warren and J. Carrol Naish as Murrietta's notorious partner, Three-Fingered Jack. The film is based on the life of Murrietta as the

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

of Old California in 1850, a kind, gentle man who is driven to violence.

Plot summary

In 1848 in California, Mexican farmer Joaquin Murietta has become a criminal to avenge the rape and murder of his wife Rosita and lynching of his brother Jose at the hands of the Americans.

Cast

as Joaquin Murrietta *Ann Loring as Juanita de la Cuesta *

as Bill Warren * Margo as Rosita * J. Carrol Naish as Three-Fingered Jack *Soledad Jiménez as Madre Murrietta *Carlos de Valdez as Jose Murrietta * Eric Linden as Johnnie Warren *

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to po ...

as Sheriff Judd *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1915 and 1958. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the ...

as Ramon de la Cuesta *

Harvey Stevens Harvey Stevens (8 August 1930 – 15 December 2016) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray and Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Stevens started his career in 1948 at Collingwood and played in their 1 ...

as Captain Osborne *Ralph Remley as Judge Perkins * George Regas as Tomas * Harry Woods as Pete * Francis McDonald as Pedro the Spy * Kay Hughes as Louise * Paul Hurst as Wilson *Boothe Howard as Tablard

Notes

The screenplay was written by the actor Joseph Calleia, Melvin Levy and William A. Wellman, with assistance by Robert Carson. In 1937, Wellman and Carson won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

for Best Screenplay for '' A Star Is Born''. ''The Robin Hood of El Dorado'' was based on the biography of

Walter Noble Burns Walter Noble Burns (1866–1932) was a writer of Western history and a Western fiction author. He was notable for his book, ''The Saga of Billy the Kid'' (1926). Family Born on October 24, 1866 in Lebanon, Kentucky, he was the son of Thomas E. Bu ...

and was MGM's attempt to follow '' Viva Villa!''. Film historian Frank T. Thompson writes that "Wellman made a stronger statement on the subject of racism than a whole spate of later films (like '' Gentleman's Agreement'')." ''The Robin Hood of El Dorado'' also anticipates the revisionist westerns of the 1960s, especially ''

The Wild Bunch ''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw gang on th ...

'' (1969), directed by

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

. Both films mix violence and sentimentality with an undercurrent of regret for a vanishing way of life. The Mexican folk song "

La golondrina "La golondrina" (English: "The Swallow") is a song written in 1862 by Mexican physician Narciso Serradell Sevilla (1843–1910), who at the time was exiled to France due to the French intervention in Mexico. The lyrics come from a poem written ...

''"'' is used to similar effect. Art director David Townsend was killed in a car accident while scouting locations for the film.''Los Angeles Times'', August 6, 1935, "Crash Kills Film Expert, David Townsend, Art Aide, Dead and Three Injured as Car Falls in Canyon" pg. A2

Crew

* David Townsend, art director * Dolly Tree, costume designer

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robin Hood Of El Dorado 1936 Western (genre) films 1936 films American black-and-white films Films directed by William A. Wellman Films scored by Herbert Stothart Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American Western (genre) films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films