Richard Barthelmess was a fine and rather diminutive actor....but not appropriate for this film. After all, he's supposed to play a Hispanic man and seems about as Hispanic as Chop Suey! Now I am not saying the part could not have been played competently by an Anglo actor--heck, Warner Baxter very ably played The Cisco Kid during this era. But with no accent and very waspy boy next door looks and manners, Barthelmess is simply wrong for such a part. The same is true of many of the supporting cast as well, such as the Mexican-American ladies played by Mary Astor and Marian Nixon! Why they didn't employ Mexican actors is a puzzler...as well as why they didn't even try to make these folks seem Mexican.
The film begins soon after the Mexicans were forced to cede California to the United States after the Mexican War. Pancho has been off to school in Mexico City and he's returning to his family ranch in California when he's introduced to the prejudices the Americans have for their new Mexican-American brothers and sisters. For instance, in one town speaking Spanish is banned...which shouldn't pose any problem to Pancho (I think speaking Spanish would have been a much bigger problem for him)! Soon, a local thug is beating up Pancho and some other poor sap...simply because they are Mexican by birth. Eventually, the mistreatment becomes so bad that Pancho decides to become a Zorro-like hero named 'El Puma' and delivers justice to those jerks! What does he do and where does it all go? See the film and find out for yourself.
This film looks and sounds very dated. Despite some really nice sets (including a nice looking replica of el Bosque de Chapultapec at the end of the film), the entire production is dull, stagy and the dialog is amazingly old fashioned. Because of this, the love scenes come off (unintentionally) as comedy and the entire film is a chore to watch. The poor print sure didn't help but is the least of the film's problems.
The film begins soon after the Mexicans were forced to cede California to the United States after the Mexican War. Pancho has been off to school in Mexico City and he's returning to his family ranch in California when he's introduced to the prejudices the Americans have for their new Mexican-American brothers and sisters. For instance, in one town speaking Spanish is banned...which shouldn't pose any problem to Pancho (I think speaking Spanish would have been a much bigger problem for him)! Soon, a local thug is beating up Pancho and some other poor sap...simply because they are Mexican by birth. Eventually, the mistreatment becomes so bad that Pancho decides to become a Zorro-like hero named 'El Puma' and delivers justice to those jerks! What does he do and where does it all go? See the film and find out for yourself.
This film looks and sounds very dated. Despite some really nice sets (including a nice looking replica of el Bosque de Chapultapec at the end of the film), the entire production is dull, stagy and the dialog is amazingly old fashioned. Because of this, the love scenes come off (unintentionally) as comedy and the entire film is a chore to watch. The poor print sure didn't help but is the least of the film's problems.