In California, a Mexican-American is falsely accused of killing the farmer he was working for, after the racist farmer stiffed his immigrant employee with a bad check.In California, a Mexican-American is falsely accused of killing the farmer he was working for, after the racist farmer stiffed his immigrant employee with a bad check.In California, a Mexican-American is falsely accused of killing the farmer he was working for, after the racist farmer stiffed his immigrant employee with a bad check.
- Manuel Ramirez
- (as Jose Torvay)
- Willie Chung
- (as Pascual Garcia Pena)
- Waitress
- (uncredited)
- Detective
- (uncredited)
- Bit Role
- (uncredited)
- Fingerprint Expert in Courtroom
- (uncredited)
- Bank Teller
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was a $563,000 money loser for MGM, according to studio records, which would equate to about $6.3 million in 2022. It did not even make back the film's negative expenditures, let alone duplication, distribution and advertising costs.
- GoofsIn a bar, as Nancy drunkenly explains her mess of a life to Chu Chu, she angrily swipes her glass off the table she sits. The glass can be heard to tumble and break on the floor. Towards the end of her drunken slurred words with Chu Chu, she lifts her head and pours the rest of her wine from the bottle into her glass that has reappeared and gulps.
- Quotes
Nancy: [after Chu Chu tells her about his letter from the President about getting his citizenship] Ramirez, today you drive a tractor, tomorrow you'll sweat your ears off in some stinking fish cannery. Next week you'll be breaking your back in asparagus, spinach and grapes. And you think you're a citizen First Class? Citizen of what? What you are is a sap, and all you've got is the papers to prove it.
- SoundtracksStormy Weather
Written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler
** (out of 4)
Chu Chu Ramirez (Ricardo Montalban), a Mexican immigrant, becomes a U.S. citizen and plans on living the American dream of working, making a home and being happy. He gets a job with a racist couple (Claire Trevor, Wendell Corey) but after the work is done they refuse to pay him and go as far as to falsely accuse him of a crime, which might land him in jail. This film has a good heart behind it but the screenplay just wonders around and never really focuses on anything. The film follows a pretty standard storyline, which takes away any possible drama since we can see where everything is going. Montalban is excellent in his role but it's a shame he didn't have a better screenplay to work with. Both Corey and Trevor are great as well and they come off very easy to hate. Shelley Winters plays a troubled woman who is befriended by Chu Chu. The most interesting aspect is how Chu Chu views America as a place of good and where nothing can go wrong. When he's accused of the crime he has a hard time figuring out how an innocent man can go to jail and I wish the film would have centered more on these issues. Seeing how a foreigner views America is something interesting to work with but the film goes all over the place.
- Michael_Elliott
- Feb 28, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Letter from the President
- Filming locations
- Calabasas, California, USA(location shooting)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $946,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1