Gilbert Roland - A Latin Performer Unbounded

[MissGoddess]

I was just about to say my favorite Chester Morris movie is The Gay Bride because I love him and Carole together! It's fun seeing them pick at each other.

[CineMaven]

Ay yi yi yi yi!!!

MAJOR SPOILERS....LAST OF THE FAST GUNS

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooo. There are some things I have a hard time accepting that seem so basic to others. Winter. Awakening before noon. Dieting. And seeing a performer I like do something I can't bear for him to do. In this case, when I saw Gilbertito shoot Linda Cristal in the leg....well, it was like when Bambi's mom got plugged. I sort of squealed and wished I could go back in time and say "Mi amor...I mean mi amigo, you must not accept this role! You cannot shoot a woman (unless it's Blanche Yurka)!"

Oh man, Miss G.. What a wonderfully spirited review you wrote. I was giggling loudly as the Q train went across the Manhattan Bridge while I was reading your review. "Plunging like a popsicle..." "Jock didn't blink, not once" was funny. But this: "You cannot shoot a woman (unless it's Blanche Yurka)!" put me over the edge. I enjoyed the read!!!

[moira finnie]

On the upside, the landscapes in Last of the Fast Guns were gorgeous! GR seemed to be riding the same horse he had as a mount in Bandido--and I know he probably had the same hat, shirt, scarf and wrist bands!

Oh, how could they have done this to GR and Linda Cristal, two of the actual Latino performers in Last of the Fast Guns? We just didn't have enough evidence to accept the Miles Lang revelation as a mercenary weasel longing to go back "to Madrid to feel the throb of the big city in [his heart] once again"--a bit of dialogue that sounds like something GR would have written. It was just too much when he shot Maria O'Reilly.

If anyone deserved to be shot, it was the hair dresser who gave that beauty Ms. Cristal a home perm that made her look like she was wearing Bette Davis' wig from Beyond the Forest (1949).


I really like lean storytelling with characters who have some corners of their life that the viewer can only guess at, but this movie went a bit too far in that regard. Did you have the feeling that vast portions of the script were cut out? Like the explanation for the presence of King O'Reilly (a very portly Lorne Greene) in Mexico? Was it the Mexican-American War? Was O'Reilly one of the San Patricio Battalion? Where and who was Cristal's mamacita?

How did Eduard Franz (Edward Forbes/Padre Jose) go from being described as "an angry man," and "a sad man" to being the beloved "old one," preaching peace through sheep herding to all comers, who seemed to have won the hearts of the peons?

What really made Gilbert Roland stick around the O'Reilly hacienda for seven long years as a sleeper cell for the unseen larcenous partner of the Edward Forbes? I tend to think it was Cristal, not the dubious hope of $150k if he found the lost Forbes brother.

The choice of the boleadoras wielded by Jock Mahoney for and against GR did make him look like a chump and a popsicle tumbling to earth. (One sign of a badly made dummy is one whose arms don't flail around when tumbling down a mountain with your legs bound together). Btw, why did the experienced horse handler Miles Lang (Gilbert Roland) freeze when that wild stallion came dashing toward him? Is this the behavior of a seasoned vaquero?

It is so unfortunate that a Gary Cooper wasn't in this movie, as you point out. Think of the imagery and poetic life he could have invested in the simple phrase, "a ranch in Oregon a thousand miles beyond your reputation"? Jock Mahoney seemed to think that it was enough that he stared at his co-stars with those nice but rather empty blue eyes. No animation in voice or gesture was really needed, apparently. You're right, he was not a dab hand at dialogue, and seemed to speak in aphorisms, not recognizable conversations. I don't mind stylized dialogue a bit, but this was a bit much. I wonder if this still was made to correlate to some scene that was edited out?

[MissGoddess]

hee! i never would have thought of the B.D. comparison, lol. I thought that the front part of her hair and her make-up was going for the Gina Lollabrigida look. Poor little thing. That expression on her face in the pic with Jock seems to say "You have some life in you after all, gringo?!"

I figured I must have missed any explanations and details because frankly, I was unable to make much sense of the plot or character relationships for the most part. I just went along from scene to scene. Your point about Gilbert and the horse charge scene is excellent, especially considering the skill and grace he showed in the arena in Boetticher's Bullfighter and the Lady. How humiliating. And did you notice that when he and Jock were travelling together through the hills, where Jock had never been supposedly, and someone started taking pot-shots at them...then they took off and it was Jock who led the way as if he knew exactly where he was going and how to lead them to safety...wait a minute! Wasn't Roland supposed to be the resident and Jock the stranger?! That made no sense, either. It's like everything had to build up Mahoney's character as an omniscient, all-powerful hero.

Heck, we didn't even need to reach so far as for Cooper. I feel like repeating Ford's words to poor Harry, jr: "Audie Murphy begged me to give him this part!" Audie would have been Oscar worthy compared to poor old Block, I mean Jock.

I will say I loved the scene with the "peons" after they tied up Jock and Edward Platt (the most articulate grizzly-bearded rancher I've heard in a western) spoke condescendingly to them, the older peon replied: "You gringos always confuse simplicity with stupidity" (or words to that effect). Ha!

[CineMaven]

Holy mackeral...between you two dames with the "Bette Davis-home perms" and the "block Jocks" and the "potshots" and the "sleeper cells" and "the human popsicles" "LAST OF THE FAST GUNS" sounds like quite the hoot. I never knew Roland did comedy westerns. I'll have to put a note on my calendar to check this out.

[MissGoddess]

I'm just having a little fun with it, T, it's not really that bad. Roland and everyone really but Mahoney are fine, it's just you can tell it could have been much better.

[MissGoddess]

Moira, have you seen this one with the un-promising title, Between God, the Devil and a Winchester (aka the awkwardly worded/translated God Was In The West, Too, At One Time)????

http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Between-Go ... kid=191776

I just added it to my queue. Here is one of its taglines:

An orgy of bloodletting that very few will survive.

But will I, the viewer, survive?!

I'm prepared for a pretty bad picture quality, since it's Alpha. But for Gilbertito, I'll wing it!

[moira finnie]

I've heard of this movie, which is also known as God Was in the West, Too, at One Time (1968), but haven't added it to my queue until today. It is on youtube, though the print seems pretty poor. At least Gilbert Roland's name is above the title in this Spanish-Italian production next to Richard Harrison (who? ) :

[youtube][/youtube]

I believe the above film is supposed to be a Western version of Stevenson's Treasure Island. After watching the first few minutes of it, that seems to be the case. If you're going to steal, steal from the best, eh?

Did you ever get around to seeing the spaghetti western I wrote about some time ago featuring GR, Van Heflin, pretty boy George Hilton and even Klaus Kinski called The Ruthless Four aka Ognuno per Se? I like this German trailer. The story sounds pretty good as Das Gold von Sam Cooper. Roland's presence makes it worthwhile and anything with Kinski in it is usually fascinating and strange. :
[youtube][/youtube]

I finally found this movie again!
[youtube][/youtube]

[moira finnie]

BIG NEWS!!

On Sunday, June 24th at 9:30pm ET, The Big Circus (1959) is going to be shown on TCM!!


Roland plays Zac Colino, the aerialist who will attempt a death-defying feat crossing Niagara Falls on a wire in a desperate bid to keep the circus afloat. I saw this as a little kid and bought the whole nine yards of this movie. I haven't seen it since, though it came out on DVD about a year or so ago.

Made by Irwin Allen (well, what can I say?) and directed by a craftsman, Joseph Newman (711 Ocean Drive, The Human Jungle) who sometimes did better than expected, it features Victor Mature, Kathryn Grant,Vincent Price, Red Buttons (again?), Rhonda Fleming, and in their last appearance together on screen, Gilbertito's old pal, Peter Lorre--who was in rough shape during this movie, poor soul. The movie always gets poor marks for sophistication among reviewers then and now, but high ones for the can-do spirit of the poor actors trapped in this circus vehicle. You just know that GR is going to be one of those who helps to keep everything afloat--though I don't remember how his walk across the falls came out.

[JackFavell]

Oh my gosh, that cast!!!! wonderful! even if it's awful, it's wonderful.

[Rita Hayworth]

BIG NEWS!!

On Sunday, June 24th at 9:30pm ET, The Big Circus (1959) is going to be shown on TCM!!

Roland plays Zac Colino, the aerialist who will attempt a death-defying feat crossing Niagara Falls on a wire in a desperate bid to keep the circus afloat. I saw this as a little kid and bought the whole nine yards of this movie. I haven't seen it since, though it came out on DVD about a year or so ago.

Made by Irwin Allen (well, what can I say?) and directed by a craftsman, Joseph Newman (711 Ocean Drive, The Human Jungle) who sometimes did better than expected, it features Victor Mature, Kathryn Grant,Vincent Price, Red Buttons (again?), Rhonda Fleming, and in their last appearance together on screen, Gilbertito's old pal, Peter Lorre--who was in rough shape during this movie, poor soul. The movie always gets poor marks for sophistication among reviewers then and now, but high ones for the can-do spirit of the poor actors trapped in this circus vehicle. You just know that GR is going to be one of those who helps to keep everything afloat--though I don't remember how his walk across the falls came out.

Thanks for sharing this information Moira!

I always wanted to see this movie ... it would be my first because my friends in Canada told me about this movie and they recommended to me to watch it. I will put that on my calendar.

[MissGoddess]

Moira, I haven't seen The Circus or The Ruthless Four, thank you for reminders about both!

[knitwit45]

Moira, I remember seeing this as a kid, too (you probably saw it on TV?) I was on the edge of my seat, and this is the movie I fell in love with Gilberto...I think I remember the ending, but then again, maybe not. It is a fun movie, worth the time spent watching it.

[moira finnie]

Moira, I remember seeing this as a kid, too (you probably saw it on TV?) I was on the edge of my seat, and this is the movie I fell in love with Gilberto...I think I remember the ending, but then again, maybe not. It is a fun movie, worth the time spent watching it.

Now I really want to see this one, Nancy. Thanks for verifying my vague memories of this one.

Here are a few new images of GR & the Ladies found online recently. Love the first one best...


Gilbert Roland with Clara Bow in the twenties. No wonder Clara looks a bit stunned.


Gilbert Roland as Armand with Norma Talmadge in Camille (1926).


Gilbert Roland with Norma Talmadge off-camera.


Gilbert Roland with Constance Bennett on their wedding day on April 20, 1941. Who wears hush puppies to their wedding? I guess someone who wanted to be relaxed.


Gilbert Roland with Judy Garland at a luncheon in the fifties. Wish Judy looked a bit healthier, but maybe GR is giving her some kind advice?


Gilbert Roland with Adele Mara playing his wife in 1959's The Big Circus (with the unmistakable Victor Mature in between them). Mara retired after this film to marry writer-filmmaker Roy Huggins. (Please excuse the watermark).

[Maricatrin]

In my opinion, Irwin Allen films tend to rely heavily on "star-power" and the films often don't have much else going for them. But with that cast, Irwin's plan worked for me, I went ahead and saw it! I'd tell someone it's enjoyable, after I threw in that disclaimer.









Gilbert Roland fans will certainly need to see it. Roland has his confident swagger at first, but then he loses it and does a very credible acting job when his character meets with tragedy. You don't see a broken Gilbert too often, but you will here. Only temporarily though, I assure you!