Kenneth Turan’s DVD pick of the week: Old-school Mexican outlaws
Kenneth Turan’s DVD pick of the week: Mexican outlaws.
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Hollywood’s fascination with Mexican outlaws may seem as recent as the drug wars, but it’s not. As two new releases from the Warner Archive Collection show, it dates to the 1930s, if not earlier.
Best known of the two is 1934’s “Viva Villa,” with an outsized Wallace Beery taking on the role of the larger-than-life Pancho Villa and Fay Wray and Leo Carrillo active as costars.
Also boasting a Mexican flavor is 1936’s “Robin Hood of El Dorado,” starring Warner Baxter as the celebrated Mexican bandit Joaquin Murrietta. The director here is the accomplished William A. Wellman, known for such socially conscious films as “Wild Boys of the Road” and “Heroes for Sale.”
Twitter: @KennethTuran
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