The Bold Caballero

Starring: Robert Livingston, Heather Angel, Sig Ruman, Ian Wolfe, Robert Warwick
Directed by: Wells Root
Rating: Passed
Genre: Thriller, Crime
1936

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Zorro (Robert Livingston) is framed for the murder of the Governor, which pits him against the Governor's daughter (Heather Angel) whom Zorro has fallen in love with.

Review:

Tim: I don't believe that Zorro got off to the greatest cinematic start. 1920's The Mark of Zorro was good, but not great. Don Q. Son of Zorro was even less effective. 11 years later, we got the third film in the series, the first one with sound. The sound element certainly helps, but there some other drawbacks that ultimately pulled the film down too low. The Bold Caballero is a decent film, but it's not all that inspiring. It's about on par with the previous movie, which doesn't generate that much confidence in this franchise.

The story here is actually strong, although it takes some work to realize that. This is mostly due to director Wells Root not fully leveraging the script. A lot happens in this film- a new governor is murdered and Zorro is framed for the murder. Don Diego Vega falls in love with the Governor's daughter, who obviously hates Zorro, as she believes the outlaw murdered her father. Vega gets in close with a Commandant, who is a villain and the real murderer of the Governor. Vega tries to help him woo the Governor's daughter, while actually attempting to get close to her. He's also working on freeing the peasants in the province from the ruthless taxation that is crushing them. There's so much going on in this appropriately complex story. However, it doesn't always feel like that. Root doesn't do a good enough job of presenting the story in a way that is compelling and holds our attention. It's only at the end of the movie, or reflecting on it afterwards, that it strikes you how much was covered in a very short 1 hour, 7 minutes.

The other big issue I had with the film is the performance of Robert Livingston. Douglas Fairbanks might not have spoken as Zorro in his two films, but he brought a certain amount of charisma to the role. Livingston's voice is heard here, but his performance isn't up to snuff. Besides a few moments where he's able to deliver a solid smirk that gives you the sense he's completely in control and enjoying the fun, he doesn't do much that endears himself to the audience. It's a fairly bland performance. That hurts the movie.

This is quite different to Heather Angel, who gives a very engaging, energetic performance. She's really good in the film and you feel connected with her character. She's a strong, intelligent woman and the movie picks up whenever she's on screen. You can't say the same about Livington's low energy performance. Sig Ruman might have occasionally been too over-the-top, but you got the sense he was having fun with the dastardly role. He was fun to watch.

There might be a few decent sequences, but these prove to be the exception, more than the rule. The bullfight scene was well staged and fairly intense. There's not a ton of action scenes, but a horse chase is decent and the climax at the end isn't bad (although I'm not sure I loved Zorro showing up dressed as a woman. There could have been a cooler way to shoot that scene.

In the end, The Bold Caballero is a decent movie. It has a few nice scenes, even if the entire movie doesn't always hold our attention. It was interesting to see how the Zorro character evolved in three films over 16 years.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Mark of Zorro, Don Q, Son of Zorro