Gilbert Roland Movies
Mexico-born Gilbert Roland planned to become a bullfighter like his father, but these plans were shelved when his family moved to the U.S. during the Mexican Revolution. Roland began getting film work as an extra in 1918 in such productions as Cecil B. DeMille's Joan the Woman. In the 1920s, Roland befriended superstar Rudolph Valentino, who helped open several professional doors for the young aspiring actor. Roland's first important film role was Armand in Norma Talmadge's 1926 adaptation of Camille. In talkies, Roland was often consigned to traditional Latin Lover parts, though his athletic prowess and sense of comedy enabled him to expand his range. In the 1940s, Roland became the first and only genuine Mexican to portray the Cisco Kid onscreen, essaying the role in 11 films. A born-and-bred romantic (his first wife was the glamorous film queen Constance Bennett), Roland wrote and published reams of poetry, some of which he was able to incorporate into his film dialogue. Gilbert Roland remained active in films until 1982, exuding warmth and virility to the very end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1952
Stanley Kramer's production unit at Columbia Pictures was known for its willingness to tackle subject matter that was not necessarily "box office" (much to the dismay, of course, of Columbia head man Harry Cohn!) Adapted by Michael Blankfort from the autobiography by Donald Powell Wilson, My Six Convicts is the true story of a prison psychologist and his efforts to "reach" his incarcerated patients. John Beal plays the Donald Powell Wilson counterpart, herein known simply as Doc. Convinced that psychological rehabilitation is, indeed, an option, Doc overcomes a great deal of opposition -- from both prison officials and prisoners -- to test out his theories. Once he's won the confidence of hardened safecracker James Connie (Millard Mitchell), Doc is able to bring five more convicts into his circle: murderous mobster Punch Pinero (Gilbert Roland); alcoholic, self-sacrificing Blivens Scott (Marshall Thompson); holdup man Clem Randall (Alf Kjellin); psychopathic killer Dawson (Harry Morgan -- yes, that Harry Morgan); and embezzler Steve Kopac (Jay Adler). These six cons learn to make their life behind bars not only tolerable but productive, and in so doing pass on their new outlook on life to their fellow inmates. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, My Six Convicts is essentially a comedy, with the all-male cast working together in seamless perfection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Millard Mitchell, Gilbert Roland, (more)
Kirk Douglas plays the corrupt and amoral head of a major film studio in this Hollywood drama, often regarded as one of the film's industry's most interesting glimpses at itself. Actress Gloria Lorrison (Lana Turner), director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan), and screenwriter James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) are invited to a meeting at a Hollywood sound stage at the request of producer Harry Pebbel (Walter Pidgeon). Pebbel is working with studio chief Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas), whose studio is in financial trouble and needs a blockbuster hit. If these three names will sign to a new project, he's convinced that there's no way he can lose. But there's a rub -- all three of these Hollywood heavyweights hate Shields's guts. He dumped Gloria for another woman, he double-crossed Fred out of a plum directing assignment, and he was responsible for the death of James Lee's wife. All three are ready to tell Pebbel to forget it, until they hear the voice of Shields, calling from Europe to discuss the project by phone. The Bad and the Beautiful won five Academy Awards, including Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Gloria Grahame. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, (more)
- 1951
For his initial effort from his own Norma Productions, Burt Lancaster picked a winner in Ten Tall Men. Lancaster stars as "Sergeant Mike," a two-fisted Foreign Legionnaire presiding over a lovable band of mercenaries, sneak thieves and cutthroats. While sitting in the stockade for the umpteenth time, Mike learns of a Riff plan to attack his fort. He and his men break jail and embark on their own attack of the Riffian encampment. Part of their strategy (much of which is improvised on the spot) is to kidnap Mahia (Jody Lawrence), the toothsome daughter of the Riffian sheik. Understandably, Mahia despises her captors until she realizes that the film's real villain is the covetous Caid Hussan (Gerald Mohr). This one's got everything, from a campy reenactment of a key scene in Beau Geste to the old reliable threat of a red-hot iron upon female flesh. Mari Blanchard, fully clothed for a change, shows up early in the film as a coquettish French mademoiselle who foments an all-out donnybrook among Mike and his fellow legionnaires. With the exceptions of Jody Lawrence and Gerald Mohr, no one in Ten Tall Men takes the proceedings too seriously; the film has some of the cheeky insouciance of Lancaster's subsequent swashbuckler The Crimson Pirate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance, (more)
- 1951
MGM's Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse were loaned to Universal for the Technicolor period piece Mark of the Renegade. Set in 19th-century California, the film stars Montalban as Marcos, in league with a band of pirates. Marcos falls into the hands of Don Pedro Garcia (Gilbert Roland), a despot who hopes to become dictator of California. Planning to force the cooperation of benevolent politico Jose De Vasquez (Antonio Moreno), Garcia orders Marcos to court De Vasquez' comely daughter Anita (Cyd Charisse). It soon develops that Marcos is not the criminal he appears to be, and that he is dedicated to the vanquishing of the evil Garcia. Somehow, Mark of the Renegade finds an excuse for Cyd Charisse to perform a bewitching dance number. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, (more)
Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston give standout performances in this dark, psychological western, which Martin Scorsese has compared to the work of Dostoevsky. T.C. Jeffords (Huston) is a cunning and highly successful ranch owner who has announced his engagement to a wealthy socialite, Flo Burnett (Judith Anderson). This news is not warmly received by his daughter Vance (Stanwyck); she had a romance of her own with gambler Rip Darrow (Wendell Corey) foiled by her father, and Vance does not care for her light-headed stepmother-to-be. Vance is driven into a violent rage by T.C.'s Machiavellian actions, and when he kills a good friend of Vance's (a ranch hand he believes was helping Mexicans squat on his land), she swears revenge on her father and joins forces with Darrow to see that violent justice is done. The Furies proved to be Walter Huston's last film; he died within a few months of its release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, (more)
- 1950
- NR
Cary Grant's utter credibility in the role of a brilliant, world-famous brain surgeon Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson is the single element that keeps Crisis afloat. While vacationing in a politically unstable Latin American country, Ferguson and his wife, Helen (Paula Raymond), find themselves the unwilling house guests of dictator Raoul Farrago (José Ferrer). Suffering from a brain tumor, Farrago insists that Ferguson operate at once. The "crisis" of the title arises when revolutionary leader Gonzales (Gilbert Roland) demands that Farrago be killed on the operating table -- and kidnaps Dr. Ferguson's wife to bind the bargain. Unaware of his wife's plight, Ferguson proceeds with the operation, setting into motion a series of events leading to a grimly ironic denouement. Director Richard Brooks adapted the screenplay of Crisis from a story by George Tabori. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, José Ferrer, (more)
The Torch was originally released in Mexico as La Malquerida. It also bore several other titles, including Duelo en las Montanas, Del Odio Nacio el Amor and The Beloved. By any name, this is the story of a fear-inspiring revolutionary general (Pedro Armendariz) who develops a passion for the daughter (Paulette Goddard) of a wealthy villager. It's hate at first sight so far as the girl is concerned, but this will soon change. Designed as a dual-market production, The Torch was produced by star Paulette Goddard and RKO's Bert Granet, and directed by volatile Mexican filmmaker Emilio Fernandez. The international supporting cast includes Gilbert Roland as a kindly priest and Walter Reed as an American doctor who also yearns for Goddard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulette Goddard, Pedro Armendáriz, (more)
- 1950
Director Budd Boetticher's love of bullfighting comes to the fore in this film drama, directed and co-written by Boetticher (and produced by John Wayne). Robert Stack plays the cocky American Chuck Regan, who travels to Mexico and falls in love with the sultry Anita de la Vega (Joy Page). In order to impress her with his prowess, he convinces the famed matador Manolo Estrada (Gilbert Roland) to mentor him in the art of bullfighting. But Chuck's carelessness causes the tragic death of Manolo, resulting in Chuck's being shunned by both the villagers and Anita. In order to regain Anita's love and the villagers' respect, Chuck re-enters the arena, taking on a bull in Manolo's honor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stack, Joy Page, (more)
Set in the Cuba of 1933, We Were Strangers stars John Garfield as revolutionary-minded Tony Fenner. A member of an underground movement dedicated to toppling the despotic Machado regime, Tony supervises the booby-trapping of a cemetery where several top Cuban officials are planning to converge for a state funeral. Also involved in the assassination scheme is China Valdes (Jennifer Jones), whose brother had been executed by the government. As often happens in a John Huston film, the best-laid schemes of the protagonists go tragically awry. Based on a portion of Robert Sylvester's novel Rough Sketch, We Were Strangers was scripted by frequent Huston collaborator Peter Viertel. The film has the curious distinction of being lambasted by both the left-wing and right-wing critics in the U.S. Audiences were likewise underwhelmed, compelling Columbia Pictures to withdraw the film from distribution early on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Jones, John Garfield, (more)
- 1949
Spencer Tracy and James Stewart team up for this World War II adventure, based on an supposedly true incident from World War II. Stewart plays John Royer, an ex-newspaper reporter with a backhand knowledge of Malaya, and Tracy plays a criminal named Carnaghan, doing time in Alcatraz for smuggling. They are brought together for an undercover assignment -- to smuggle a large shipment of rubber out of Japanese-held territory in Malaya and deliver the tonnage to awaiting U.S. ships. Carnaghan and Royer plod through the jungles and have to deal with several unscrupulous contacts including a man calling himself The Dutchman (Sydney Greenstreet), a helpful FBI agent named Kellar (John Hodiak), and a sneaky Japanese officer by the name of Colonel Tomura (Richard Loo). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, (more)
- 1948
In this entry in the long-running western series, Cisco and Pancho must clear the Kid's name after he is blamed for recent stagecoach robberies. In reality the robber is another disguised as the Kid. Meanwhile Cisco is captured by U.S. Marshals. Fortunately, he escapes them, captures the real crook, and clears his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gilbert Roland, Angela Greene, (more)
- 1948
In this western comedy, a milquetoast gunsmith from the East Coast goes to Arsenic City, Arizona because he has heard that everybody their carries guns. His trip West is an exercise in misfortune. Everything that could go wrong on the journey, does. At least he meets a pretty woman, also en route to Arsenic City. She goes there in search of her late father's gold mine. They fall in love and work together to find her father's killer and reclaim the mine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Albert, Binnie Barnes, (more)
- 1947
Pirates of Monterey is set during the early 19th century, at a time when California was asserting its independence from Mexico. Rod Cameron plays Phillip Kent, a devil-may-care mercenary hired to transport a shipment of rifles to the American army detachment at Monterey. Along the way, he is forced to do battle with Mexicans, Indians and various and assorted thieves. Somehow, he finds time to pitch woo with the tempestuous Marguerita (Maria Montez), whose fiery Mexican dance routines are something to behold. Less exciting to watch than it is to read about, Pirates of Monterey at least has the advantage of Technicolor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Cameron
- 1947
An average "Cisco Kid" Western-adventure, South of Monterey features ace villain Harry Woods as Bennett, a nasty tax collector foreclosing on the poor to benefit himself. Young rancher Carlos Mandreno (George J. Lewis) refuses to give in and is supported by Maria Morales (Marjorie Riordan), the sister of the chief of police, who promises her brother, Arturo (Martin Garralaga), that she will marry Bennett if he will leave Carlos alone. Carlos' cattle, meanwhile, is rustled by a mystery villain known only as "The Silver Bandit" and Arturo arrests the Cisco Kid (Gilbert Roland). The latter, however, escapes with the aid of a fiery saloon singer (Iris Flores) and manages not only to hunt down the evil Bennett, but also unmask the real "Silver Bandit." Iris Flores sings "Tacos de Amor" and "Anoche Hable con la Luna," both by Gladys Flores and Monogram house composer Edward Kay. South of Monterey was the second of six "Cisco Kid" Westerns Gilbert Roland would do for the little Poverty Row studio. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1947
High Conquest was a good example of the sort of "prestige" fare that lowly Monogram Pictures hoped to turn out on a regular basis in the postwar years. Adapted from a novel by James Ramsey Ullman, the story centers on Hugo Lannier (Warren Douglas), an American youth who makes it his mission in life to conquer the Matterhorn in Switzerland. Hugo's father had been killed years earlier in a similar attempt, and our hero hopes to honor his father's memory by completing the task. But first, Hugo must overcome his intense dislike of the Alps and his fear of heights-not to mention his fear of fear itself. Top-billed Anna Lee plays Marie, a Swiss girl who believes in Hugo even when he doesn't. Genuine location footage of the Matterhorn is deftly blended with some surprisingly convincing studio mockups. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Bleifer, Beulah Bondi, (more)
- 1947
Barbara Stanwyck headlines this romantic tearjerker as a free-spirited concert pianist dying of tuberculosis. She checks into a posh Alpine sanitarium and there falls in love with her suave and gentle doctor (David Niven). The poor physician has his hands full trying to keep the energetic Stanwyck quiet so her body can rest. She tries, but when the fellow patient she befriended dies, she becomes afraid of her own death and flees to have a crazy affair with a race car driver. Together they tear across Europe until she becomes weak and must return to the sanitarium for the tragic conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, David Niven, (more)
- 1947
The Cisco Kid attempts to break up an arranged marriage in this romantic B-Western from Monogram. Learning that nasty Raoul (Ted Hecht) is marrying lovely Dolores Ramirez (Inez Cooper) out of greed only, the Kid (Gilbert Roland) goes undercover as famous California adventurer Don Luis Salazar. The ruse works, and after a swordfight or two, Dolores is free to marry whomever she chooses. Teala Loring, as Raoul's true girlfriend, sings "Mi Amor Ya Volvia" by Gladys Flores and Edward Kay. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gilbert Roland, Martin Garralaga, (more)
- 1947
Gilbert Roland made his penultimate appearance as the Cisco Kid in Monogram's Robin Hood of Monterrey. Roland is joined in his exploits by Chris-Pin Martin as Pancho. The film's 56 minutes is a near-nonstop anschluss of fistfights and gunplay, occasionally punctuated by Cisco's poetic wooing of whatever senorita happens to be around. The bad guys are headed by veterans Jack LaRue and Evelyn Brent; the last-named performer had by this time made western villainesses her particular specialty. After Robin Hood of Monterey and King of the Bandits, Gilbert Roland relinquished the Cisco Kid mantle to Duncan Renaldo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
There'd already been a "Cisco Kid" B-picture titled The Gay Caballero, so this Monogram "Cisco" entry was released as The Gay Cavalier. No matter: it means the same thing, and the film is the mixture as before. Gilbert Roland stars as Cisco, while Martin Garralaga, usually cast as Pancho, is here seen as a wealthy ranch owner. With his usually roguish aplomb, Cisco saves Garralaga from a gang of thieves, engaging chief villain Tris Coffin in an exciting bit of climactic swordplay. Gay Cavalier represented Gilbert Roland's first "Cisco Kid" endeavor; he would appear in five more before being replaced by Duncan Renaldo in 1947. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gilbert Roland, Martin Garralaga, (more)
- 1946
Gilbert Roland dominates the action in a colorful performance as the bandit hero the Cisco Kid, this time up against a surprisingly vicious plot by a local doctor to steal land from the local peasants and small ranchers by poisoning them to drive them off, and then reselling the property to absentee European landlords. He finds an unexpected ally in Jeanne DuBois (Ramsay Ames), who starts out as part of the plot but is turned around by Roland's charm and charisma after a few fireworks. The direction is uneven, with William Nigh not quite able to make the flatter parts of the script as entertaining or smooth as they ought to be. Evidently, the producers knew they were in trouble with this downbeat script and took steps to rescue the picture. Seeing the sparks fly in the scenes in the first third of the picture, in which Ames is disguised as a man (which evokes echoes -- albeit very distant -- of Shakespeare's As You Like It) and verbally jousts with Roland, more material was written on the spot for the two of them, depicting a competition that becomes much more heated when her gender is revealed. By her own account, Nigh and Ames were friends, and she was a good sport on this shoot whatever they had her doing, and it's a pity they didn't go further with the rivalry between Roland's and Ames' characters, who might've been the Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones of their era. Roland also wrote some of his own dialogue and poetry for this effort, which seems very hackneyed today, but played just fine for audiences in 1946. (Note: In early TV prints of Beauty And The Bandit, all references to the Cisco Kid and O. Henry in the credits were blacked out, and mentions of the Cisco Kid and "Cisco" in the dialogue awkwardly dubbed over as "Chico" -- one suspects this was because the exclusive TV rights to the Cisco Kid had been sold to another producer for the TV series starring Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo). ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
It's every man for himself when Charles Laughton bites into the role of infamous 17th century pirate captain William Kidd. Hoping to further increase his ill-gotten gains, Captain Kidd inveigles King William III (Henry Daniel) into appointing him the "patriotic" protector of a valuable treasure ship. Ostensibly hired to fend off enemy vessels, Kidd intends to steal the ship's cargo for himself with the aid of his swarthy lieutenants William Moore (Gilbert Roland) and Orange Povy (John Carradine). The romantic subplot is carried by "honest" brigand Adam Merry (Randolph Scott) and kidnapped noblewoman Lady Ann Falconer (Barbara Britton). Charles Laughton reprised his part in the 1952 farce Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, (more)
- 1944
A 15 chapter Columbia serial, The Desert Hawk employed camels instead of horses and bedouins rather than cowboys, but remained a "Western" at heart. Gilbert Roland played Kasim, the honorable Caliph of Abad who is kidnapped by his evil identical twin, Hasson (also Roland). Kasim manages to get away from his captors and returns to the capital, where his brother now rules in his name. To regain the throne, the frustrated former Caliph assumes the identity of The Desert Hawk, finding an ally along the way in Hasson's bride-to-be, Princess Azala (Mona Maris) . Well-known serial villain Frank Lackteen, who hailed from Lebanon in the Middle East, played Faud, one of Hasson's henchmen. A rare visitor to the serial genre, Gilbert Roland had assumed the dual role of Kasim and Hasson when the serial's original leading man, Western star James Ellison, suffered an accident while filming episode one, "The Twin Brothers." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1942
By Monogram standards, the cast of Isle of Missing Men was Academy Award calibre. John Howard and Gilbert Roland head a group of prisoners who try to escape from an island prison colony. Leading lady Helen Gilbert is willing to wait for her beloved Howard, but looks askance when he participates in the breakout. As was customary in such films, several of the more contentious prisoners are redeemed by sacrificing their lives for the sake of others. Alan Mobray, Bradley Page and George Chandler co-star in this adaptation of Gina Kaus and Ladislas Fodor's White Lady, while the direction is in the hands of German pioneer filmmaker Richard Oswald. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1942
Columbia's Ellery Queen series called it quits with the timely 1942 entry Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen. The eponymous enemy agents are on the lookout for a cache of precious diamonds, which are being smuggled from Holland to the United States by way of Egypt. The gems are hidden in a mummy case, the better to throw the Nazis and the American authorities off the track. When smuggler Paul Gilette (Gilbert Roland) is murdered upon arriving in the US with the diamonds, Ellery Queen (William Gargan) and his police-inspector father (Charley Grapewin) try to solve the killing. The villains lead Ellery on a merry chase through a jewelry shop, art gallery, athletic club and cemetary, with Ellery's secretary Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsay) ending up in the Nazi's clutches at one juncture. Boasting a formidable lineup of "heavies" (Gale Sondergaard, Sig Ruman et. al.), Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen is easily the best of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, (more)
- 1941
Widowed mother Charlotte Lord (Katherine Alexander) would like to marry wealthy Guy Barton (Sidney Blackmer), but Bartons' avaricious ex-wife Sybil (Binnie Barnes) insists upon contesting their recent Mexican divorce. Charlotte's daughters Jane (Jane Frazee), Leni (Leni Lynn), and Marilyn (Marilyn Hare) conspire to put Sybil out of the way by pairing her off with Steve Nelson (Edward Norris), gilding the lily by convincing Nelson to pose as Argentine cattle baron Don Pablo Viscente (Gilbert Roland). The ruse almost works, but then the real Don Pablo shows up. Undaunted, the Lord girls concoct a variety of additional schemes to smooth the path of romance for their mother and the eligible Mr. Barton. And on and on it goes, slapstick set pieces alternating with musical numbers for the remainder of the film's 72 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Binnie Barnes, Gilbert Roland, (more)
