About a decade before the chain of fast food restaurants started, Maria Montez disguised dashing hero Jon Hall in clown makeup to hide his identity from evil baron Douglas Dumbrille. It's an ironic twist that adds more unintentional camp in one of a dozen similarly themed films where Montez is unaware of the fact that she's of royal blood and thus the subject of a greedy and lustful desire from Dumbrille who only need dispatch Hall to reach the subject of his sinister ambition
I've seen a good majority of Montez's films, and she's not the most subtle of performers, an exotic beauty with the stereotypical Latina temperament and the sex appeal to match. Equally attractive Jon Hall is paired with her in a good majority of these films, and if bland in the non-action scenes is still appropriately heroic. Wasted in important but underdeveloped parts are Leo Carrillo and Gale Sondergaard, more sly here than sinister. Peter Coe is a male version of the characters that Myrna Loy and later Rita Moreno played, that of the rejected live interest who becomes self sacrificing as they realize that they have no chance with the person they are desperately in love with.
As colorful and pleasing as many other similar swashbuckling adventures, this must have been something on the big screen. But in comparison to the other films that Montez made, it's rather ordinary. Perhaps because of the lack of humorous supporting characters makes it a bit of a disappointment, although it's certainly not bad. A musical number where imprisoned gypsies start to sing and dance out of nowhere is the camp highlight, while a final chase scene brings the much needed excitement. Droll Nigel Bruce comes on briefly as a rather flibbertigibbet sheriff. Dumbrille, who played many similar characters, chews the scenery with no shame, while Montez tones it down, making her more of a feisty pussycat rather than the gypsy wildcat.
I've seen a good majority of Montez's films, and she's not the most subtle of performers, an exotic beauty with the stereotypical Latina temperament and the sex appeal to match. Equally attractive Jon Hall is paired with her in a good majority of these films, and if bland in the non-action scenes is still appropriately heroic. Wasted in important but underdeveloped parts are Leo Carrillo and Gale Sondergaard, more sly here than sinister. Peter Coe is a male version of the characters that Myrna Loy and later Rita Moreno played, that of the rejected live interest who becomes self sacrificing as they realize that they have no chance with the person they are desperately in love with.
As colorful and pleasing as many other similar swashbuckling adventures, this must have been something on the big screen. But in comparison to the other films that Montez made, it's rather ordinary. Perhaps because of the lack of humorous supporting characters makes it a bit of a disappointment, although it's certainly not bad. A musical number where imprisoned gypsies start to sing and dance out of nowhere is the camp highlight, while a final chase scene brings the much needed excitement. Droll Nigel Bruce comes on briefly as a rather flibbertigibbet sheriff. Dumbrille, who played many similar characters, chews the scenery with no shame, while Montez tones it down, making her more of a feisty pussycat rather than the gypsy wildcat.