IN OLD CALIFORNIA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 174, 24 July 1936, Page 10

IN OLD CALIFORNIA

ROMANCE AT MAJESTIC "ROBIN HOOD OF EL DORADO." With Warner Baxter contributing one of the finest performances of his career, “Robin Hood of El Dorado,” commencing to-morrow at the Majestic Theatre, ranks among the truly magnificent features of the talking screen. Produced an a spectacular scale, it is a romanticised slice of one of the most glamorous periods of America’s frontier history—that era which began in 1848 with the discovery of gold in California. Possessing much of the epic sweep of such tremendous hits as “The Covered Wagon,” “The Big Trail” and other outdoor films that marked the closing days of the silent screen, “Robin Hood of El Dorado” has a dramatic majesty that gives it the aura of importance, while at the same time retaining the intimacy of romance and personal thrills which make for truly superb entertainment. Baxter surpasses even his performance in “The Cisco Kid” with his characterisation of Joaquin Murrieta, the dashing man of the Far West, who left a trail of plundered gold and broken hearts as he rode through the American mining settlements at the head of his outlow army. With him a noble cast includes Ann Loring, a spectacular newcomer who seems destined for stardom; Bruce Cabot in his best sympathetic role to date; Margo, the little Spanish dancing beauty who has become an outstanding dramatic actress; J. Carrol Naish, Eric Linden, Edgar Kennedy, Charles Trowbridge. Harvey Stephens and literally hundreds of others. William Wellman directed and John W. Constance, junr. produced the picture for Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer. The story of Joaquin Murrieta, as depicted in “Robin Hood of El Dorado,” is the story of one of the California Spaniards who was broken under the iron heel of American invasion on the heels of the discovery of gold. Painted with bold strokes on a romantic canvas, it finds opportunity to present a drama of romantic glamour that is vital entertainment.