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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Edgecumb Pinchon (book) and
O.B. Stade (book) ...
more
Release Date:
27 April 1934 (USA) more
Tagline:
...TOO BIG FOR HOLLYWOOD...it was dramatized in the heart of Mexico, with a cast of thousands! more
Plot:
In this fictionalized biography, young Pancho Villa takes to the hills after killing an overseer in revenge for his father's death... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations more
User Comments:
It ain't really true then again it ain't really a lie. more (11 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Wallace Beery | ... | Pancho Villa | |
| Leo Carrillo | ... | Sierra | |
| Fay Wray | ... | Teresa | |
| Donald Cook | ... | Don Felipe de Castillo | |
| Stuart Erwin | ... | Jonny Sykes | |
| Henry B. Walthall | ... | Francisco Madero | |
| Joseph Schildkraut | ... | Gen. Pascal | |
| Katherine DeMille | ... | Rosita Morales (as Katherine de Mille) | |
| George E. Stone | ... | Emilio Chavito | |
| Phillip Cooper | ... | Pancho Villa as a boy | |
| David Durand | ... | Bugle boy | |
| Frank Puglia | ... | Pancho Villa's father | |
| Ralph Bushman | ... | Wallace Calloway (reporter) (as Francis X. Bushman Jr.) | |
| Adrian Rosley | ... | Alphonso Mendoza | |
| Henry Armetta | ... | Alfredo Mendosa |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
115 min | USA:110 min (Turner library print)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #1105, 2 May 1935 for re-release)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
On 19 November 1933, during location filming in Mexico, Lee Tracy, originally cast as Johnny Sykes, got drunk and urinated from his hotel balcony onto a passing military parade. He was arrested, fired from the film and replaced by Stuart Erwin. Original director Howard Hawks was also fired for refusing to testify against Tracy, and replaced by Jack Conway. However, in his autobiography, Charles G. Clarke, the cinematographer on the picture, said that he was standing outside the hotel during the parade and the incident never happened. Tracy, he said, was standing on the balcony observing the parade when a Mexican in the street below made an obscene gesture at him. Tracy replied in kind, and the next day a local newspaper printed a story that said, in effect, Tracy had insulted Mexico, Mexicans in general and the Mexican flag in particular. The story caused an uproar in Mexico, and MGM decided to sacrifice Tracy in order to be allowed to continue filming there. more
Quotes:
Jonny Sykes: [typing] Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of Jonny Sykes. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in This Side of Heaven (1934) more
Soundtrack:
Artist's Life, Op.316 more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (11 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Viva Villa! (1934)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Unusually clear, crisp picture *Minor spoiler | ksf-2 |
| Which character...? | TangibleHistory |
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Biography section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |

The life of Mexican rebel and maverick Pancho Villa is brought to the screen is in this highly fictional but yet log-line or plot points accurate story. This is clear to anyone because the opening has one of those disclaimers that states that though the story is true, the movie has fictionalized certain scenes and scenarios but is in essence a true portrait. Whatever! That said, despite unexpected tonal shifts (Howard Hawks was the original director before Jack Conway was brought in and re-shot a lot of his footage. It makes me wonder how the new Exorcist movie that Renny Harlin is reshooting will play) the film is a touching portrait of a man of the people who could never lead a nation. It does not patronize the dastardly or generally inhumane tactics of Villa. As far as Villa was concerned, it is war and one must vanquish the enemies completely. Take no prisoners was his approach. It has the typical, rotten scoundrel and bandit to careful redemption of the soul arc but is handled atypical which is a plus. Beery, one of the biggest stars Hollywood ever produced is solid in the role and should have gotten an Oscar nomination. Directing is solid except for sudden comic ouvres among the chaos stopping the movie from achieving rich resonance but overall enabling it to still work. Sets are huge, action sequences are passable and scenarios and dialogue are either very good or cliched in certain respects. But I think the ending of the movie has one of the best written scenes and final lines I've ever heard. I won't spoil it but it lets you know that what you've seen and read about is essentially a myth and legend and that's what people choose to remember and live on. Kinda like the ending of the movie Big Fish.