Director: ERLE C. KENTON. Scenario and continuity: Norman Houston. Story and dialogue: Gladys Lehman. Photography: Ted Tetzlaff. Film editor: Leon Barsha. Dialogue director: James Seymour. Assistant director: Sam Nelson. Producer: Harry Cohn.
Copyright 21 January 1930 by Columbia Pictures Corp. U.S. release: 26 December 1929. 7 reels. 5,735 feet. 63 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Loudmouth American, who owns a gambling house in Mexico, gives his mistress the air. For revenge, the floozie marries his younger brother. (An 8/10 DVD from Public Domain suppliers).
COMMENT: Despite both a dime-novel plot and a dull support cast, Mexicali Rose is of interest to the movie connoisseur for one reason - and one reason only. Her name is Barbara Stanwyck. This was only her third film, and, just as with The Locked Door, she saves the day. Kenton's direction is indifferent, Sam Hardy's blustering "Happy" never amounts to anything more than a bore, and William Janney is a total write-off (although Harry Vejar and Arthur Rankin run him close in the amateurish performance stakes). Without Barbara and to a lesser extent, Louis Natheaux, Mexicali Rose would not be worth the price of a DVD. True, there's a happy running gag with Louis King as a drunken bum (if such a gag can ever be said to be "happy"), but otherwise we have a plot that-thanks to interference by producer Harry Cohn-doesn't make any sense. Nicely photographed, but tacky footie stock shots don't help.
OTHER VIEWS: I was forced to act out the title character using my own devices. I had to rely entirely on my own skills. I was given little, if any, concrete direction by Mr. Kenton, who was always under Mr. Cohn's thumb to make the slates as quickly as possible.
Copyright 21 January 1930 by Columbia Pictures Corp. U.S. release: 26 December 1929. 7 reels. 5,735 feet. 63 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Loudmouth American, who owns a gambling house in Mexico, gives his mistress the air. For revenge, the floozie marries his younger brother. (An 8/10 DVD from Public Domain suppliers).
COMMENT: Despite both a dime-novel plot and a dull support cast, Mexicali Rose is of interest to the movie connoisseur for one reason - and one reason only. Her name is Barbara Stanwyck. This was only her third film, and, just as with The Locked Door, she saves the day. Kenton's direction is indifferent, Sam Hardy's blustering "Happy" never amounts to anything more than a bore, and William Janney is a total write-off (although Harry Vejar and Arthur Rankin run him close in the amateurish performance stakes). Without Barbara and to a lesser extent, Louis Natheaux, Mexicali Rose would not be worth the price of a DVD. True, there's a happy running gag with Louis King as a drunken bum (if such a gag can ever be said to be "happy"), but otherwise we have a plot that-thanks to interference by producer Harry Cohn-doesn't make any sense. Nicely photographed, but tacky footie stock shots don't help.
OTHER VIEWS: I was forced to act out the title character using my own devices. I had to rely entirely on my own skills. I was given little, if any, concrete direction by Mr. Kenton, who was always under Mr. Cohn's thumb to make the slates as quickly as possible.
- Barbara Stanwyck.