This proved to be another film I was only vaguely familiar with that, however, resulted in a solid adventure effort: it is a mix of Western and Zorro-like swashbuckler (based, in fact, on a novel by the man who invented that popular avenging figure i.e. Johnston McCulley!) – though the hero's features are only partially hidden here and they are so in order to conceal the branding of the letter 'r' for 'renegade' on his forehead!
The film is immeasurably aided by a splendid gallery of actors: Ricardo Montalban (showing off his virility by frequently baring his chest and, early on, eating perhaps the longest meal this side of Asterix!), Cyd Charisse (the star teaming thus necessitating a gratuitous but vigorous flamenco number!), J. Carroll Naish (playing an ambiguous part), Gilbert Roland (the dashing villain), Andrea King (from THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS {1946}, also with Naish), George Tobias (cast against type as a scowling buccaneer) and Antonio Moreno (as Charisse's eminent father).
The plot deals with Montalban being blackmailed by Roland (who knows of his facial scar) to win the heroine's hand in marriage from her betrothed ostensibly because he bears Moreno a grudge, but really in order to facilitate his own ascension to power (since he fully intends to expose the protagonist soon after and thus implicating Moreno in a scandal)! The narrative is quite complex, with Naish (by turns brutish and helpful towards Montalban and sometimes downright comical), King (Roland's girl but nevertheless jealous of the hero's attentions for Charisse!) and Tobias (who plagues the star, his old nemesis, intermittently throughout and, especially, when the latter comes into money, wants a piece of the action too!) also figuring heavily. Typically, Roland shrouds his true nature behind a veneer of respectability – his cover eventually blown off by a meek priest during the highly satisfying climax, which also comes with a revelation as to Montalban's (redemptive) role in all of this!
The film offers color, action and romance in spades throughout its briskly-paced 77 minutes but, unfortunately, the viewing was hampered by the battered state the print was in and the muffled quality of the soundtrack
so much so that I had to rewatch the ending (despite the late hour in which I screened this) in order to get all the twists offered the denouement! For the record, I had already admired Hugo Fregonese's work on BLOWING WILD (1953) and THE RAID (1954) and, after yet another satisfactory viewing of his, I am looking forward to sampling the other 8 movies currently lying in my unwatched pile!
