Raiders of Old California

As a history teacher, this sort of western irritates the life out of me. While it's supposed to be set just after the Mexican War (which ended in the late 1840s), nothing about the film looks right—nothing. The guns are all repeating cartridge pistols circa 1870s-1880s, the cavalry uniforms from the 1860s and the whole look of the film is just another late 1800s film. So why, then, did they bother setting the film in this much earlier era if they just didn't care what they slapped on the screen? I guess they just wanted to churn out anything—hoping the public just would watch it anyways.

The film involves a very common theme to westerns—the baddies who are trying to grab up all the land and force the good people off their own property. In this case, an evil American is trying to force Mexicans off their land now that it's become a US territory. Unfortunately, it's all very familiar, the acting is unspectacular (at best) and the production just looks cheap and slapped together. My feeling is that since there were at least 13923035440509 other westerns made during this era, why not try watching one of the others first? After all, it's most likely a lot more interesting and better produced than this cheapie. And, perhaps my score of 3 is a bit generous.