Mexicali Rose (1929) User Reviews

Babs is quite the tramp in this early talkie....

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 14 January 2016]

When this film begins, Happy Manning (Sam Hardy) comes home to his beloved wife, Mexicali Rose (Barbara Stanwyck) only to discover she's a no-good tramp who's cheating on him. Soon they are divorced and Happy soon travels to see his ward, Bob, at college--where Bob is a star football player. Later, Bob gets married and brings home his new bride. Guess who the lucky girl is....Mexicali Rose! And it appears as if she is either doing this to get back at Happy or get her hands on Bob's gold mine...or both! After all, Rose is a bad girl...a VERY bad girl!

Of course the notion of Bob marrying the exact same girl is ludicrous. However, it needs to be put into some context. During this Pre-Code era, there were a lot of films that portrayed women as gold-digging tramps and this film fits in nicely with such films as "Red-Headed Woman" and "Baby Face". So audiences of the day would have found the idea of an incredibly manipulative and evil woman very acceptable...though the exact circumstances must have even made folks laugh a bit back in 1929. Plus, it's really inexplicable that Happy wouldn't immediately tell Bob about Rose. What's also a BIG surprise is how Happy takes care of all this and how the movie ends. It certainly is NOT something you would expect!!!

Overall, I'd say that the film has a cheap look about it and is basically a B-movie. The ending especially seems just tacked on and strange. It's not a bad film but it certainly is obvious that Stanwyck isn't yet a big star and she's doing her time in Columbia Pictures' B unit.

By the way, if you pay close attention to the Mexican folks in this film you'll realize that many of them are just folks painted dark! It's pretty obvious and very, very sad. After all, it wasn't like Los Angeles had any shortage of Chicanos who could have appeared in the movie...yet they dumped paint on folks instead. This isn't much different from the silent film days where D.W. Griffith routinely painted white guys black...and then often portrayed these 'black' men as savages!! And, having one of these Mexicans billed as 'Loco the halfwit' is not exactly sensitive!!

Flashes of the Stanwyck Fire!!

[kidboots · 7/10 · 20 December 2014]

By the end of 1929 Frank Fay had scored (who knew how - he was terrible) as the M.C. in "The Show of Shows", his wife Barbara Stanwyck had a pretty disastrous talkie debut in "The Locked Door" and was rewarded with an even worse film "Mexicali Rose". Playing an unscrupulous villainess she was just too inexperienced and hack director Earle C. Kenton couldn't give her the help she needed as a stage trained actress who desperately wanted film technique guidance. She plays promiscuous Rose who finds it impossible to remain faithful to her decent husband Happy Manning (Sam Hardy, who was a good friend from her Broadway days), who owns south of the border casino "The Gold Mine". Putting a bracelet on her ankle he notices bruising and while she explains it all away he is not convinced, especially when he sees her "in conference" with his right hand man, croupier Joe (Louis Natheaux).

There is a "Stanwyck Showdown" in the offing but Happy just tells her to "cut the dramatics"!! He runs her out of town and, newly divorced, visits his ward, fresh faced football star Bob Manning (William Janney) who introduces Happy to his fiancée Marie (an uncredited girl, sure is pretty, could be Greta Grandstedt?). But Marie is just too nice and the bride whom Bob brings to Mexico to show off to Hap is none other than - Rose!!

In spite of the cheapness of the production and the other actors giving "by the numbers" performances there are flashes of the Stanwyck fire and she really tries to rise above the film as a whole. Rose hasn't changed and soon is chatting up handsome bar fly (Jerry Miley). That is after she coerces Bob into the casino ("what are all those funny numbers?", "what's a bar?", "can you buy milk there?" etc). Over seeing all is half wit Loco (Arthur Rankin) who is Happy's eyes and ears concerning Rose's extra curriculum activities.

Thank heaven for Frank Capra and "Ladies of Leisure" - Stanwyck commented that the disaster of "Mexicali Rose" sapped nearly all the professional confidence that she had developed throughout those tough Broadway years.

Unsteady Babs in the early days.

[st-shot · 5/10 · 9 June 2017]

In her second sound feature Barbara Stanwyck is still struggling to find her acting chops. Showing more of her derrière than her talent in Mexicali Rose there are a few hints this woman would become one of film's all time great seductresses.

Down Mexico way old Happy Manning has carved out life for himself running a casino. Loved by the locals for his generosity he's smitten with wife Rose (Stanwyck) a full time flirt and adulterer. When he catches her fooling around with his head croupier he sends her packing and keeps the croupier. When she does return it's with his younger brother Bob as her latest victim.

Mexicali Rose demands a lot of amnesia on the part of its characters as Rose roars back into town expecting everybody to play dumb around her character transformation or getting Bob up to speed. Yet the man-eater turned wide eyed innocent is soon duping Bob and back at the casino playing the seduction game.

This would be Stanwyck's last defenseless little girl role before embarking on a half century of strong women roles that would arguably make her the finest film actress of the 20th Century. What is missing is the maturity and professional seasoning that would begin in her next film Ladies of Leisure and be fully evident by Baby Face (33). In Mexicali Rose she's no Phyllis Dietrich but there are clear signs she was the girl capable of filling that fatales shoes.

For Stanwyck fans like me only!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 10 January 2018]

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.

• Barbara Stanwyck.

Temptress in training

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 24 January 2021]

According to Axel Madsen's biography of Barbara Stanwyck this third film of her's and first for Columbia Pictures was one she hated. It's far from her worst film but it definitely is mediocre.

Nevertheless we see some flashes of Stanwyck as a temptress in training, a bit of a preview of her bad girl roles later on for which she won such acclaim.

Stanwyck is married to Sam Hardy owner of a casino in a Mexican border town. Hardy gives Babs the heave ho when he catches her stepping out. Back up north Stanwyck meets William Janney who specialized in callow youth roles and he's one naive football hero who gets the facts of life taught him.

Hardy seems determined to keep his kid naive for reasons I can't explain. But he gets he shock of his life when Janney brings Stanwyck in tow as his blushing new bride.

The plot really makes no sense and Stanwyck gets no direction. Still for Stanwyck completists, a must.

South of The Boudoir

[boblipton · 5/10 · 12 May 2019]

Sam Hardy runs a gambling joint just over the Mexican border. He's married to Barbara Stanwyck, and crazy about her, but while he's out of town visiting his ward, William Janney, she steps out on him. He throws her out, but she comes back, only now she's married to Janney.

It's an early and earthy pre-code movie, directed by Erle Kenton for Columbia. There are some nice aspects to it, especially Stanwyck at her pre-code depth. However, the sound system is still unfamiliar enough to Kenton that he lets the actors have their heads, and they talk loud and emphatically, making sure their words are clear against the background hiss. Stanwyck has a few quiet moments that presage her coming mastery of screen acting, but the movie's strength is that it is so open and shocking about sex.

In a few years, Joe Breen would shut down overt sexuality in the movies. That would mean less frank handling of subjects when appropriate, but also clamp down when not. Eventually the writers and producers would adjust to the new dicta, and learn that a wink and a nod can be even more titillating than nudity, and that putting one past the censors was an art in itself

South of the Long Island border.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 9 February 2017]

A weak script and far-fetched story prevents this, Barbara Stanwyck's first film, from being memorable. She's nice to look at, but if she's supposed to be Mexican (which is never confirmed), it's a ridiculous piece of casting. Supposedly a "border town gal", she could be of mixed blood, but nothing about her background is really explained. At least she didn't attempt an accent or wear darker make-up, so this makes me question how this story passed muster.

With a very East US accent, she's not even from a border town. Stanwyck, only 22, plays a trampy girl who cheats on her much older lover (Sam Hardy) and is kicked out of town. When she sees him again, she's married to his younger brother (William Janney) and seems to still be trampy. Stanwyck at least comes off as fiery, yet lacks the confidence and sparkle that would turn her into a screen legend. More of a curious antique, it's still difficult to watch in knowing what was yet to come, and very creaky with hissing sound, a non-moving camera, and faded with years of neglect. There are lots of filler scenes that are not plot related, which means that at only an hour, perhaps 45 minutes covered plot.

An essential title for Stanwyckphiles.

[arthursward · 8/10 · 16 September 2002]

This early talkie is a benchmark for really understanding the amazing range Barbara Stanwyck had as an actress. Fans of her other films of this period know and expect her to be cast as the poor but honest underdog, "doing the right thing". What a departure from that formula her Rose Manning is.

"Happy" Manning, Rose's husband, opens the film by returning to his Mexican hotel/casino. Warmly welcomed, he greets friends and staff. Upon entering his room, [the 22-year-old Stanwyck gives a dazzling, introduction close-up] he presents wife Rose with a diamond anklet. "Oh, you put it on, Happy" smolders Rose. He does, and notices his wife's legs are bruised. Rose then pulls her dressing gown past her knees, blaming a dressing table that needs moved. When "Happy" obliges, he discovers a tie that belongs to the casino manager. Confronting the pair, he correctly surmises his wife's transgression and tells her to leave. At this point, Rose's syrupy denials peel off like the veneer on cheap furniture. "I've been kicked out of better places than this." "Happy" keeps his remorseful Joe at his job and Rose disappears, explained away by newspaper clippings.

The main body of the film begins when "Happy"'s young ward, Bob, arrives for a honeymoon with his new wife, Rose! Stanwyck then provides a jaw-dropping dual character that is just outrageous by any era's standards.

I initially voted 7 for this film as it IS short (my copy 59 mins) and suffers from decomposed stock footage of a football game. Several days after viewing it, I told a friend familiar with Stanwyck's Capra-guided "Ladies Of Leisure" and "Forbidden" about it. "Oh! I've GOT to see that", said she. I realized, then, that this film is really unforgettable. Today I came back to raise my vote to 8. Refreshingly frank, Barbara's 2nd talkie and her third film is something that all should enjoy.

Babs is very good at being a very bad girl...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 24 October 2015]

... and for that reason alone it is worth seeing for any fan of Stanwyck. It is her second credited role after "The Locked Door" from the same year, and she just leaps off the screen with vitality compared to the other players, who actually, are not half bad. The thing is, they are one note players. Within minutes you know Happy (Sam Hardy), who plays her first husband, is a straight shooter in spite of some of his questionable businesses, his word is his bond, and he is nobody's fool. Likewise, his wide eyed ward, Bob (William Janney) spends the whole film being a prototype of Robin of the 1960's Batman show. It's "gosh" this, and "gee whiz" that, and he is completely naive and never wises up, yet he is the apple of Happy's Eye.

As for Babs as Rose, you never know who she really is, because she has you believing her at every turn, you believe she loves Hap, then you believe she just may love Dick, then you believe she loves nobody when she meets a stranger in a bar and goes as far as you could on film in 1929 for signaling someone that you are sexually available.

The ending is contrived - it has her character doing something she would never do...on purpose anyways. It's definitely worth an hour of your time. Watch it and realize that from the beginning, Barbara Stanwyck was "positively the same dame". Highly recommended.