IMDb RATING
6.3/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
After enacting revenge on the overseer who murdered his father, Pancho Villa becomes a bandit, earning the respect of the poor by brutally attacking the wealthy.After enacting revenge on the overseer who murdered his father, Pancho Villa becomes a bandit, earning the respect of the poor by brutally attacking the wealthy.After enacting revenge on the overseer who murdered his father, Pancho Villa becomes a bandit, earning the respect of the poor by brutally attacking the wealthy.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total
Katherine DeMille
- Rosita Morales
- (as Katherine de Mille)
- Directors
- Jack Conway
- Howard Hawks(uncredited)
- William A. Wellman(uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe "Running W" was a device used on horses at that time which made them fall before the camera at a specific point of an action scene, often killing or injuring the animal so badly that it had to be put down. It involved a harness on the horse secured to "piano" wire which was attached to a stationary object.As the horse reached the end of the length of wire,running full tilt, it would be "tripped". The practice was finally halted after complaints from the A.S.P.C.A. The "Running W" wires can be seen clearly attached to the horses which were "shot down" in the final battle scene of this film.
- GoofsPresident Madero is shown as being overthrown in a coup by Gen. Pascal, who then shoots him. In reality, there was no such general named Pascal; Madero was assassinated on the orders of Gen. Victoriano Huerta, who did overthrow him but who did not personally shoot him.
- Quotes
Jonny Sykes: [typing] Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of Jonny Sykes.
- Alternate versionsIn the original version of this film, during the scene in which Wallace Beery tries to rape Fay Wray and she shoots him in the arm, Beery horsewhips her after she begins laughing hysterically at him. The whipping is shown only by their shadows on the wall. After the Production Code went into effect, this scene was edited, and it is the edited version that was officially available for years. In 2015, the scene was restored, and was reinstated in the Warner Archive Collection DVD.
- ConnectionsFeatured in David O. Selznick: 'Your New Producer' (1935)
- SoundtracksLa Cucaracha
(uncredited)
Traditional
New lyrics by Ned Washington
Sung by chorus at intervals throughout film
Played as background music often
Featured review
Plenty of Action, Especially Behind the Camera
Viva Villa was a hard luck movie. Filmed in part on location in Mexico City, during production, a plane carrying movie footage to Culver City crashed, requiring reshoots of the lost material. Wallace Beery, always an obnoxious star, demanded extra salary before he would appear again in the lost scenes. Lee Tracy, who originally played the part of the newspaper reporter, while on location was accused of getting drunk and urinating from his balcony room onto revelers celebrating the Mexican Independence Day. Tracy's action caused a national scandal. MGM managed to smuggle him out of the country. Then Louis B. Mayer fired Tracy from MGM and also got him blacklisted. Tracy's replacement, Stuart Erwin, was terrible as the reporter. Due to the delays, Viva Villa did not get released until after July 1, 1934, the date the Motion Picture Production Code took effect. MGM had to make changes to meet new code requirements, such as a scene where Fay Wray's character is whipped. Jack Conway took over for Howard Hawks as director to finish the production, which may explain the change in the movie pacing. The movie starts off fast, with a great scene of Villa and his riders taking over a town and Villa issuing swift justice as the new judge in town. Viva Villa never maintains that pace. But,one big plus, Leo Carillo as Villa's homicidal sidekick is great.
helpful•134
- gerrythree
- Dec 20, 2003
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Viva Villa
- Filming locations
- Chihuahua, Mexico(MGM press release, 1941)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,017,400 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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