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Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

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This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Throughout the 1930s, John Wayne made a steady stream of cheap B-westerns. While none of these were classics, they were enjoyable little films--much like those of Gene Autry or Roy Rogers, though Wayne's films rarely had any singing. However, early in his career, he was still learning his craft as an actor and a few of these films are rough and just not up to the standards of his films just a year or two later. I've seen several dozen of these films and I think "The Man From Monterey" might be the worst of the bunch. Here are some examples of how bad this film is: At the 11 minute mark, there's some really bad acting and terrible action. A jerk beats a poor guy over the head with a guitar. He actually hits the guy in slow-motion and Wayne's reaction is amateurish as well--it's obvious he still has a lot to learn as an actor and the entire scene looked fake.A few times, lines were flubbed but the director didn't care enough to re-film the scene.Few of the Hispanics in the film seemed of Spanish origin! They often lacked accents and couldn't speak the language in the least. In one scene, a supposedly Hispanic lady says that "hasta luego is 'see you later'". No, in Spanish, hasta luego means 'see you later' and hasta pronto is 'see you soon'. Another 'Spanish' lady gets angry and shouts "...enough of your impudence!!". Heck, most native Americans don't even use the word impudence!! Wayne is taken prisoner by a gang who threatens to kill him. When his fellow US Cavalry troops arrive, Wayne LIES--telling the men he is okay and not being held prisoner! Why would he do this?! The WORST sword fighting scene in history--many high school plays feature more realistic sword-play! Stock footage from a silent film is used in one scene. You can tell because the speed is way too fast--the result of using silent stock on sound machines.The only GOOD thing about the film is Philippe in drag. Seeing this ALMOST made this bland film worth seeing...almost.

Man from Monterey, The (1933) ** (out of 4) "B" Western has Captain John Holmes (John Wayne) being sent by the government to try and explain to some Spanish folks that they must register their land grants or they will end up losing them by them falling into the public domain. Holmes must battle some greedy land stealers who want the most valuable land to fall into the public domain so that they can get it at a better price. This was one of six early films Wayne made for Warner and it's not one of the best. I think it goes without saying that many of the "B" Westerns from this era were very short on plot and many of them didn't differentiate themselves from countless others that were being released. This one here features Wayne with Duke and that's pretty much it. Usually I find myself entertained during these films but that wasn't the case here as I found the story to be interesting but that's about it. The movie didn't contain any good action scenes, the fights were rather boring and the entire subplot with the love story was deadly boring. The most energy comes from some unintentionally funny moments including one sequence where Wayne saves his love interest (Ruth Hall) only to have her jealous, wannabe boyfriend (Donald Reed) stick him up. How Wayne keeps flirting with the woman even though he has a gun on him had me laughing out loud. Even funnier is that the so-called boyfriend keeps getting more and more steamed yet Wayne never seems to notice. Other funny moments come from a troubadour (Luis Alberni) who actually keeps the film moving with his performance. Wayne isn't too bad, although he really doesn't have much to do except stand tall and act tough. Hall isn't too bad as the love interest but the screenplay doesn't do her any favors. Reed is pretty bland as the bad guy, although the unintentional laughs are actually needed here. The story of the land falling into the public domain could have made for an entertaining story but director Wright brings no life or energy to the film and in the end it's just too boring even at only 57-minutes.

The setting is 1848 and the U.S. government sends Captain John Wayne to the newly conquered territory of California from the Mexican War. His job is to win over the Spanish Dons to register their land grant property with our government or else they'll be declared public domain.Of course there are some nasty claim jumpers there who are both gringo and Latino ready to foil our hero. One particularly nasty one is another Spanish Don played by Francis Ford. He's got his eyes on his neighbor's property another Don with an attractive daughter, Ruth Hall. If Ford can't get it one way, he'll get it by marrying his son Donald Reed to Hall.That changes when John Wayne comes on the scene and Hall crushes on him big time. Of course Wayne is riding on Duke the Wonder Horse and Duke once again proves of invaluable assistance in foiling the bad guys.Best performance in the film goes to Luis Alberni who to foil the bad guys has to get into drag at the wedding scene of Reed and Hall. He's downright hilarious.This marked the fourth and last film John Wayne did for Warner Brothers with Duke the Wonder Horse. Later on in his career John Wayne was not noted for particular attachment to his horses. They were a tool of the cowboy trade, nothing more in his films. In fact if my memory serves me I can only recall three films in his later years where the horse's had names and therefore horsenalities to him. That would be True Grit, The Shootist and A Lady Takes A Chance. I'm sure if I'm wrong, John Wayne fans will let me know.Of course John Wayne moved on to Monogram films and Lone Star westerns and the quality of production went down a few pegs. Bigger and better things were in store for him. But what ever happened to Duke the Wonder Horse?

The only way I can watch any one of the early B-westerns is by deciding in advance to treat it as high camp, although occasionally a good one pops up. This film is not one of those, but I still had a few chuckles at the goings on, looking for outrageous items. John Wayne is an army captain sent from a fort in Monterey to convince Spanish land owner Lafe McKee to register his claim, else it will become public domain. Land grabbers Francis Ford and his son Donald Reed try to keep McKee from doing so in order to get the land for themselves. The only comic relief in the film came from Luis Alberni, who reads palms, continuously introduces himself as "Felipe Guadelupe Constanche Delgado Santa Cruz" in a flourish, and dresses in drag. Almost everyone else, including Wayne, is so serious it was somewhat funny. I had fun with the good bad guy (Slim Whitaker), the all-too-easy escapes, the stilted dialog, the obligatory love-interest (with Ruth Hall), the peculiar sword fighting, and best of all, Wayne's mind-reading horse, Duke. When Wayne was captured, he tells Alberni (who is outside the locked room where there are no guards) to send Duke to get Whitaker's men. All Alberni does is pat the horse on his rear end and say "go on, Duke."This was set right after California entered the Union when the Spanish land owners distrusted the "gringos," and filmmakers used the theme of land grabbing quite often.