Cisco Kid Western Collection (VCI/Monogram/Gilbert Roland)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C Films: C+
Gilbert
Roland was doing bit parts in silent films starting in the mid-1920s, but even
they were hits, easily leading to supporting actor work in classics like Juarez and The Sea Hawk. With the “good
neighbor” policy of WWII, he further boosted his credentials and found himself
in Angels With Broken Wings, The Desert Hawk, Captain Kidd and even an Ellery Queen mystery film. Monogram gave him his own B-movie series with
The Cisco Kid, producing six films. Like
the great Mr. Wong series, that was
the limit, six films.
VCI has
collected all of them in a new 2-DVD set including The Gay Cavalier (1946), Beauty
& The Bandit (1946), South OF
Monterey (1946), Riding The
California Trail (1947), Robin Hood
Of Monterey (1947) and King Of The
Bandits (1947). Each has Cisco as
troubleshooter, doing the right thing ala The Lone Ranger, no matter what. He is good, noble and puts up with things
many would not. Unfortunately, it
becomes a formula quickly and though the debut film sets the tone, O. Henry’s
hero only fares so well. When the films
do not work, Roland saves them to some extent, but Monogram was a Poverty Row
studio and that shows here. At least
fans and the curious will have some highlights in these half-dozen films
running just over an hour each.
The 1.33
X 1 black and white image is not great, but not awful. The prints are lucky to survive at all and
though we have seen better Monogram B-movie prints (see MGM’s Charlie
Chanthology on this site), this is more typical of how their catalog
survives. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is
simple, dated and has some background noise along with other limits. Extras include a teaser trailer for Roland’s co-starring
gig in Beneath The 12-Mile Reef (see
my soundtrack review elsewhere on this site) & four text bios on DVD 1 and
five more text bios, plus trailers for the serial Zorro Rides Again, Any Gun
Can Play and A Bullet For Sandoval. Both have additional promos for VCI’s
line-up. Cisco Kid may not be a friend
of mi9ne, but he might be yours if these films go over better with you. Now you can check them all out together
finally.
- Nicholas Sheffo
