Madonna of the Desert

The 'Madonna of the Desert' in the title refers to a bejeweled statue of the Virgin Mary that is owned by a poor guy. However, he refuses to sell the thing...and a mobster-type (Sheldon Leonard) insists on having it, even if it means stealing it. So he sends a larcenous lady to ingratiate herself to the owner and then switch it with a copy. But somewhere along the line, the lady falls for the mark and also begins to have faith in this supposedly lucky statue.

This is a very sentimental and schmaltzy film....too much so for my taste. Not a bad film but certainly one you'll never mistake for the earthier and darker Film Noir type of movie.

I loved this kind of morality which comes off with all its interesting turns quite naturally, as Lynne Roberts, dashingly beautiful, changes from a gangster bride to a madonna of the desert. It's all about a small statue, originally from Spain in the 1500s, which found its way to South America, where it ends up in a house in the Arizona desert with a war veteran and his old man, where it becomes attractive to collectors. One of them is a hoodlum and a swindler and will obtain it by any means, which is why he sends out Lynne Roberts for her. A copy is manufactured to arrange a switch, but the switch does not come off without complications, and of course they get mixed up. Even the small madonna herself starts a drama complicating things, and everything runs out of control for everybody. Lynn Roberts succeeds ultimately in landing on her feet, and the whole mess reaches a very satisfactory end, in spite of all the shootings, car accidents, fires, and so on. It's a gem of a small but very educating film.

Sheldon Leonard reads of an ivory Renaissance Madonna, decorated with gems in a farmhouse out in the middle of farm country. It's an opportunity in the making, so he has a pal in the fake antiques business make a copy. Then, deciding it needs to be done with a bit of class, he dispatches Lynne Roberts to pull the switch. She charms the Madonna's owner, Don Castle, and his grumpy hand, Paul Hurst.... and gradually comes to believe the statuette has actual powers, and her resolve wavers, even as fellow crook, Don Barry shows up, intending to steal it himself.

It's a beautiful script, co-written by Frank Wisbar and Albert Demond. At a whisker less than an hour in length, it can't really pull off the mysticism that I would like to think was in the script. It's a sweet, watchable, but not overwhelming moving.

Castle had been hired by MGM as a young Clark Gable type, but they never did anything worthwhile with him. He did a little better at Paramount, although usually on loan-out. His acting career had largely ended in 1951, but old co-star, Bonita Granville, got his a job producing job on TV's LASSIE. He died in 1962 of a drug overdose, aged 48.

The first title card says that this is a production of The Hollywood Television Service, but it was not a made-for, well, not exactly. Not at this date. The Hollywood Television Service was a unit of Republic Pictures whose job was to produce theatrical films of just under one hour in length ("Madonna" runs 59:46) and to edit existing programmers, especially westerns, down to that length to accommodate the growing TV market which had left networks and local stations desperate for content. That said, "Madonna Of The Desert" is an interesting, well acted, and sometimes even moving story of crime, redemption, and sentimental religion. Criminal con-man Nick Julian (Sheldon Leonard) reads a magazine story about a small statue of the Madonna owned by a California farmer (Don Castle) in a remote town. The article also reports that some believe it to date back to the middle ages and be very valuable. Nick enlists a sometimes partner in crime, a tough as nails dame named Monica Dale (Lynne Roberts), to seduce the farmer and switch out the stature for a plaster fake. Monica is well on her way to succeeding when she experiences what looks like a miracle from the Madonna. Slowly, she begins to question her way of life, but Nick is waiting nearby and expects results. Also featuring Don "Red" Berry as a rival thief. You will not have wasted your time by watching this.

If you miss this one, you won't lose much, because the director George Blair was the bottom of the basket in terms of film makers for the company. You can waste time, if you have nothing else to do. But don't expect much from this little programmer which is not a crap though. It's action less for a Republic movie, or may I say, there could have been more action in this romance drama with a bit of crime atmosphere. The only reason not to be scared is that it is short, under one hour long, it is bearable but also easily forgettable. Talkative at the most, unfortunately and not very interesting; this statuette tale is not the MALTESE FALCON.