El Tigre

Romantic historical adventures were a dime a dozen during Hollywood's Golden Age but what this 1950s example has going for it over its many competitors are the unusual setting (the Spanish Armada circa 1700) and the central presence of an anti-hero, notorious bandit El Tigre (a role which also provided typecast Jack Palance with his first opportunity to be among the costumed good guys)! His dubious services are deemed essential by Viceroy Rex Reason to enable Princess Barbara Rush's imperiled return home from exile in California to claim her rightful place on the throne of Spain; Palance's no-nonsense pragmatism hardly endears him to an already reluctant ward but, true to formula, they will be whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears before the film's conclusion…not that the overly suggestive title left any serious doubt about that occurrence!

What strikes a false chord, however, is the fact that in going away with Palance, she relinquishes her title and presumably agrees to settle into some remote Indian hideout El Tigre has made his home in! That is all very idealistic but hardly convincing given the real stakes at play here...especially when these are bound to be left in the hands of the unreliable Reason and Rush's suddenly loving (read opportunistic) cousin Martha Hyer! Speaking of Reason, he had just worked with director Newman (who, 20 years previously, had been a two-time Oscar winner as Best Assistant Director!) on both their most significant work, the Sci-Fi classic THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955); this fact makes the former's relegation to the second lead once more and, consequently, the latter's potentially backfiring choice to go with bad-guy Palance in the lead, as an even bolder one! Ultimately, for all the modest felicities on offer along the way, one is left with the distinct impression of an unfulfilled promise – as if what we have just witnessed was a textbook Swashbuckler with a Western restlessly waiting to break out from under its restrictive surface!

"Kiss of Fire" has a most unusual plot. It begins in 1700 in New Mexico. It seems some Spanish princess (Barbara Rush) is there and needs to get to Monterey, California...but the trek is long and dangerous due to some unfriendly natives. So, they enlist the help of a villain, el Tigre (Jack Palance) to escort her and her entourage through the desert. Occasionally, something happens...but not often.

The film is dull and the pacing is slow. Additionally, the film talks as if this woman will possibly gain the throne of Spain...which is odd, as Spain did not allow women to rule. Plus, you wonder why el Tigre would help the Spanish authorities since he's supposed to be an outlaw. None of this makes a lot of sense and Barbara Rush is given very little to do. Overall, you can do better...even if this one is in color and Universal Studios spent a bit more than usual to make it.

Set in Spanish New Mexico in 1700, this wonderful Technicolor production is full of romance, intrigue, action and adventure. The three principals in the cast, Jack Palance, Barbara Rush and Rex Reason, all shine in this studio vehicle for star Jack Palance, who is terrific in the lead role, with style, sex appeal, and a good Spanish accent. (In real life, Palance is full-blood American-born Russian-Ukrainian, his real name is Vladimir Palanuik. He speaks six languages.) Rex Reason, looking very handsome and distinguished in a real mustache and beard, was especially good in one of his better costume character roles as the Duke of Montera, viceroy of the Spanish territories, sent to accompany Princess Lucia by the Spanish crown; Reason took lessons to learn how to swordfight from Basil Rathbone and had a fine swashbuckling action scene in a fight with Jack Palance's El Tigre. Good but typical melodramatic plot development as the Duke is in love with Lady Lucia but is unable to express his love for her, while El Tigre smolders with passion in every scene. Lovely Martha Hyer is on hand in beautiful period costumes as well. Filmed partly on location in the southwestern deserts, but mostly studio-bound, this was a lavish and colorful Universal costume drama. A fine, rousing adventure and a fiery romance. Sadly, many Universal pictures of the 1950s and 1960s are still unavailable on home video. Universal should be ashamed of themselves for not releasing this great film on video, and DVD as well.

This half-western, half-costumer follows what might be called the "escort" formula. In this formula a person of some importance, often a woman, is escorted through difficult territory toward a destination which must be reached by a certain deadline. Various enemies along the way try to thwart this effort, and there usually turns out to be a covert traitor within the ranks of the escort-party. In most cases the leader of this party is a rough-edged man of action who resents his assignment but who is determined to carry it out successfully. If he's escorting a woman, there's usually a high degree of friction between the two which gradually turns into a romance. The destination is finally reached on time after much tribulation and the man of action and his beautiful charge embrace and kiss as "The End" appears on the screen.

"Kiss of Fire" sets this formula in the year 1700 and it follows the course of an expedition from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Monterey, California. This affords an opportunity for a number of outdoor episodes set against scenic backgrounds which alternate with a score of more intimate moments filmed inside studio sets. None of this comes across as realistic but the color photography, costumes, and always-attractive cast members provide the kind of escapism which has always made the movies so appealing.

Where "Kiss of Fire" differs from the usual formula, and then ever so slightly, lies in the choice of its leading man. At this point in his career, Jack Palance had become best known as a villain -- particularly because of his work as the heartless gunfighter in "Shane" -- and casting him as the-man-who-gets-the-girl must have seemed like a daring choice. This is even more apparent when young, handsome Rex Reason, whom Universal was grooming for stardom, appeared in the same cast. Why not have Rex get the girl?

Movie heroines often find themselves torn between a suave, wealthy, well-dressed suitor on one hand and a rough-and-tumble rebel on the other. "Kiss of Fire" falls into this pattern but, throughout most of its length, tends to hedge its bets. Often the suave suitor, (in this case Rex Reason), is shown to the audience as being shallow and opportunistic -- traits which the heroine does not initially recognize. However, Rex seems immune to these faults until the last reel when his character takes a sudden turn for the worse and thus proves unworthy of winning Barbara Rush. Instead he's quickly and all-too-conveniently paired with second-billed Martha Hyer whose character, up to this point, had never shown much romantic interest in him. Meanwhile aristocratic Barbara Rush abandons her trip to claim the throne of Spain and implausibly chooses to settle down in California with an unpolished frontiersman who lives in Indian villages.

One suspects that Universal had doubts about audiences accepting Jack Palance as a leading man and perhaps tested "Kiss of Fire" at a number of "sneak previews." Had these previews not gone well, Universal may have planned to re-edit the last reel of the movie so that Barbara Rush would tearfully part from Jack Palance -- "We come from different worlds" -- and then board that boat for Spain on the arm of the stalwart Rex Reason. After all, it wouldn't take much editing to rehabilitate Rex into the kind of lover worthy of the heroine's affections.

One final note. Can you imagine how difficult it would be for a movie such as "Kiss of Fire" to be made today? No studio now would touch a project set in Spanish-America, circa 1700, unless a director with great clout and a star with proven, world-wide boxoffice appeal were attached to the project. But back in 1955, movies like this with colorful historical backgrounds were turned out all the time, making the movies a far richer medium than they are today.

The bravura of Jack Palance is irresistible in this film. I didn't know he could act so well. He is a Spaniard nicknamed El Tigre, and he is all passion and audacity. The film is full of violent passions, which tend to get the better of the acting men to their own disadvantage. Red Indians are involved also, one of the most enjoyable scenes is when Palance and his royal company are invited for a mutual dinner with the Indians, and the chief gets indiscreet concerning the women, which leads to consequences. There are intrigues also, Palance is supposed to escort the princess Lucia to Spain, the only way from New Mexico there is by California, the hazardous road leads through Indian country, and there is another party of Spanish soldiery who are intent on making the princess never reach Spain. The purpose of her being brought to Spain is that she is supposed to be the next Queen of Spain by marriage, but others want to marry her on the way. So there is a lot of randomity on the way through the tricky mountains with their savage Indians, but the most serious problem turns out to be that the Spaniards are prone to get into fighting each other and not just for the sake of the princess. So there are many strifes and arguments for all different parties of the film to get seriously mixed up with, and it's difficult to see any end to the constantly increasing troubles. Ultimately a Spanish captain appears to know how to handle problematic Spaniards best. But the best part of the film is actually the music - outstandingly romantic and excellent all the way.